SOPSI was born in 1990,
founded by nine psychiatrists who at those times were working on the first edition
of the Trattato Italiano di Psichiatria. SOPSI was founded on three main grounds.
- The first aim was to give new boost and strength to a discipline which
had reached its maximum in the first half of the century, but as time went
by it seemed to be dimmed and forgotten because of the pragmatic cultural
influence North American Schools of Psychiatry had. Charter members of SOPSI
firmly considered both general and clinical psychopathologies fundamental
subjects, which were essential in order to get to positive clinical operations;
they also believed that psychopathology studies should have been studied
in depth.
- The second was linked to the belief that all those changes which had taken
place in the field of psychiatry during the past years needed a further
supplement in the field of descriptive psychopathology. This was due to
new acquisitions, which were made among neurosciences brain visualization
and techniques of psychiatric research. Moreover, new nosographical systems
that were used worldwide needed new systematization and further investigation
on the psychopathological phenomena. Eventually, pharmacotherapy gave the
psychiatrist new means to observe little psychopathological changes in shorter
time.
- The third was linked to the Italian psychiatric background where the effort
made to update and recognize psychiatric aid nationwide had led to a slowdown
and reduction of the research quality level. SOPSI's charter members were
conscious of the fact that without a suitable research activity, clinical
medicine's quality would worsen gradually; consequently, it was necessary
to promote a new Italian scientific psychiatry in order to compete with
other European nations and the Unites States of America.
- These three aims were the boost, which led to SOPSI's foundation. The
new association soon had to decide whether to widen the company's base to
its maximum, thus inviting many colleagues to join SOPSI, or to restrict
the number of partners according to their abilities and above all, according
to their will to commit themselves as well as taking part constantly in
common activities.
- Creating a psychiatric association, which competed against other entities,
which the majority of Italian psychiatrists joined, was not one of the institutional
tasks SOPSI had. On the contrary, it was set by corporate aims that SOPSI
was to pursue cultural and scientific targets which other bigger associations
could not reach such associations were involved in. In accordance with SOPSI's
strategy, a fixed number of regular members were set and they set corporate
regulations based on candidates' scientific curricula.
- The association's activity was subsequently planned according to four
guidelines, which were activated in a sequence of time. The first guideline
is conference activity. It was one of SOPSI's first priorities since conventions
organized by scientific associations are the receiving meeting points of
its activity. This was the only opportunity the scientific community (linked
to it) had to gather, which is the possibility to check clinical medicine
and research results and above all, an ideal "situation" for updating
and getting new information for all participants. Conference activity has
been planned since 1993 reaching its climax with the first national conference
in Turin, which was held in March 1995. Subsequent meetings witnessed an
increasing number of members and participants, a greater participation of
medical companies due to scientific cooperation between SOPSI and medical
companies. This is due to the growing interest in the new association by
both common and specialized press. The basis of such a great success was
in the supervisor's choices linked to the quality of scientific work, the
setting of younger colleagues who worked in universities and hospitals and
lastly the conference structure of the organization based on various activities.
- The second guideline deals with the press. SOPSI's executive council believed
that like other important psychiatric associations a highly qualified scientific
magazine was needed. According to this "Il giornale italiano di psicopatologia"
was founded in 1995, it was run by G.B. Cassano and P. Panchierie with four-month
interval first and quarterly interval afterwards.
- SOPSI's third guideline is promoting scientific research in the field
of clinical psychiatry. SOPSI, being aware of the increasing importance
the quality of scientific production has within both national and international
competition, is going to play a principal role in the support to Italian
psychiatrists' abilities, which have often been frustrated.
- The fourth guideline is the planning of some consensus conferences as
the starting point for the publishing of guidelines on very important and
contemporary issues addressed to the clinician, in tune with what the main
foreign psychiatric associations have been doing for years.
