Italy: the psychiatric care reform bill and development of psychotherapeutic approaches

In May 1978, the Italian parliament passed a Psychiatric Care Reform Bill (Law 13 May 1978, nr. 180). In the same year, on 23 December, the law was incorporated into a more comprehensive Health Care Legislation (Law nr. 833). The only difference between the two is that law 180 set a 15-bed ceiling for each psychiatric ward, whereas law 833 entrusts the social health plan, as established by each region, with the task of setting the number of beds (Cazzullo, 2000).