Insights in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation: 2022

systematic review on 24 papers evaluating PR in bipolar disorder (BD) patients: it was found that, while PR did not closely correlate with symptomatology, some elements of PR differ between BD patients and patients with other severe mental illness (SMI). Moreover, as the role of caregiver, communication modalities within care and knowledge gained from peers were equally important, the authors suggested that these elements should be more broadly considered to improve recoveryfocused care in BD. Subsequently, through a systematic review on 26 papers, Cheng & Lai identified the risk and protective factors for parental stress in families with children with special educational needs: as several risk and protective factors were found, it was suggested to design actions at social and mental health level to promote the wellbeing of parents at high risk of developing disabling mental conditions.The topic of social support and quality of life was evaluated in chronically homeless patients (HP) with schizophrenia: Chen et al provided results on 3.967 HP and 3.724 non-homeless patients (NHP) in rural China. As sociodemographic differences between groups emerged,the study established that HP, compared to NHP, showed lower scores at the Social Support Rating Scale, confirming that HP were unlikely to obtain social support. Furthermore, HP experienced more anxiety, depression, physical pain, reduced quality of life and were characterized by increased psychoticism and neuroticism, indicating also higher levels of antisocial behavior and emotional distress.The role of social policies in facilitating access to mental health services is also addressed in Wu et al.who analyzed the effects a major natural disaster on the development of disabling mental disorders: the authors evaluated prevalence and symptoms of PTSD in a group of survivors after a tornado disaster: on 237 survivors, 13.6% of the sample was diagnosed with PTSD. Furthermore, being female and having suffered from severe property damage, increased the risk of developing PTSD. As nearly two-thirds of PTSD individuals did not seek mental assistance, due to stigma and lack of knowledge about psychological assistance, it was suggested that, in case of exposure to natural disasters, social policies should increase accessibility to mental health services through specific awareness campaigns. the need for support among 93 adult patients in day-care/inpatient setting. They found that 76% of the patients expressed a need for support, of which 92% expressed interest in job coaching. However, about half of the sample received support from the treatment team, suggesting that the need for support was insufficiently met. As work and training were highly relevant topic for people with SMI, it was suggested that appropriate measures to support work and professional employment are urgently needed to promote recovery.In a shared-decision making perspective, to better understand the non-adherence phenomenon in individuals with SMI, Asher et al. studied the complex processes of developing attitudes toward medication and decisional aspects on their patterns of use. They found that these processes progressed through distinct sequential phases that are dynamic and non-linear, suggesting that clinicians have to evaluate these processes through a shared dialogue with the patient focusing on personal attitudes and beliefs regarding medications. By doing this, therapeutic alliance could be further implemented in a recovery-oriented care model.Concluding, as recovery, quality of life and well-being are actual milestones of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation, we believe that, strengthening the evidence covered in this Research Topic, will bring to improve the value of psychosocial and recovery-oriented actions in patients with SMI.