Currently, Italy is the only known example of a state-level special law that uses community psychiatry as the foundation of psychiatric care. The participants of the study visit from Ukraine aim to study the Italian experience and adapt the best practices to implement such a reform in their country.

The study visit for the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program ‘How are you?’ was made possible through cooperation between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the CMU Coordination Center, with support from the Giuliano Isontina University Clinic and the Municipality of Trieste.

In Italy, the recent reform provides citizens with psychosocial assistance at the community level. This support is tailored to each individual’s needs and is provided by a multidisciplinary team.

Social inclusion is a top priority. Instead of referring to them as patients, the recipients of services are called determinants, not symptoms.

The training participants observed that Ukraine is gradually creating the conditions necessary for implementing comprehensive reforms. Given the context of a large-scale war, the mental health sector has become particularly important. As a result, the development of the psychosocial assistance system is already underway at all levels of the state.