Class Day and Mall/Regello and Reflections- Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The way the schedule works is that we are traveling one day and in class the following day. Today's class day started out with a meeting given by an Italian psychiatrist. He talked about the differences in treatment between Italy and the United States. The main difference is that Italian doctors use less medication and include more education on health and wellness. In Italy they try to change the clients lifestyle before prescribing a drug for their clients.


Typical Class Day at Casa Cares

The next presenter of the day was from a woman that works in the Italian schools.  Teachers in Italy make 23 thousand Euros per year. School counselors in Italy are almost nonexistent. The presenter gave participants a look into current issues for Italian students and their families. The main issues revolved around lack of funding and a high truancy rate. There are no programs designed for students with neurocognitive disorders. Para professionals are almost nonexistent in helping in the classrooms. So getting outside help from tutors outside the school system is the main option for struggling students.
One aspect of the Italian school system that has it's advantage over the US is that teachers stay with their student for the entire time they're in elementary, middle and high school. Italians also go to high school for 5 years instead of 4. Then they have the option to go to a professional, trade, or university school for higher education.
In the afternoon we had an opportunity to go into town (Regello) for a couple hours or to a high class outlet mall. The people that went into Regello talked about delicious gelato and shopping. I (Mindy) went to the outlet mall shopping for a watch. I soon found out that I couldn't afford a watch at this outlet center. My eyes lit up when I found a store with watches from wall to wall, but clearly couldn't afford the price ($2,000-$13,000). The internet was terrible at Casa Cares so I decided to walk to the nearest café to catch up on emails and let my family know I was alive.
We ended the day by attending a workshop by Dr. Benshoff. We processed our Italian experiences and shared our thoughts about the Italian mental health industry. This was an opportunity for the group to talk about what we were seeing and doing. We talked about how excited we were to go on this trip and how this trip will change us. One of the most common themes of this discussion was how to address the people back home that think of this trip as a vacation. In this past week we have learned far more than just one course alone can teach us. Although we are learning material in a different way in another country; it is not a vacation.

Mindy Eastling