The data on the psychological well-being of adolescents in our country are alarming, so much so that the Italian Society of Psychiatry speaks of a new pandemic. Faced with this situation, the Minister of Education and Merit Giuseppe Valditara took measures in collaboration with the Order of Psychologists to intervene in the school. They signed a three-year protocol aimed at supporting schools in the management of psychological distress and promoting the well-being of students, teachers, managers and all school staff. From the department of Viale Trastevere, they explain that they intend to undertake, on an experimental basis, the design of territorial garrisons composed of expert psychologists in the sector. The stated goal of Mim is to provide tools for schools to “overcome developmental fragilities present in school contexts,” including situations of social and cultural disadvantage that can hinder socialization and participation in school life. Furthermore, it intends to support educational establishments by implementing projects aimed at preventing and combating harassment and violence.
What the protocol provides
“This is a general protocol which provides for the start of a discussion between us and the Department of Education with the aim of structuring new ways in which school psychology can make a specific contribution to children and staff school and more generally to the prevention of various forms of psychological distress”, explains a Open David Lazzari, president of the Order of Psychologists. “Concretely, the protocol pursues two objectives: the first is to create teams of school psychologists at the territorial level and, even if the precise territorial dimension is not yet defined, it will probably be defined at the provincial level. The second – he continues – is to collaborate on a series of targeted projects. To achieve this, the protocol provides that – by ministerial decree – an operational committee be established, composed of two representatives from the Ministry of National Education and two from the Order of Psychologists. “It will therefore be up to the committee to gradually build and implement the general structure of the protocol itself. Subsequently, specific regulations will be necessary to allocate the necessary funds for this purpose,” explains Lazzari.
Psychological distress among adolescents? “Alarming”
According to the president of the Order of Psychologists, the data concerning the (lack of) psychological well-being of students is “alarming”. Worldwide, according to UNICEF data, more than one in seven adolescents aged 10 to 19 suffer from a diagnosed psychological disorder. The Italian Society of Psychiatry estimates that there are at least 700,000 children addicted to the web, social networks and video games. And it is precisely from the students themselves that the demand for greater attention to mental health in schools comes. The protests, occupations and internal investigations of the last two years, including those recently launched by students, denounce the lack of effective tools in schools to deal with the psychological distress of boys and girls. “The picture is worrying,” insists Lazzari. “It is obvious – comments the president – the need to equip institutes with tools capable of preventing and early detection of problems, thus providing students with cognitive and emotional resources to be able to face the challenges of the present”.
The psychologist at school: still for a few
Among the government's measures to intervene on the mental health front, there is certainly the psychologist bonus. According to Lazzari, these requests have been “an avalanche”, demonstrating the general need of the population. In two days, the requests received by the INPS were at least 175 thousand. However, even if applications stop now, just over 11% of applicants will have access to the bonus. On an academic level, however, one of the tools that certain schools have equipped themselves with is the figure of the psychologist within the institution. But for now, this is an option that remains at the discretion of the autonomy of each school. Not everyone has it and many do not have sufficient funds to be able to do so. “The appointment of a psychologist to the school – declares the president of the Order of Psychologists – is a decision still linked to the different institutes. We, in addition to what is already provided for in the protocol, provide resources that can be accessible to all schools, since some of them currently do not have the financial means to activate this professional figure. It will be – concludes Lazzari – that the technical commission, alongside the bills already present in the House, will study how to establish, from a practical point of view, effective school psychology services”.
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