I am pleased to propose to you what I wrote on January 10, 2010 , more than 4 years ago, because these words are more relevant to me than ever. Some progress has been made, many still need to be made to achieve the spirit I desire...
Dear staff, friends, patients and family members, four months ago the Department of Clinical Neurosciences was launched at Villa San Benedetto and I would like to share the spirit that I would like to breathe into a structure that has the ambition to become a center of clinical and scientific excellence, referenced at national and European level.
Over the last twenty years, struggling with people who have suffered and still suffer from mental disorders and participating in the world's leading scientific research institutions, I have gradually come to realize the enormous responsibility that a clinical department bears towards the population and society, but above all towards those who have lost the freedom to be themselves and who have fallen into the clutches of mental disorders.
The loss of freedom is certainly one of the most serious impairments a person can suffer, and the awareness of how much mental disorders affect and restrict the lives of those affected must make us think about how we can take responsibility for helping those trapped by mental illness to find their way to freedom, or at least to a dignified life. The wisdom of the human spirit is an important guide and personal experience an excellent teacher. But are they really enough? After all, for many years very wise people believed that the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth. So common sense and experience are necessary, but not sufficient. To understand the true nature of a mental disorder, one must go beyond opinions and personal experiences and look at the objective. Critical thinking that arises from the experience of scientific research becomes the beacon that can show us the way to truth beyond opinion. We are aware that science and the scientific method only allow us to understand a small part of reality and human nature, but they become a solid starting point rooted in reality.
