title: Youth mental health services in Italy: An achievable dream?
abstract: "Liberiamo il futuro" (LIF) project was designed to assess psychological problems of adolescents and young adults and to identify individuals at high-risk for developing a psychosis through a collaboration between a University team, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Adult Mental Health Services. This paper presents the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of the cohort, particularly the nature and severity of psychopathology.
  
  
  
  All help-seeking young people aged 12-35 years residing in the health district involved in LIF were invited to participate in the study and completed a battery of self- report and interviewer-administered measures of psychopathology and functioning at baseline.
  
  
  
  A total of 338 adolescents and young people (mean age 17.42) participated in the study. The majority of the sample (n = 107, 35%) had an anxiety disorder, followed by mood disorders (n = 62, 21%). Only 35 (12%) participants had no psychiatric diagnosis. After a screening phase, 166 (52%) individuals were assessed to detect the presence of an Ultra High Risk (UHR) state. Of these, 38.60% (n = 64) met UHR criteria. Overall, the majority of the sample resulted moderately functionally impaired at baseline.
  
  
  
  LIF project showed that psychological problems, associated with impaired psychosocial functioning, are very common among help-seeking young people. The help-seeking behaviour of young people is in contrast with the barriers presented by the Italian community mental health system that is modelled around adults' requirements. A need of a strong, stigma-free, young oriented system of care for young people up to the mid-20s emerged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brandizzi
authors.affiliation: Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Barnaby
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Rome, Italy.|Department of Neurosciences and Neuro-rehabilitation, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Nella
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lo Cascio
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Juliana Fortes
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lindau
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ludovica
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Telesforo
authors.affiliation: Community Mental Health Service, ASL Rome H, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Dori
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Montanaro
authors.affiliation: Community Mental Health Service, ASL Rome H, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Alema
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Girardi
authors.affiliation: Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McGorry
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fiori Nastro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003710:Demography; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D062706:Prodromal Symptoms; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: early psychosis; mental health services; youth mental health