Covid and war in Ukraine, 4 out of 10 Italians have anxiety and would like the help of a psychologist

Comparing with a year ago, one third of Italians claim that their emotional state has worsened. The pandemic first and the war later made worry one of the main negative sensations experienced in the last year: 52% say they have experienced it often or very often and anxiety affects 4 out of 10 Italians. These are some of the data that emerged from a report created by Ipsos for TherapyChat.
“The demand for psychological support is very high, in four months in Italy we have achieved the results achieved in four years in Spain – explains Alessandro De Sario, CEO and co-founder of TherapyChat, an online psychology platform – The pandemic has facilitated the path that he sees psychological well-being as a value that one wants to give up less and less ». According to the WHO, in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic alone, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25%. Although the use of psychotherapy still suffers from many stereotypes in our culture, first of all the thought that this is only necessary in serious psychiatric cases, today more and more people feel they need support due to a malaise they have experienced or are experiencing. .
A greater sensitivity to the topic and the availability of technological means that allow us to always be connected is also changing the way we approach psychotherapy. In the last two years, various services have been created that offer, through applications, the possibility of taking advantage of a video call therapy. «We must always make sure that they are professionals enrolled in professional associations, with solid training behind them. Having made this necessary premise, many professionals, in their daily work, provide for some people with special needs the possibility of taking advantage of online sessions – explains Laura Parolin, president of the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy – We have published guidelines to allow everyone colleagues psychologists to be able to deal with online therapy, which is not to be demonized regardless, would be anachronistic: it can be an opportunity in the relationship between the psychologist and the patient. In some specific cases, having the possibility to access face-to-face visits is however of fundamental importance. Therefore, keeping the possibility of choice at the base can make the difference ».
Smartworking also allows psychologists to save on a series of out-of-pocket expenses, from travel expenses to renting a studio, which can make teletherapy an alternative that more and more psychologists will decide to offer among their services: ” If before the pandemic we still noticed a certain reluctance of professionals to carry out their therapies online, with the pandemic they were able to touch the advantages for them too – continues De Sario – This allows more people to be able to access an important service for your health “. In the report, presented in Milan, it is emphasized that 40% of respondents felt the need to consult a psychologist over the last year but only 12% actually did it: 65% of those who would have liked to fall within the range of age between 18 and 29, who in 37% of cases do not use this service for economic reasons.
«There are many ways to access psychological therapies – concludes Parolin – Many colleagues carry out, together with the normal psychotherapy activity, a share of courses at controlled prices, for people in difficulty. For this reason, in many regional territories, there are associations that can put these professionals in contact with citizens who request them ». Just yesterday, at Palazzo Pirelli in Milan, the regional law project was presented which would like to introduce the figure of the basic psychologist into every house of the community, that is the new spaces of the Lombard territorial health system. It would be a free service, always active and which would work in multidisciplinary teams. The text should arrive in the classroom of the regional council in November of this year: for the three-year period 2023-2025, 12 million euros of resources have been foreseen per year for the activation of the service.