There are already thousands – with some difficulties in maintaining the INPS website – requests for the so-called “psychologist bonus” which from this morning, Monday 18 March, can be requested online or at the dedicated call centre: a contribution that will cover up to a maximum of 1500 euros per year based on the ISEE. The bonus is recognized only once per person and cannot therefore be requested again. There are two requirements for the application to be taken into consideration: being resident in Italy and having a valid ISEE not exceeding 50 thousand euros.
As expected, requests were numerous from the early hours of the morning, 70 thousand according to estimates that are not yet official. Which, in addition to sending the IT systems into a tailspin, risks exhausting the 10 million euro fund foreseen for 2023 (redeemable in 2024): to the 5 million initially allocated for 2023, law 191/2023 for the conversion of the « Advances Decree” added another 5 million. Eight million, however, are expected immediately from 2024.
The contribution – resulting from the Milleproroghe decree of 2022 – is intended to be able to support the expenses relating to psychotherapy sessions, psychological assistance designed in particular for citizens who during the period of the Covid pandemic, and for all that it represented, have seen growth or aggravate conditions of depression, anxiety and psychological fragility in general.
The total sum and ISEE ranges
The bonus, made structural, was raised to the sum of 1500 euros per person, initially up to the ceiling
The amount of the contribution is 50 euros per session for everyone. But the amount of the overall contribution – it was said – is modulated based on the ISEE of the applicant. The maximum bonus (1500 euros) is paid only to those with an ISEE of less than 15 thousand euros; for an ISEE value between 15 thousand and 30 thousand euros the bonus ceiling drops to one thousand euros: for those who have an ISEE between 30 thousand euros and not exceeding 50 thousand euros the maximum bonus is 500 euros. No benefits for those with an ISEE exceeding 50 thousand euros.
How to request it
The bonus can only be requested electronically or through a call center. For the first possibility it is necessary to connect to the INPS website, then choose the item «Contribution to psychotherapy sessions» and proceed according to the instructions. To access the site you need a level 2 or higher Spid, an electronic identity card (Cie) or a National Services Card (Cns). The call center responds to the toll-free number 803.164 (free from a landline) or the number 06 164.164 (for a fee from a mobile network, based on the tariff applied by the various operators).
Beware of running out of funds: don’t wait
The advice, as always, is not to wait. And with each passing hour this recommendation becomes more important, because the available funds are eroding. The final date for submitting applications is May 31st, but it is unlikely that we will reach this point with the bonus wallet still available. The rankings for the assignment of the benefit are distinguished by Region or Autonomous Province of residence, starting from the lowest ISEE values, therefore from the maximum contributions per person. Under equal conditions, ISEE counts the chronological order in which applications are submitted.
A message via SMS and/or email will inform the person who requested the outcome of their application. The contact details (email and telephone number) are those that the person indicated in the MyInps section of the Social Security Institute portal. The “verdict” can however also be consulted in the “Receipts and measures” section of the portal. Both the amount of the bonus granted and the related unique code will be indicated and must be communicated to the professional chosen from among the private ones – registered in the list of psychotherapists in the Register of Psychologists – who have joined the initiative.
The numbers of the problem
The president of the National Council of the Order of Psychologists (CNOP), David Lazzari, calculates that in Italy «according to our survey there are 5 million people who would like to turn to a psychologist-psychotherapist but do not have the economic resources to do so». And from the first data that emerged during the first edition of the bonus, women and under 35s are the population groups that show the greatest hardship.
«We are not talking about the most serious disorders at the top of the pyramid, those which require treatments including pharmacological ones, but – Lazzari always explains – those linked to the most widespread forms of discomfort: anxiety, mood, adaptation and development disorders due to stress”. In these situations, early intervention becomes prevention compared to more serious cases. «Up to 70 percent of these inconveniences, if not intercepted, turn into more serious pathologies», observes Lazzari.
The bonus, according to the president of Psychologists, «despite its limitations is fundamental for providing a response in terms of psychotherapy, if we consider that today in the public health system only 3.5 people out of 100 receive a psychotherapeutic response».
Over 25 thousand specialists available
A task force of over 25 thousand professionals responded to the bonus call. «I am proud to say that we have recorded great availability with important numbers distributed throughout the national territory despite the critical issues for the disbursement of service payments by the Regions to the INPS of the Ministry of Health funds», underlines says Lazzari. Which concludes: «The hope, or rather I hope the certainty, is that there will be no need for a decree for applications relating to 2024, and for subsequent years, again for a total of 10 million euros per year.