Historical Context & Social Commentary - The presentation explores the history of Italian mental asylums and the social boundaries they represented, aiming to understand and document the experiences of those excluded [3] - The speaker emphasizes the importance of recovering the stories of individuals who lived in these institutions, often reduced to clinical descriptions or names etched in wood [3][5] - The presentation highlights the shift from institutionalization to community-based care, referencing the Basaglia Law of 1978 which mandated the closure of mental asylums in Italy [20] - Before 1978, asylums housed not only the mentally ill but also those deemed "dangerous to themselves or others," including women who didn't conform to social norms, individuals with neurological disorders, illegitimate children, political opponents, and the poor [20][21] Community-Based Care & Therapeutic Approaches - The presentation discusses the therapeutic community model pioneered in the Belgian town of Geel, where individuals with mental illness were integrated into the social fabric [7][14] - The IESA (Inserimento Eterofamiliare Supportato) program in the ASL Torino 3 region of Italy is presented as a modern example of this approach, involving 191 patients and 297 families since 1997 [15] - The program emphasizes the importance of "normal" families, not necessarily medical professionals, in providing a supportive environment for patients [16] - This family-based approach aims to improve patients' independence and social skills, transforming the home into a therapeutic space [16] Individual Stories & Humanization - The story of Armida, a patient who spent her childhood in an orphanage and asylum, is used to illustrate the potential for a new life within a family setting [1][23] - The presentation shares the story of Maura, who was institutionalized at age 11 and later found a supportive family, highlighting the positive impact of family care on her life [16][17] - Maura's experience demonstrates the capacity for individuals with mental illness to offer support and empathy to others, even in times of grief [18]