Training

Mental health training is one of the main priorities of the Di Liegro Foundation. Since 2006, we have been carrying out a project called “Volontari e Famiglie in Rete per la salute mentale” which creates and develops a support network for people with mental health problems and their families: strengthening the family environment can indirectly have a positive impact on the person who is suffering. The goal is to promote social integration, therapeutic treatment, as well as greater knowledge and awareness of effective methods to deal with mental illness.

Our annual courses– which are organized in collaboration with the heads and staff of local institutions and mental health departments – are also attended by regular citizens who choose to participate as volunteers.

The Foundation’s annual volunteer training is based on the idea that the individual in need is a person who, at a given stage of his or her life, is struggling with a psychological problem. Volunteers are trained to observe and promote the potential and the abilities of each individual, through a non-invasive, but rather empathic approach, helping them deal with traumatic events in a positive way.

The course is held by psychiatrists, university professors, the heads of Rome’s ASL Mental Health Departments, and representatives of family associations. The first part of the seminar is an introduction to mental health, which each year is followed by an in-depth study chosen to respond to the needs and expectations of both the people experiencing mental health problems and the local public service staff working in the field.

This year the theme of the Foundation’s training course was “Adolescence and Mental Health. The challenge of prevention”, a topic that was widely appreciated.