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It was with great excitement that I welcomed the latest contribution from my colleagues from Pavia, because their previous works (Sintomo psichiatrico e psicoanalisi, Per un'epistemologia psichiatrica, Il paese degli specchi, Confronto con lungodegenti manicomiali and Realtà e fantasma nella relazione terapeutica, by De Martis only, and the edition of Istituzione, famiglia, équipe curante) showed their unique ability to marry their experience in the psychiatric field, in either an operative or a teaching sense, with theoretical thought, in which a prevalently psychoanalitic perspective was enriched by well-thought-out references to other fields. Furthermore the title of this book and of the chapters showed that it was dedicated to the main problems of present-day psychiatry that is to “territorial” organization after the reform of mental hospitals.
The book is composed of thirteen chapters divided into three parts. Most of the chapters are written by more than one person, with the exception of three which are by De Martis and one by Vender. They are all original or very recent articles except for one by Petrella and Bezoari, which first appeared at the end of the seventies but which has still retained its originality and capacity for theoretical provocation. The order and the logical sequence of the chapters in any case render the book extremely coherent, even though each author or each particular group add their own voice to the chorus.
The three parts are: “Theoretical and Methodological Aspects”; “Diagnosis and Treatment and the General Hospital” and “The Mental Health Service”. I will give the discussion on the subjective and theoretical impact of experience more consideration and therefore will start with the second and third parts, returning to the first part later.
De Martis describe all the facts which seem to render impossible, in