This issue of Psychomed continues the journal’s quarterly publication with articles covering a wide range of topics, from sociocultural to psychobiological.
The first, “STIGMA IN MENTAL HEALTH: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF ROME,” by Alice Norami and Anna Rita Colasanti, explores the presence, forms, and sociodemographic determinants of public stigma toward mental illness through a survey conducted in Rome’s outskirts. The study, conducted on 200 subjects, equally divided between young adults (18–30 years old) and older adults (45–65 years old), selected through non-probability sampling, revealed a transitional pattern. The results suggest that stigma persists in latent forms, with predictable differences related to sociodemographic variables. However, the most positive finding concerns the community, which is recognized as a fundamental resource in the processes of care, support, and inclusion. The valorization of the community role represents an indicator of cultural change, consistent with a progressive reduction of stigma.
The second article, “PROMOTING WELL-BEING IN ADOLESCENCE: EFFECTIVENESS OF A SELF-HELP PROGRAM,” by Andrea Gramaccioni and Anna Rita Colasanti, presents the results of a study evaluating the effectiveness of a self-help intervention aimed at promoting adolescent well-being on a sample of 22 high school students, divided into an experimental group and a control group, based on the manual “In viaggio per crescere” by M. Becciu & A. R. Colasanti. The results confirm the importance of training interventions in promoting adolescent well-being; at the end of the program, over 50% of participants showed improvements in internal coping, positive affect, and perceived self-efficacy.
Moving on to a completely different topic, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the following article builds on the conference given by Prof. Neri Accornero on “Dynamic Modeling of the Nervous System (Artificial Neural Networks) and Interactions between Natural and Artificial Intelligence,” on March 18, 2025, as part of the 2025 Course in Research Methodology in Psychotherapy at the School of Specialization in Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Intervention. It was not possible to summarize the wide range of aspects covered, therefore the authors, Cristian Pagliariccio and Maurizio Bonauguri, focused on the ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) and the ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN THE FIELD OF MENTAL HEALTH, with a critical approach, raising important questions. For example, “if the time saved with AI is consumed by the need for constant critical supervision or to recover from the damage caused [by errors, Stefania Borgo e Lucio SibiliaEditor’s note], the idea that AI can help reduce time and workload could be an illusion in which what is changing is the nature of the effort but not the quantity and load (which could be even greater than current ones).” A brief comment from Professor Accornero follows.
The HISTORICAL ARCHIVE presents research from over 50 years ago, carried out with original equipment designed by Neri Accornero, evidence of a long history of respect and collaboration with Accornero and Casacchia, who is still a professor at the Postgraduate School of CRP. The article, “THE VALUE OF TIME IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE,” by Massimo Casacchia, Stefania Borgo, Francesco Carchedi, Giuseppe Meco, Neri Accornero, and Alessandro Agnoli, highlights how a purely psychological variable like the perception of time is influenced by biological factors.
In the “NOT THE LANCET” section, Giovanni Ghirga provides a comprehensive response to Stefania Borgo and Lucio Sibilia’s LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF LANCET PSYCHIATRY, published in the previous issue of Psychomed, regarding clinical observations in patients with Guilbert Syndrome, in relation to solar activity.
Finally, the usual information on the main national and international CBT conferences is provided.
Stefania Borgo & Lucio Sibilia
Lucio Sibilia
