The Research Group for Mental Health "Conoscere per Migliorare" in Turin considers prominent the reduction and withdrawal of drugs in the treatment of mental illness and in particular of depression and psychosis.Therefore the group supports an initiative that places Italy in an international research network. The static chronicity of psychiatric therapies over time has originated worldwide debates between psychiatric professionals, patients and family members: should antidepressants and antipsychotics be taken for life? Is it correct to compare psychic discomfort, as some say, to the diabetes patient who will have to compensate with insulin injections throughout his life? The International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal (IIPDW) https://iipdw.org/ , has created an international network of experts (by experience and profession) which aims at gathering and spreading all possible initiatives and information on this issue, but also - in the future - on the creation of drug-free and diagnosis-free services. Therefore a Study Day was held in Milan on January 18, 2020 to promote information and research for reducing and dismissing psychotropic drugs. It was organized by the Dr. Giuseppe Tibaldi, with help of doctor Marcello Macario and doctor Raffaella Pocobello. The meeting was aimed at creating an Italian network in order to develop coordinated initiatives on these issues, in close cooperation with the IIPDW and with all those who are promoting the benefits of withdrawal. The Research Group “Conoscere per Migliorare” was present. The success of meeting was due to the interest of the participants and their will to work through work teams to be set up on various themes and activities. The Italian events scheduled in May 2020 in Rome with some of the founders of the IIPDW, before Covid 19 emergency (currently suspended) were: Hopendialogue Meeeting, with Robert Whitaker , National Congress SIEP (Italian Society of Psychiatric Epidemiology) with John Read.
