The initiative will be promoted, in collaboration with the Mental Health Departments of the ASLs in Rome with which the Di Liegro Foundation has established agreements, within the relevant public health services to identify, in a participatory manner with psychiatrists and care workers, those individuals with the greatest needs, a therapeutic path significant in duration and outcomes, and, as a priority criterion, those already involved in workshops organized by the Di Liegro Foundation. The project includes:
The project will be accompanied by careful coordination and supervision of the involved figures, with constant monitoring of progress and the results achieved.
Roma, 26 giugno 2024 - in occasione della giornata contro il traffico di droga, la Fondazione Di Liegro interviene nel dibattito sulle droghe, forte della sua esperienza con i giovani del territorio.
La relazione annuale del 2024 al Parlamento sul fenomeno delle tossicodipendenze in Italia ha rilevato come 960mila under 19, ovvero 4 studenti su 10, abbiano fatto utilizzo di droga almeno una volta nella vita. Nella fascia d’età compresa tra i 15 e i 19 anni, 54mila ragazzi riferiscono di aver assunto cocaina nel corso del 2023. Un numero in crescita rispetto agli anni precedenti.
Il contrasto al proliferare delle dipendenze deve svilupparsi su più livelli: repressione delle attività criminali, supporto e percorsi di inclusione per le persone in difficoltà, collaborazione tra pubblico e privato sociale. Lo scenario complessivo è infatti sempre più allarmante.
Rome, 15 March 2024 - Helping families who experience situations of mental distress within themselves, often aggravated by heavy intra-family conflicts. This is the main objective of the Multifamily Psychoanalysis Group (GPMF), the new project promoted by the Don Luigi Di Liegro Foundation in collaboration with the ASL Roma 2. The group meets for the first time on March 15th at the Foundation's headquarters.
Rome 17 February 2024 - The first lesson of the course "Youth disadvantage in the contemporary world: the network that heals" was held at the Don Luigi Di Liegro Foundation, aimed at volunteers, families and local mental health services. Present were the general secretary of the Don Luigi Di Liegro Foundation, Luigina Di Liegro, the regional councilor for social inclusion and personal services of the Lazio region, Massimiliano Maselli and Chiara Rogora, psychologist and psychotherapist, Dsm Uoc ASL Roma 2, Tutela Salute Mental and Developmental Age Rehabilitation.
Rome, 30 January 2023 - Registrations are open for the training course for volunteers, family members, youth workers and mental health workers promoted by the Don Luigi Di Liegro Foundation and the Fondation d'Harcourt, with the support of the Lazio Region. The course will be held on Saturdays from February 17th to April 20th. Eight lessons held by experts who aim to train participants on youth issues, including bullying and addictions, promoting a psychosocial support network.
Rome, 28 December 2023 - In this article Luigina Di Liegro, general secretary of the Di Liegro Foundation, highlights the "Christmas depression" and the importance of assistance to those suffering from mental distress. Remember the commitment of Don Luigi Di Liegro, founder of the Diocesan Caritas of Rome, for the continuous support of those in need. He thus takes this opportunity to announce the start of the 2024 courses of the Di Liegro Foundation to train volunteers and families in the mental health support network.
“CoèSa” is born in Rome, Community is Health - OdV, the association of volunteers, psychologists and educators that will allow young people to work in the area to support those suffering from mental health problems.
Coèsa will operate in via Ostiense, in the spaces of the Di Liegro Foundation which, with the new association of volunteers, aims to expand the network in the area, transmitting the culture of solidarity and civic participation to even the youngest, keeping memory and thought alive of Don Luigi. The Foundation, dedicated to the founder of Caritas Rome, has always been committed to supporting families and people forced to face the problems of mental distress.
Coèsa's activity will take place through listening desks, artistic and socialization workshops where children will be able to support their peers, meeting opportunities in the area to create integrated systems of services in the community, combating conditions of fragility and disadvantage. Objective ofVolunteer organization it will therefore be the construction and promotion of a supportive, active and cohesive community.
"The CoèSa Association was born from the need to pay maximum attention to youth hardship, a real emergency in the post-Covid era, and to promote a presence in the area by young people for their peers in difficulty. A study by the Guarantor in fact, highlights how cases of young people suffering from eating disorders, suicidal ideation, self-harm, alterations in the sleep-wake rhythm, and last but not least, social withdrawal are increasingly widespread" explains the president of the CoèSa Association, Marta Zammuto. “We are aware of the risk that mental health problems in children and young people could become chronic and spread on a large scale." concludes Zammuto.
Anxiety, fear, worry about the future, increase in eating disorders and episodes of self-harm: 9 out of ten students show severe discomfort, some also have significant critical issues for their mental health after the pandemic. Just as many believe psychological support at school or university is useful, of these more than one in 3, the 35%, would like to use it.
