Giovanni Stanghellini, psychiatrist, psychotherapist and Doctor Honoris Causa in Philosophy at the Chieti University in Italy, captivated participants at the 3rd International Mental Health Meeting in Lisbon, where he spoke about the usefulness of dialogue in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders and the importance of look from the patient’s perspective.
According to Stanghellini, most of the mental disturbances have, in their origin, a disruption in the dialogue, be it internal or external.
The psychiatrist brought to the audience his investigations with the method “PHD” (phenomenology, hermeneutics and psychodynamics).
With a crumpled paper, Stanghellini exemplified the state in which the patient arrives in the office after the “strange experiences” that may have passed. “The work of clinicians goes by unfolding the role, this is the basic principle of clinical phenomenology. The patient comes to you as a paper that is ready to go to waste. What you should do is unfold this paper carefully so that you can read what is on its surface, “said the university professor.
