Who we are

The Trieste Mental Health Department is a public, community-based mental healthcare service which evolved directly from the pioneering de-institutionalisation experiences of Franco Basaglia and his collaborators in the 1970’s. Recognised for years as one of the most advanced public mental healthcare services in the world, the Trieste MHD continues to remain a leader in innovative approaches to mental healthcare aimed at the emancipation and social reintegration of persons suffering from mental disorders.

Our website

On this website you will find the following information:

• A presentation of the values, principles and user rights which have guided the transformation process in Trieste over many years and continue to sustain it today, as well as a description of the legal framework for psychiatry in Italy;
• A detailed description of the Trieste Mental Healthcare Department: its structure, functions, operating units, programmes (including the residences and rehabilitation department and the social coops), training, workshops, self-help groups, associations;
• A brief survey of the structures and functions of the Local Healthcare Agency, of which the Mental Healthcare Department forms part;
• An archive of texts on all aspects of mental healthcare in Trieste and related topics, with a historical survey of the deinstitutionalisation process in Trieste and an introduction to the life and work of Franco Basaglia, together with a selection of his writings;
• A selection of useful links to related topics (Home Care, International Cooperation, etc.)