The most important process conducted by the Casa di Cura Villa Santa Chiara equipe is he definition of the optimal therapeutic strategy for the patient.
Intervention Strategy: therapeutic approaches
Pharmacological Therapy
Psychological Therapy
Biological Therapy
Individual or group psychotherapeutic activities
Recreational activities
Psychological studies
Patients of the Casa di Cura Villa Santa Chiara are mainly affected by mood disorders and do not react in a fully appropriate way to pharmacological treatments.
For this reason, the clinic offers the possibility to combine non-pharmacological therapies to pharmacological ones, with a clinical effectiveness scientifically recognized.
The structure has a wide range of non-pharmacological therapies that give the doctor care giver the possibily to make a focused therapeutic choice, considering the clinical features of the patient.
Thank to this you can get as a result a customization of the therapy.
In 2015, 1176 people were hospitalised in Casa di Cura Villa Santa Chiara. The 49% of them was affected by mood disorders as a primary diagnosis and the 27% of them as a secondary diagnosis.
Most of these patients with affective psychosis during their lifetime did not respond in a fully correct way to pharmacological therapies, or they are considered resistant to pharmacological therapies because they did not respond to at least two antidepressant treatments belonging to different pharmacological classes.
For this reason, the clinic offers the possibility to combine non-pharmacological therapies to pharmacological ones.
Here are them:
Non-invasive and painless procedure, it is basically lacking of significative side effects. It is indicated, in the psychiatric field, for treating depression. It is used in support of the pharmacological therapy, and it consist in placing a mobile probe above the patient's head, linked to a power generator that produces a magnetic field. The magnetic field reaches the cerebral cortex, modifyng its electrical activity with an effect can persist even after the session.
Non-invasive and painless procedure, it is indicated, in the psychiatric field, for treating depression and supporting the pharmacological therapy. It consists in a non-invasive cerebral polarization technique through a direct flow of low-intensity electricity dispensed by electrodes applied to the forehead.
It is indicated to treat serious depressive forms, in which the pharmacological therapy is ineffective. With this kind of therapy, adopted following the indications and operative procedures specified by the Ministero della Salute, up to 80-90% of patients reveal improvements. It consists in a cycle of sessions, usually between 6 and 12, realized on alternate days, during which, after a short-term total anesthesia and in muscolar relaxing conditions, a bitemporal electric stimuls to provoke a little convulsion.
It is a form of psychotherapy mainly based on the psychoanalysis and dynamic psychology concepts and methodologies. It provides less frequent and shorter sessions than the real psychoanalytic therapy. The psychodynamic psychotherapy setting is partly different, and the adopted technique is more versatile.
This term combines two extremely efficient different forms of therapy: Behavior therapy helps to change the relationship between the situations causing difficulties and the usual emotional and behavioral reactions the patient has in these circumstances. This can be done through the learning of new ways of reaction. It also helps to relax mind and body, so you feel better and make decisions in a better way. Cognitive therapy helps to identify certain recurrent thoughts, fixed pattern of reasoning and interpretation of reality, which are concomitant to strong and persistent negative emotions that are perceived both as symptoms and causes of these thoughts. This therapy haelps to correct those kinds of thoughts, and to complete them with other nmore objective or healthier ones. When these two types of therapies are combined in CBT, they become a powerful tool to solve strong discomforts quickly.
It affects diseases directly correlated to traumatic or particularly emotionally stressing experiences. This technique focuses on the memory of the traumatic experience and it is a complete methodology that uses ocular movements or other forms of right/left alternated stimulation. After one or more sessions, disturbing memories correlated to the traumatic experience lose their negative emotional load. The improvement is very fast, regardless of the years that have passed since the event.
Mindfulness is the english translation of the word "Sati" in Pali language, which means "aware attention". It is psychological technique of meditation, focused on bringing the patient attention to the present in a non-judgmental way. Here is the description of Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of the Mindfulness pioneers: "Mindfulness means paying attention, particularly 1) with intention, 2) to the present, 3) in a non-judgmental way".
It is a very efficient therapeutic tool that aims, when oriented to in-patients, at the improvement of the symptoms and of psychosocial operation. Organized according to the open groups technique, it facilitates the interpersonal communication and highlights particular cognitive and emotive styles of the participants. It promotes the hope in an improvement, in comparison with the progresses of the others, offers relief from the isolation sense, gives some information and suggestions from other patients, and encourages the altruism. It is useful for the mutual support, but also for the self-esteem improvement, and it develops basic social skills, even through role playing games, encourages the imitation of healthy behaviours, allows to express emotions and to feel accepted by others and it facilitates the cohesiveness of the group.
It reveals a methodology that aspires to make aware the patient and his family of the nature of his pathology and the means to face it.
It is dedicated to patients that present one or more difficulties in the emotions management, that is when they have a distorted perception of their emotional states or they do not even feel them at all.
Group intervention based on Mindfulness techniques with adaptation of the MBRP protocol by Marlatt & co. Open group protocol of four repeated meetings.
It finds a specific indication in the seasonal-depressive disorders treatment. It is associated to the sleeping deprivation therapy in the treatment of depressive disorders and it is also used in the sleeping disorders treatment. It consists in the exposure to a light source which replicates solar brightness and it is performed for 90 minutes from 4.30 to 6.00 am. It is based on the observation of the relationships existing between the variations of the hours of daylight through different seasons and depressive disorders.
It is a therapy of strengthening in the depressive disorders treatment; it alleviates the symptoms and can shorten the reacting time to the pharmacological treatment. It consists of staying awake twice a week for 36 hours in a row, joining structured activities managed by the educators during the night.
It takes place twice a week to conduct physical activities; it is led by educators formed by the Italian Federation.
Activity led by a psychotherapist who uses painting technique and manual abilities for free or them creations, using creativity as a tool of non-verbal group communication of the emotions, to support sharing, relief and change.
It uses music as a care tool. It is led weekly by a therapist and an educator, and it represents an experience of socialization and strengthening of the ego functions. Listening to music promotes relaxation and facilitates the evocation of images, memories and emotions; its translation into words helps the organisation of creative processes.
Technique used for the psychiatric and psychosocial rehabilitation led by a psychotherapist. It uses key concepts as identity and identification, enhancement of the game, body and voice as an artistic manifestation, non-verbal communication and emotions representation. It is possible to find these elements between the styles of an academic theatrical workshop that, through different exercises, owns as aims the stimulation of knowledge of the ego and of the outside world, the exploration of communicative potentialities of the non-verbal language, the development of the observation and listening skills between the involved subjects, the possibility of getting in the game as author of the own imaginative and creative process, the development of collaborative and trust attitudes towards others.
Activity conducted by an art teacher in collaboration with the "Accademia d'Arte Cignaroli di Verona". It uses painting techniques and manual abilities for free creations, bringing out of the patient his creativity as a non-verbal communication tool for the emotions. It supports the sharing, the sociality and the personal change.
