[The precarious balance of Gestalt change due to Franco Basaglia.]

Franco Basaglia's passionate battle to change the state of psychiatric care in Italy resembles the experiences we know as "Gestalt change". The health and well-being of the community, both family and social, constituted the dominant figure in the scenario of psychiatric disorders; the person of the sick person - and thus his rights, his dignity… - slipped into the background. The very health of the mentally ill person was seen as a function of social security. Health, that is, the very life of the person with psychiatric problems, became the object of our social gaze. Gestalt changes occur by slow and arduous cultural transformation. Just think of the not yet completed process of change in the relationship of male and female gender roles. However: Gestalt changes are not stable; the risk is that suddenly the figure we thought we had acquired forever becomes diluted, becoming background again. This uneasy balance suggests to exercise continuous vigilance.