I destinatari protagonisti: la partecipazione di pazienti psichiatrici nella co-produzione di un servizio per l’integrazione sociale

The experience " Una Teca per tutti” was examined to explore the potential of psychiatric patients’ active participation. Data collected by a desk analysis and a mini-focus group discussion carried out with the protagonist users were analyzed to evaluate the impacts of the project both on their rehabilitation paths and on the community. The results show that users’ active participation worked as a generative mechanism of recovery and impacted not only on the protagonist users’ quality of life, but also on the social integration of the patients who attended Teca’s activities, creating a less stigmatizing community climate. While patients’ protagonism has allowed them to become co-planners and co-managers of the service, the active participation of the community in the Teca’s activities has stimulated a bottom-up innovation process, as all the citizens, and not only the patients, have become active drivers of social change.