Aim: Despite an uprising mental health crisis, accessibility to mental health care remains a significant challenge globally. In 2022, the Italian Ministry of Health launched the "Psychological Bonus" (PB), a national initiative to increase access to psychological care by providing financial support for brief psychotherapy interventions. The PsyCARE project evaluates the real-world effectiveness of this policy, focusing on symptom improvement, transdiagnostic factors, and functional outcomes, including productivity and medication use. Methods: The study included 2,261 patients (74.7% females assigned at birth; Mage = 33.7, SD = 11.3) who accessed psychological services through the PB. Core variables assessed included psychological symptoms (distress, anxiety, depression), transdiagnostic factors (emotion regulation, epistemic trust), and functional outcomes (productivity and medication use). Patients and their therapists were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up. Results: The PB significantly increased access to psychological care for individuals who otherwise faced economic barriers. Patients reported notable reductions in psychological distress, improvements in general functioning, and adaptive changes in emotion regulation and interpersonal trust dynamics. Functional outcomes also improved, with fewer lost workdays and reduced reliance on pain medications, demonstrating the broader impact of increased accessibility to care. Discussion: This study highlights the importance of national policies that enhance accessibility to psychological care. The findings demonstrate that improving access reduces psychological symptoms and fosters meaningful changes in transdiagnostic factors and functional outcomes. The Psychological Bonus is a model for scalable, accessible mental health interventions that benefit individuals and society, advocating for continued policy support in this domain.
Benzi, I., Compare, A., Di Nuovo, S., Lazzari, D., Lingiardi, V., Lo Coco, G., et al. (2025). Increasing accessibility to psychological care: findings from the PsyCARE study on Italy’s ‘Psychological Bonus’ policy. Intervento presentato a: SPR International Annual Meeting - June 25-28 2025, Kraków.
Increasing accessibility to psychological care: findings from the PsyCARE study on Italy’s ‘Psychological Bonus’ policy
Benzi, IMA;Parolin, L
2025
Abstract
Aim: Despite an uprising mental health crisis, accessibility to mental health care remains a significant challenge globally. In 2022, the Italian Ministry of Health launched the "Psychological Bonus" (PB), a national initiative to increase access to psychological care by providing financial support for brief psychotherapy interventions. The PsyCARE project evaluates the real-world effectiveness of this policy, focusing on symptom improvement, transdiagnostic factors, and functional outcomes, including productivity and medication use. Methods: The study included 2,261 patients (74.7% females assigned at birth; Mage = 33.7, SD = 11.3) who accessed psychological services through the PB. Core variables assessed included psychological symptoms (distress, anxiety, depression), transdiagnostic factors (emotion regulation, epistemic trust), and functional outcomes (productivity and medication use). Patients and their therapists were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up. Results: The PB significantly increased access to psychological care for individuals who otherwise faced economic barriers. Patients reported notable reductions in psychological distress, improvements in general functioning, and adaptive changes in emotion regulation and interpersonal trust dynamics. Functional outcomes also improved, with fewer lost workdays and reduced reliance on pain medications, demonstrating the broader impact of increased accessibility to care. Discussion: This study highlights the importance of national policies that enhance accessibility to psychological care. The findings demonstrate that improving access reduces psychological symptoms and fosters meaningful changes in transdiagnostic factors and functional outcomes. The Psychological Bonus is a model for scalable, accessible mental health interventions that benefit individuals and society, advocating for continued policy support in this domain.
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