Activism and mental health: the experience of Brigata Basaglia

The experience of social clinics is still quite poorly investigated, even if the social clinics seem to be spaces in which psychologists and social workers try to build and implement both reflections and clinical practices from a political approach to mental health. Especially in this historical moment in which psychological difficulties increase and people feel constantly unsafe and exposed to a profound sense of instability: the changing climate, cost of living, job insecurity, and the inability of politics to address the needs of people in these turbulent times underline the importance of re-considering the role of communitarian activism to heal mental health issues. The research work is focused on an explorative case study that investigates the experience and the political and clinical backgrounds of activists from Brigata Basaglia. Brigata Basaglia is a social clinic based in Milan, Florence, and Pavia and it is composed of psychologists, psychotherapists, physicians, social workers, and activists. The work of Brigata Basaglia is inspired not only by the experience of Franco Basaglia and his colleagues but is also driven by the idea that mental health is a political and communitarian issue and it is profoundly influenced by the socio-economic system we, as a society, live in. Semi-structured interviews were administered to 15 key-informant activists (with an age range from 24 to over 70 years, mainly women) to deepen the values and the perceptions activists have about the mental health needs of the population and the lack of psychological interventions from the Italian National Healthcare system. It also has the objective of collecting data about the impact of activism on the wellbeing of social workers. The interviews were transcribed and codified through qualitative thematic analysis. The present work discusses the perceptions that activists have on mental health problems in Italy and opens the discussion about the role of activism in enhancing awareness about psychological issues both in the communities and in the institutions and how a political perspective on mental health could have an impact on clinical interventions and social workers’ wellbeing.