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The psychologist bonus is back, the incentive that Italians will be able to spend on psychotherapy sessions to combat post-pandemic stress, anxiety and depression. The Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci signed the decree in agreement with the Mef – after the yes of the Regions – which regulates the details, the deadlines as well as the distribution of the funds between the Regions. However, there are only 5 million euros on track for this year and 8 million for 2024. Very limited resources which could be increased very soon in the changes to the budget expected in December.
How to apply and income ranges
Citizens will be able to request the contribution from the INPS online platform which is responsible – as required by the decree – to set the deadline for submitting the application (with at least 30 days’ notice for a period of no less than 2 months) with the bonus that however, it must be used within 270 days of granting, under penalty of forfeiture. The deadline for submitting applications – but this will have to be checked on the INPS website – is likely to start in December. The amount, recognized only once, is set by the decree at a maximum of 1,500 euros for incomes with an ISEE of less than 15 thousand euros (up to 50 euros for each session); 1,000 euros for incomes with ISEE between 15 thousand and 30 thousand euros (up to 50 euros for each session) 500 euros for incomes with ISEE greater than 30 thousand but less than 50 thousand (up to 50 euros for each session). The INPS will always draw up the rankings defined Region by Region, identifying the beneficiaries based on the amount of resources.
The issue of few resources, the risk of excluding many
The issue of available funds is one of the questions still open in the new edition of the psychologist bonus. The new round of this contribution created to help those in need of psychological support could, however, disappoint many Italians: only 5 million have been allocated for this year (8 million in 2024), sufficient funds to guarantee the bonus to less than 8 thousand Italians. If we consider that in 2022 only 40 thousand applications were accepted – out of over 400 thousand requests – with 25 million euros available, the audience, with only 5 million, is reduced by at least 5 times, that is to 8 thousand Italians. If we add the fact that the bonus can now reach 1500 euros (no longer a maximum of 600 euros), the potential beneficiaries could even be fewer. As in past years, INPS will accept applications up to the resources available in the area and the benefit will be paid based on the arrival of the application, primarily to people with the lowest ISEE
The possibility of immediately increasing the funds is being maneuvered
The opportunity to increase the amount of resources could present itself immediately, namely with this year’s budget for which only a few changes will be allowed, with a major amendment expected before mid-December. The president of the senators of Forza Italia, Licia Ronzulli, asked to strengthen the psychologist bonus, proposing to triple the dowry for this year (from 5 to 15 million) and then reach 40 million in 2024 (instead of the 8 million expected). The Democratic Party instead asked to increase the funds to 50 million for both years. The green light for the psychologist bonus was long awaited – there were many appeals such as that of the rapper Fedez who collected over 300 thousand signatures to unblock it – and Minister Schillaci yesterday underlined that «it is part of a more overall intervention, which we are also carrying out through the mental health table, which aims to strengthen the structures and management services in the area and to spread the culture of mental health“.