Scholarlink

In 1978, Italy legislated the closure of asylums and psychiatric institutions, initiating de-institutionalisation policies for mental health care. This reform restructured mental health services, creating a clear distinction between “criminal” and “civil” sectors. However, Ospedali Psichiatrici Giudiziari (OPG) remained operational until 2014, marking a protracted path towards deinstitutionalization. This chapter critically examines these decades, assessing the broader impacts on the legal system. It explores the neo-institutionalisation process that followed, characterised by new and traditional methods of medicalizing otherness. We argue that this process blurs the lines between criminal justice and healthcare, merging penitentiary and medical cultures. This strategy governs various vulnerable groups, contradicting the regulatory rhetoric of deinstitutionalization. The chapter utilises official data and critically reviews mental health reform proposals since 1978 to analyse this phenomenon.

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Controlling or Caring? Theories and Practices of (Neo)Institutionalisation in a De-Institutionalised Country

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2025年

查看全文
  • Perla Arianna Allegri,
  • Michele Miravalle

摘要

In 1978, Italy legislated the closure of asylums and psychiatric institutions, initiating de-institutionalisation policies for mental health care. This reform restructured mental health services, creating a clear distinction between “criminal” and “civil” sectors. However, Ospedali Psichiatrici Giudiziari (OPG) remained operational until 2014, marking a protracted path towards deinstitutionalization. This chapter critically examines these decades, assessing the broader impacts on the legal system. It explores the neo-institutionalisation process that followed, characterised by new and traditional methods of medicalizing otherness. We argue that this process blurs the lines between criminal justice and healthcare, merging penitentiary and medical cultures. This strategy governs various vulnerable groups, contradicting the regulatory rhetoric of deinstitutionalization. The chapter utilises official data and critically reviews mental health reform proposals since 1978 to analyse this phenomenon.