About us

The Center for Transcultural and Psychosomatic Medicine of Bologna (BoTPT) was created in 2015 as a mature result of pilot experiences started in the early 2000s, on the initiative of teachers and researchers active in the field of Social Psychiatry, at the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of the Alma Mater.

The Research Center works for the psychophysical health of frail people, belonging to weak or disadvantaged groups of the population, and in particular, for the health of people with migratory histories. Migrants, who over the last few decades have assumed an increasingly important role in the Italian economy and society, have become more numerous in local communities and, consequently, among users of the Departments of Mental Health and Health Services.

The BoTPT research groups carry out professional training, research and innovation activities in collaboration with experts and operators of the socio-health and welfare services and with public and private social organizations involved in health promotion. The Center also puts in place, educational and scientific communication actions to promote widespread knowledge of the primary issues of psychosomatic medicine and transcultural psychiatry. The aim is to increase sensitivity, interest and active participation of citizens on the subject of mental health.

The Center builds its expertise on the convergence between the principles of modern European health policies and the demands of the medical and scientific fields. Indeed, its activity focuses on the one hand on the active and conscious practice of 'cultural competence' in accessing and providing medical care and, on the other, on the commitment to an effective transposition of the gene-environment model in the development diseases, in the clinical context of care and optimization of medical treatment.

The Transcultural Psychiatry activities proposed by the BoTPT are designed in conjunction with experts from Italian and foreign universities. They enhance the connection between the different fields of medicine and the synergy between the medical field and other disciplinary fields through dialogue with humanists, sociologists and anthropologists. As a scientific institution active in the European Research Area (ERA), the BoTPT is committed to the practice of the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and "Mission Oriented". It therefore seeks, with its study, training and collaboration activities with local subjects, to concretely contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the ONU's 2030 Agenda for cohesion and social sustainability.