Information Campaigns

Dr Claudio Ajmone has conduced, organized, and participated to, various information campaigns on mental health. We mention here the most significant ones:

Year 2000: PROXIMA’s Appeal

In the year 2000 Dr. Claudio’ Ajmone conduced the first Italian telematic campaign in the field of mental health and human rights. At that time Dr. Ajmone was director of PROXIMA, an EZINE on psychology and human sciences. He brought up the issue of the hegemony exerted by the Consulta Nazionale per la Salute Mentale (National Consultation on Mental Health) over the alleged rights of psychiatric patients.

The Consulta Nazionale per la Salute Mentale, even though it’s not an official state institution, in September 2000 gathered to endorse the “Chart of rights of psychiatric patients and professionals” — an unofficial document formulated without participation from representatives of psychiatric users’ associations.

Anticipating the moves of the Consulta Nazionale, Dr Ajmone promoted in the scientific community «l’Appello di PROXIMA», an appeal aimed at opening a debate over the indiscriminate use of psychiatric drugs, as well as pointing out the total carelessness of the Consulta toward the incontestable severe side effects of psychiatric drugs, their mortality rates, their therapeutic inefficacy, and the frequent clinical worsening which they cause. Furthermore, in the appeal he invited psychiatry to abandon “involuntary hospitalization and forced drugging” because they are practices “violating Human Rights and an instrument of political persecution in totalitarian regimes.”

To the Appeal adhered many associations and outstanding experts in mental health — from Italy and abroad.

This event marked a fundamental historical step in the collective consciousness of the Italian community of mental health professionals. For the first time in Italy, clinical experts publicly expressed their dissent to psychiatric practices, joining in an intellectual front exerting social pressure through correct scientific counter information.

The full text of PROXIMA’s Appeal can be read in Italian by clicking here.

Year 2004: “Giù Le Mani Dai Bambini”

At the beginning of year 2004 the National Campaign Giù Le Mani Dai Bambini (meaning: Don’t Touch The Children) was launched. Its aim is to promote public awareness on the abuses of psychiatric-drugs prescriptions to children and teenagers. This campaign, organised with the patronage of RAI – Radio Televisione Italiana (Italian TV channel), comprises the following institutions amongst its sponsors and founding members of its committee:

• Federazione dei Volontari Ospedalieri

• Associazione Nazionale GiovanialCentro

• Movimento Studenti Cattolici

• Associazioni Cristiane Lavoratori Italiani - ACLI

• European parent’s Association - EPA

• Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati dei Lavoratori - CISL

• Federazione Italiana Medici Pediatri - Sezione Piemontese

• Azienda Sanitaria Ospedaliera San Giovanni Battista - Le Molinette

• Istituto per la Prevenzione del Disagio Minorile

• AGE - Associazione Italiana Genitori ONLUS

• AGESCI - Associazione guide e scout cattolici italiani

Dr Ajmone adhered since the very beginning to the the Campaign Giù Le Mani Dai Bambini, first as a member of the Ethical Committee, soon after as a member of the Scientific Committee and Head of the Scientific Research. He has conduced a broad bibliographical research on the side effects of the psychiatric drugs prescribed to children and on the non-psychofarmacological alternative therapies for children mental problems. At present, the Scientific Research division of Giù Le Mani Dai Bambini contains the biggest Italian database on the issue of children and psychiatric drugs.

Dr Ajmone’s contribution to the Campaign lead also to a number of initiatives that he inspired and coordinated, and these finaly led, in January 2005, to the “International Consensus: ADHD and Abuse in the Prescription of Psychopharmaceutical Drugs to Minors” . The aim of the Consensus is to to assess the state of the art of the controversial underlying themes of children psychaitry and to provide users a reliable point of reference. This goal has been reached by addressing the consensus to the experts of the scientific community, in Italy as well as worldwide.

Between January and September 2005 over 300 people and 50 category-associations subscribed the Consensus, summing up a total of over 140.000 experts.