In the last decades of the past century, Italy experienced a dramatic and widespread consumption of heroin among many young people. A reality that was too quickly removed from public consciousness, during which public services and volunteer organizations tried, in an institutional vacuum, to respond to the needs and suffering of many young people and families. In this context, therapeutic communities took on a mythical dimension. Among them, London’s Phoenix House stood out and became a place of hope and pilgrimage due to its results. But what was the method it adopted, which so many tried to imitate? And what was daily life like for a resident? These are the questions posed by a then-young psychologist who decided to immerse himself in that reality, keeping a personal diary. Its publication today represents a remarkable opportunity to revisit that period, through the words and perspective of that time, but with the awareness of today. This is exactly what the author does, using the lens of his forty years of subsequent experience, together with Vanessa Roghi and Franco De Masi.

Speakers
Mauro Croce, psychologist, psychotherapist, and criminologist. He worked in public addiction services and was a member of the Advisory Board of Experts and Operators on Drug Addiction of the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Graziano Martignoni, medical doctor, psychiatrist, and FMH psychotherapist, SUPSI professor. He taught General Psychopathology at the Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, University of Fribourg.

Moderator
Lorenzo Pezzoli, SUPSI professor, psychologist and ATP-FSP psychotherapist, specialized in FSP psychotherapy and traffic psychology. Head of the Competence Center for Applied Psychology at SUPSI.

Cost
Free event

Registration
By Friday, May 2, 2025, at the link: https://bit.ly/evento-05-05-25