These are the main results of a survey promoted by the Middle School Students' Network, the University Union and the Spi-Cgil pensioners' union, entitled "Ask me how I'm doing", That it involved 30 thousand high school and university students in one month, and was conducted by the Ires research institute of Emilia Romagna.
Returning to discomfort, i28% of students declared they had eating disorders, 16% of which were triggered by the pandemic, while 14.5% had experiences of self-harm, half coinciding with the pandemic period. 10% has taken substances and 12% has abused alcohol.
The pandemic has also produced a change in behavior and habits, with an increase in the use of social media (78%), video games (30,7%) and smoking (18%). On the other hand, meetings with friends, both online and in person (48%) and taking care of one's physical appearance (37%) have decreased. The 64% experienced a change in sleep patterns. 26.2% of those interviewed have already turned to a psychological support service during the health emergency.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.
Mental disorders among minors are at risk of becoming chronic. The alarm was launched by the Guarantor Authority for Children and Adolescents (Agia). "The neurodevelopmental and mental health problems of children and young people that emerged during the pandemic risk becoming chronic and spreading on a large scale", stated the President of Agia, Carla Garlatti.
Last week the Guarantor for children and adolescents published the study "Pandemic, neurodevelopment and mental health of children and young people", promoted with the Higher Institute of Health (ISS), with the collaboration of the Ministry of Education . The research, the first scientific one of national significance, identifies among the pathologies: eating behavior, attempted suicide and suicide, self-harm.
For the research Over 90 experts were interviewed, including child neuropsychiatrists, paediatricians, social workers, psychologists, pedagogues and teachers. The professionals interviewed - it is explained - reported eating disorders, suicidal ideation (attempted suicide and suicide), self-harm, alterations in the sleep-wake rhythm and social withdrawal.
In the educational field, then, they have been found learning, attention and language disorders, conduct disorders and cognitive and emotional regulation, as well as fear of contagion, state of frustration and uncertainty about the future, generating insecurity and cases of school dropout.
It has also been reported a increase in requests for help for the use of psychoactive substances, cannabinoids and alcohol, while unaccompanied migrant minors have shown difficulties in managing isolation and quarantine in reception facilities.
More generally the pandemic has caused what the professionals interviewed by the research team defined as a real "mental health emergency". In fact, there has been a surge in requests for help which in many cases has been accompanied by inadequacy and unfairness in responses which have highlighted structural deficiencies and delays prior to the coronavirus.
Children, young people and families have often found themselves forced to turn to private individuals with significant and difficult to sustain economic commitments, which have increased inequalities. At the same time, the lockdown has revealed the potential of telemedicine applied to mental health, but we need to quickly invest in operator training and specific technologies to assist children and young people.
Faced with this scenario of mental disorders among minors the Guarantor Authority has formulated a series of recommendations. "Among them there is first and foremost the need for planning, prevention and treatment actions to overcome regional and local fragmentation. The post-pandemic phase can be an extraordinary opportunity to do so and in general to improve the system. But there is no It's time to waste."
"Adequate resources for services must be provided - stated President Carla Garlatti - and specific responses provided based on age, a number of beds must be guaranteed in departments dedicated to minors and school psychology services must be established in order to activate a connection between school and territory. It is equally important to bring about a cultural change by intervening on the educational role and promoting intergenerational dialogue".
The research lasted a year and will continue for another two, involving up to 35,000 minors aged 6 to 18 in the five regions involved in the study. It was validated by a committee chaired by Professor Paolo Petralia and made up of authoritative representatives from the scientific, academic and psycho-social professions.
Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels
Taking a break from social media is good for your health and increases your sense of well-being. This is demonstrated by a study coordinated by the University of Bath and published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, which asked a group of people aged between 18 and 72 (average age 29) to stop using social media for a week. For some participants this meant gaining around nine hours of time for themselves, which they would otherwise have spent on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
The study involved 154 people who spent an average of 8-9 hours a week on social media. After measuring the levels of
depression, anxiety and well-being of all participants, some of them were asked to suspend the use of social media for 7 days or drastically reduce it to a few minutes.
A week later, the researchers observed significant differences between the scores for well-being, anxiety and depression of the group without social media and those of the control group. In particular, in terms of well-being, the group that had suspended the use of social media recorded 4.9 points more than the others, while the levels of depression and anxiety had dropped by 2.2 points and 1.7 points respectively.
“Scrolling social media has become so common that many of us do it almost without thinking, but there are growing concerns about the effects of these tools on mental health”, says Jeff Lambert, first author of the study.
Researchers know well that social media are part of people's lives and that for many they have become a tool
essential for expressing oneself and interacting. However, Lambert notes, "many of the participants in our research reported positive effects from stopping social media use, with improved mood and less anxiety in general. Our study suggests that even just a small break can have a positive impact."
For researchers, however, the effects of suspending the use of social media for long periods remain to be investigated (ANSA).
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