Press Release
WHY INVESTING IN PSYCHOLOGY BENEFITS EVERYONE
This results in an improvement in people’s social well-being, savings in public and private spending, and a social return of 2.07. This is supported by data collected and analyzed following the experience of “Vivere Meglio,” a project promoted and funded by ENPAP through work grants for its member psychologists, enabling more than 9,000 citizens to receive free psychological treatment for anxiety and depression.
Rome, 29 November 2024 – What social and economic benefits can be achieved by investing in psychology to promote preventive mental well-being among citizens and ensure timely treatment of conditions such as anxiety and depression? The answer comes from the ENPAP Conference, where Triadi, a spin-off of Politecnico di Milano, presented its social and economic impact assessment of the results of the first edition of the “Vivere Meglio” project.
The findings show an improvement in people’s well-being and a positive social and economic impact on society, through savings in public and private resources, with a Social Return on Investment (SROI) of 2.07. Investing in psychology therefore benefits not only those who receive psychological support, but the community as a whole.
“These results show that taking intentional and additional action to address such widespread problems as anxiety and depression is a strategic choice for building a more sustainable society. It is not simply a matter of supporting individual well-being through therapy, but of generating benefits that extend to society as a whole,” says Irene Bengo, CEO of Triadi and Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano.
“The data suggest that social factors affecting mental health, such as socio-economic status, can be rebalanced through timely interventions targeted at the key determinants. It is crucial to promote well-being across all areas of life—from work and education to the home environment—through a collaborative approach,” add Enrico Bellazzecca, Assistant Professor at Politecnico di Milano, and Gabriele Guzzetti, Director of Triadi.
“Vivere Meglio” is a project promoted and funded by ENPAP through work grants for psychologists registered with the organisation. It is based on the UK’s IAPT model (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies), which uses a Stepped Care approach. The first edition, held in 2022–2023, was open to all residents of Italy and enabled more than 9,000 people to receive psychological treatment for anxiety and depression free of charge.
Among “Vivere Meglio” participants, 75.9% are women and young people, with approximately 67% aged between 16 and 34. Fifty-seven per cent of the sample are unmarried, 12% reported living with a chronic condition, and 11.5% are caregivers providing assistance to one or more family members who are not self-sufficient due to illness, disability or old age. Those who were found to be most in need of longer-term psychological treatment were people in more vulnerable socio-economic circumstances: they are financially dependent on others and have a monthly income of less than €1,000. For these reasons, without a project such as “Vivere Meglio”, they would have been unable to access psychological services, which in Italy are almost exclusively provided on a fee-paying basis.
“ENPAP has been working for years to highlight the economic value generated by psychological interventions. Through ‘Vivere Meglio’, the organisation ‘invested’ €5 million using a welfare in exchange for welfare model: it provided work grants to 1,000 registered psychologists experiencing difficulties in their professional or personal circumstances, in exchange for counselling or psychotherapy services delivered to people in their local communities. Alongside this, ENPAP provided a range of services needed to make these interventions highly effective: working with universities, it developed a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Pathway (PDT) firmly grounded in scientific research and provided grant recipients with professional training aligned with this pathway. Finally, it created the website viveremeglio.enpap.it, designed to help match individuals with the most appropriate professional and to provide citizens with additional resources, including self-help manuals,” explains Felice Damiano Torricelli, psychologist and psychotherapist and President of ENPAP.
“The results portray ‘Vivere Meglio’ as a highly efficient prototype for delivering accessible psychological care, the need for which is now clear: between the pre- and post-pandemic periods (2018–2023), ENPAP recorded a doubling in requests for psychological support from self-employed psychologists. This trend brings the issue of access to psychological services back into focus: a great many people belonging to the most vulnerable sections of the population are unable to access privately provided services, primarily for financial reasons. This is the real loss: psychological disorders, which affect more than 20% of the population, prevent people from fully expressing their talents, creativity and intelligence. At a time when our country is urgently seeking resources and renewed growth, it cannot afford such a waste,” Torricelli notes.
“Even before that, however, this represents a restriction of the right to health and an unacceptable form of discrimination based on economic status,” adds Paolo Michielin, psychologist and psychotherapist, Adjunct Professor at the Department of General Psychology of the University of Padua and a practitioner at SCUP.
“Psychological support and psychotherapy are included in Italy’s Essential Levels of Care (LEA) and should therefore be guaranteed to all citizens. Unfortunately, this is not the case: it is estimated that only one in six Italians receives assistance and treatment for psychological disorders; moreover, when they do receive care, it is almost always too late, and the interventions are often inappropriate and ineffective. Sixty-three per cent of those who used ‘Vivere Meglio’ are between 16 and 35 years old—the age group in which psychological disorders typically first emerge—whereas only 27% of patients treated by Mental Health Departments fall within this age group. The timeliness of the service is also reflected in the waiting period between a person’s request and initial contact with a psychologist: between seven and twelve days,” Michielin adds.
Mental health expenditure accounts for approximately 3.5% of Italy’s National Health Fund, yet mental health remains one of the country’s most unmet healthcare needs. Indeed, the MORe (Mental Health Optimization of Resources) report, prepared by Deloitte Consulting and published a year ago in collaboration with Janssen Italia and other public and private institutions, indicates that at least an additional €1.9 billion could be required over the next three years—on top of the €4 billion already planned—to meet the growing demand for mental health support.
Following the success of the first edition of “Vivere Meglio”, a second edition of the project was launched at the end of 2023, targeting residents of the flood-affected areas of Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Tuscany. Feedback from this second edition on the work carried out by psychologists has also been highly positive, with improvements in the quality of life of people who received psychological treatment.
The viveremeglio.enpap.it website continues to offer access to a scientifically validated screening test, as well as 15 downloadable self-help manuals providing practical guidance on managing a range of issues, including anxiety and stress, adopting a healthier lifestyle, and much more.