Un teatro utile alla rinascita. Migranti traumatizzati e inclusione sociale

The migratory journey can be a transformative experience for the migrant, a sort of rite of passage in which there is a break with one’s past identity, in a perspective of rebirth in the host country. This real and metaphorical border crossing carries the risk for the migrant to develop mental disorders. The performing arts and practices can offer useful tools to support the care path of mental distress in an ethno-psychiatric context: this is the case of Teatro utile project, promoted by the Accademia dei Filodrammatici of Milan in collaboration with the Niguarda Hospital in 2019. The essay aims to analyse this case study in the perspective of social theatre and in the context of the Italian “non-model” of integration, with the aim of highlighting the elements that make it an example of a happy rebirth.