There are children who struggle to talk about what they feel. Adolescents who withdraw into themselves, who experience school, friendships or family relationships with difficulty. And there are parents who notice that discomfort, but do not always have the tools, or the economic possibilities, to ask for help.
Yet, turning to a specialist should be a guaranteed right regardless, not a privilege reserved for those who can afford it. Especially when talking about children and adolescents, for whom timely intervention can make the difference.
It is from this need that the Campania Region starts again, which has announced the strengthening of the free psychological support program for minors aged between 3 and 18, intended in particular for those who live in situations of social disadvantage or risk exclusion. An initiative carried out in collaboration with the Order of Psychologists of Campania which aims to make psychological assistance more accessible, preventing families’ economic difficulties from becoming an obstacle to treatment.
Who can access the free psychologist in Campania
The measure is aimed at children and adolescents aged between 3 and 17, residing in Campania, who are socially disadvantaged or at risk of exclusion. It is therefore not a universal psychologist bonus, available without distinction to all minors, but an intervention designed to support families experiencing particularly fragile situations.
The program is foreseen by article 41 of regional law n. 5 of 2021 and is now relaunched with the intention of strengthening the assistance network already tested in previous years.
How to request free psychological support
The procedure illustrated by the Region requires the involvement of the doctor who follows the minor. In particular:
- contact your pediatrician or family doctor, who will assess the need for psychological support
- obtain the doctor’s indication, necessary to activate the path
- choose a psychologist among the professionals participating in the initiative and included in the list prepared by the Order of Psychologists of Campania
- begin the support process, the costs of which are covered by regional resources
Families who fall within the measure, therefore, do not have to directly bear the cost of the sessions included in the program.
However, there is an important clarification: in the official press release, the maximum number of sessions for each minor, any ISEE thresholds, nor the new operational timing are not specified. To find out the updated administrative requirements and the concrete access methods it will therefore be necessary to refer to the regional and professional association indications.
The psychological well-being of children and adolescents is a collective responsibility that must be translated into concrete interventions, accessible to all families, starting from those experiencing the greatest difficulties. With the relaunch of this measure we want to offer real help to young people, intervening promptly in difficult situations and guaranteeing support that does not depend on the economic possibilities of the families. Investing in the emotional balance of minors means protecting their right to grow up peacefully, preventing new forms of fragility and building a more attentive and inclusive community, declares the president of the Campania Region, Roberto Fico.lettiva.
Along the same lines, the regional councilor for social policies and schools, Andrea Morniroliwhich recalled the importance of protecting the most delicate phases of growth, when personal identity, self-confidence and relationships with others are built.
Youth hardship in Campania
The 2022 HBSC Survey (Health Behavior in School-aged Children), carried out as part of the surveillance system coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in collaboration with the World Health Organization, analyzed the behaviour, health and quality of life of students between the ages of 11 and 17.
In Campania it emerged that satisfaction with one’s life decreases with age: among eleven-year-olds, 83.2% express a positive perception, a share that drops to 75.7% among fifteen-year-olds. The survey also highlighted an increase in cyberbullying experiences compared to 2018 and a negative impact of the pandemic on mental health, more marked among 15-17 year olds and girls.
@ISS
Of course, these are not data that automatically indicate the presence of a psychological disorder, but they signal fragility and changes in perceived well-being that deserve attention.
@ISS
The national picture reinforces this need: according to an in-depth study by the ISS published in December 2025, based on the same HBSC 2022 survey, almost half of Italian adolescents report at least two psychosomatic symptoms more than once a week. Furthermore, between the ages of 13 and 15, three out of ten girls and one in ten boys say they have felt alone most of the time in the last year.
These are signals that make it even more evident how important it is to build easily accessible listening services, especially in the most vulnerable social and economic contexts.
@ISS
A psychological path can help a boy and girl to recognize and deal with their emotions, a teenager to manage a difficult period and a family to find new communication tools. But for these interventions to be truly effective they must be accessible, continuous and integrated with schools, health services and the social realities of the area.
Campania’s decision goes in this direction, even if fundamental aspects remain to be clarified: how many families will be able to use the service in the new phase, what the access times will be and what resources will actually be guaranteed.
Sources: Campania Region / ISS Epicentro investigation / ISS in-depth analysis
