About So-psy

Who are we ?

The Swiss Society of Social Psychiatry (So-Psy.ch) is a multidisciplinary organisation that encourages practices promoting the recovery and social inclusion of people with mental health problems. We are a multi-disciplinary, non-profit organisation run by volunteer experts. We bring together affected individuals, their friends and families, and social and healthcare professionals. Diversity, multi-disciplinarity and commitment to the values of recovery and inclusion within the community are our strength.

Our values

So-Psy supports the social Inclusion of people with mental health disorders

So-Psy supports the development of services focused upon the individual in their natural environment by providing mobile teams and support when it comes to day-to-day tasks, work and housing, daytime activities and alternatives to hospitalisation in crisis situations.The Swiss Society of Social Psychiatry (So-Psy.ch) is a multidisciplinary organisation that encourages practices promoting recovery within the community for people with mental health problems.

We are a multi-disciplinary, non-profit organisation run by volunteer experts. We bring together affected individuals, their friends and families, and social and healthcare professionals.We are affiliated with the European Congress for Social Psychiatry (ECSP) and the World Association of Social Psychiatry (WASP) and are associated in Switzerland with the Swiss Society of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (SSPP). Diversity, multi-disciplinarity and commitment to the values of recovery within the community are our strength.

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50 years of history

So-Psy is the first multidisciplinary social psychiatric organisation in Switzerland.

The Swiss Society of Social Psychiatry (SSPS) has separated itself from the Swiss Society of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in order to become a multidisciplinary society integrating the social and caregiving aspects of supporting people with mental health problems. It was established in two stages.
Firstly, a social psychiatry commission was set up within the Swiss Society of Psychiatry in 1970, following the move from Basaglia to Malevoz Hospital in Valais. Secondly, the Swiss Society of Social Psychiatry was set up on the 15th December 1984 at the request of the social psychiatry commission in order to open access to the organisation for members of various professions, affected individuals, and their friends and families.

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What do we do?

So-Psy's mission is to promote the recovery of people with mental health problems within the community.

Mental health problems account for 5 of the top 10 causes of disability worldwide. 38% of time off work on account of disabilities is due to mental health problems. In Europe, 165 million people suffer from mental health problems every year, at a direct and indirect annual cost of €798 billion. Everything we do is with the aim of aiding the psychological and social recovery of people with mental health problems.

The Swiss Society of Social Psychiatry (So-Psy-ch) promotes exchanges between affected individuals, their friends and families, and professionals from different disciplines in order to spread evidence-based scientific practices and knowledge supporting psycho-social recovery.

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What is social psychiatry?

Social psychiatry is an area that focuses on the interactions between mental health problems and society.

Social integration has beneficial effects on mental health, promotes recovery, and reduces the risk of relapse in the case of severe disorders. Conversely, mental disorders have significant social consequences that often go beyond the individual impact of symptoms, such as isolation, marginalisation, loss of employment, and precarious housing situations. In social psychiatry, integration into the natural environment is both the driving force and the result of recovery.

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