The family as a resource in psychiatry: a case study on “Doing together” in Lombardy

This paper aims to present the experience of “Fareassieme” (Doing together) in the sector of mental health. It is a movement of the third sector in Italy that promotes: the autonomy of people with problems of mental illness, the family solidarity, the culture and the experience of self help-mutual aid, the awareness of relatives (parents, spouses, brothers/sisters, children) of mentally ill patients, that they have an experiential knowledge which asks to be recognized and enhanced. The experience of “Fareassieme” (Doing together) is interesting because it stands itself on the Public service in a dialectical and collaborative way to join different knowledges (professional and experiential knowledge) to design and furnish services that can improve the quality of life of patients, relatives and community. In this discussion we point out that families with mental ill patients not only live the “burden of care”, but also they live the ethical dimension of care, so they are active members of their communities. The members of “Fareassieme” (Doing together) are relatives, so we inquired if it is an organization of families, if it has the features to define it a familial association. The research which is presented in the paper, was realized through 17 in depth interviews with relatives (parents, brothers, sisters) of mentally patients, members of the association “Fareassieme” in Lombardia.