La mafia in psicoterapia

Abstract

Mafia and Psychotherapy recount almost two decades of studies on the psychology of the Mafia, during which the working group, coordinated by Professor Girolamo Lo Verso, sought to understand first what happens in the mind of the Mafia families members and, subsequently, in mind of the Mafia suffers directly or indirectly.The story told in “Mafia and Psychotherapy” forces us to take a step back twenty years , since the first phase of the Mafia studies, was born in the historical and cultural climate of the biennium terribilis '92-'93 (Ingroia, 2007, 2008) and is achieved thanks to the numerous arrests for crimes of mafia association occurred in those years and, above all, thanks to the so-called phenomenon of "collaborating with justice" that by beginning to undermine the rigid organizational structure of the Mafia caused deep cracks in its organization. Since the crisis of criminal organization led Mafia members‟ relatives(particularly wives and children) to seek help at the psychological services of different districts in Sicily, the working group began to extend toward affective networks of affiliates and collaborating of Justice (which, allowed to revisit the stereotyped role of women within the criminal organization) (Lo Verso, Lo Coco, Mistretta, Zizzo, 1999).