Reforme psychiatrique italienne et psychotherapie systemique: continuité, developpements et problémes ouvertus

The author reconstructs the essential historical phases of the theories and practices renewal process which preceded and accompanied the 180 law approval, that established the psychiatric hospitals closing. He then describes the Italian psychiatric reform characteristics, underlining how it produces the emergence of needs of new interpretation and intervention methods about psychic sufferance: in this perspective, psychotherapy has as cru cial role and the Italian law in psychotherapeutic training regulation is a further support. Particularly, systemic psychotherapy proposes common basic principles with regard to the psychiatric reform and can represent an useful instrument for developing innovative concepts and practices. Finally the authors put critically in evidence the problems still unresolved, not only concerning the need of a full application of the reform law, with the creation of territorial services and structures where they are still lacking or insufficient, but, over all, promoting the diffusion into the public services of a psychotherapeutic culture and practice.