The Primary Care Psychology Service has been established in Lombardy

The Regional Council of Lombardy approved with resolution dated 23 January 2024 the bill promoted by Patrizia Baffi which establishes the Primary Care Psychology Service, recognizing the importance of psychological health and the need to integrate it into basic medicine. The law provides for the inclusion of psychologists within the territorial network of local structures, such as community homes, operating in collaboration with general practitioners and paediatricians of free choice..

The service will be carried out prevention, diagnosis and early intervention actions for situations of psychological distress, also carrying out the function of orientation towards specialist services. It will thus be possible to greatly expand access to psychological consultancy, which is too often subordinated to the economic capabilities of the users. The law, made up of eight articles, provides for funding of 36 million euros divided over the three-year period 2024/2025/2026 and an Observatory will be established to monitor the psychological assistance provided.

The initiative was praised bipartisan with a view to strengthening the offer of local structures, especially during the activation phase of Community Homes and Hospitals. During the debate, councilors highlighted the importance of addressing challenges related to psychological health, in light of data indicating a high prevalence of mental disorders especially among young people and adolescents affected by the effects of the pandemic. The objective is therefore to develop a model of access to psychological care integrated into the Regional Health System. This proposal aims to be rapid and increasingly accessible to citizens and the territorial context, with a stability and long-term perspective.

A clear choice therefore in the direction of prevention and early intervention, as well as an important step to fill the assistance gap highlighted by scientific communities and users. The political efforts of recent years towards psychology demonstrate the difficulty in investing in mental health which, as stated by the President of the National Council of the Order of Psychologists, David Lazzari, can neither be seen nor touched, therefore risking being more easily ignored. A happy ending therefore for the long work of interlocution carried out by the President of the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy, Laura Parolin, aimed at recognizing the centrality of the protection of psychological health. Every small political step in this sense is a big step for the whole community.

*Clinical psychologist, Associate Professor of psychology, San Raffaele Vita e Salute University, Milan

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