A Sporting Rehabilitation Program Designed with Users with Severe Mental Problems

Introduction Sporting practice for psychotic patients have been demonstrated to be efficacious as a rehabilitation tool at various levels, improving social interaction, self esteem, body self consciousness, reduce anxiety and depression, reduce stigma, improve compliance, reduce admission rates, reduce aggressiveness, reduce family burden. Since 1999 the Fuoric'entro Polisportiva was founded in Trieste, with the support of the Department of Metal Health, with the aim of influencing recovery at several levels. Objectives Evaluate the impact on participants' health. Aims Demonstrate the outcome of the rehabilitation program based upon the sporting activity. Methods The research is a descriptive, case-control study, led on 40 patients (20 cases and 20 controls) followed by the Trieste's Metal Health Department. We considered as items living situation, professional condition, gender and age, diagnosis, therapy and its compliance, admissions’ number and duration, main therapeutic interventions, following up a previous study on the same rehabilitation program. Results In the cases’ group there is a stable improvement of the professional and living conditions, compliance and a reduction of admissions’ number and duration. Conclusions A rehabilitation program based on sporting can improve coping abilities, psychopathological conditions, person's 'social functioning”, family burden.