“A life in the community”: Italian mental health reform and recovery

Abstract

There are remarkable parallels between the vision of the Italian Mental Health Reform of the 1960s and 1970s and the vision of “recovery” being promoted around the globe. Most importantly, they share a fundamental conviction in the right of individuals with mental illnesses to “a life in the community”, arguing that the basic rights of social inclusion, self-determination, and citizenship provide the necessary foundation for, rather than follow after, recovery. This article describes four strategies used in the Italian Reform to actualize this vision: creating two-way streets between the mental health system and the broader community, establishing social cooperatives with joining forces with other citizens' groups, and working toward community inclusion on a person-by-person basis. The authors suggest that useful lessons learned from these efforts can be applied to the present challenge of affording all individuals with serious mental illnesses the “life in the community” to which they are entitled.