The author, Pietro Pellegrini (Department of Integrated Assistance, Mental Health Pathological Dependency - Ausl of Parma) discusses the recent closure of the judiciary psychiatric hospitals in Italy. Besides an historical reconstruction and an overview of the laws pertinent to the subject, the author underlines in particular the importance of coping with the delicate phase of change which we are witnessing. He takes into account the complex and multifaceted (bio-psychosocial) approach needed for helping the maturation of changes in the entire social network in order to prevent the new structures proposed (Rems) from becoming nothing more than replicas of the judiciary psychiatric hospitals
Keywords: Judiciary psychiatric hospitals, Rems, mental health, bio-psychosocial