Associazione Italiana di Socioterapia (AIST) - Italian Sociotherapy Association ONLUS

Who we are?

AIST is a cultural-scientific and professional Association whose members are sociologists and scholars with sociologic knowledge, established to promote the usage of sociologic practices and knownledge in fields such as, quoting from the statute, the “study, the research, the advice, the design, the analysis, the prevention, the empirical evaluation, the training and the intervention on the communicational tissue relating single persons at every stage of their own development, aggregations, families, couples, groups, organizations and social institutions”.

Hence the sociotherapeutic proposition which, by using the sociological knowledge as its main (although not unique) mean to operate on a person and its issues, both as an individual and as the holder for several roles (inside a family, a group, a working place, etc.). The cognitive specialization and (especially for our purposes) the usage of sociological means make the therapist able to rebuild the personal history to detect continuities, discontinuities and inability to build personal identities, in order to design an exit route from discomfort situations: “specialist help” (to design answers) vs “spontaneous remission” of the issues, that is the essence of sociotherapy.

What we do?

AIST activities are mainly aimed to:

• promote the scientific research and the development of Sociotherapy in an interdisciplinary dimension
• promote and manage activities, operations and services with a social and health perspective for the sake of the weakest part of the population and, particularly, of people with psychich-physic discomforts coming from communicational and relational disorders, by using the Sociotherapy methodological approach
• incite and support Sociotherapy teaching, also as an applied science in the
  fields of clinical Sociology and mediation (domestic, social and cultural), inside
  and outside universities; recognize, train and accredit schools that are meant
  to guarantee the right training to practice the Sociotherapist Profession, as
  meant by AIST
•  promote and care about scientific and methodologic training, operative skills and the consequent training of those who want to dedicate themselves to: Sociotherapist profession and/or that of the Relational Mediator (Domestic, Social and Cultural) in organizations or public/private authorities, or as a self-employment and/or freelance activity; clinical Sociology; to operate in the social context. This kind of training and the relative recognition and/or accreditation as it is released by AIST will be, however, aimed and differentiated based upon the professional and operational objectives just described and regulated by the hereby statute and its next regulamentary proceedings, as dictated by law
• establish relationships with scholars, institutions, italian and international organizations working on similar scientific issues and/or with similar interests
• publish scientific and divulgative papers to promote Sociotherapy knowledge
• carry out studies and researches, to plan conventions and meetings according to the purposes of the Association and take part in them
• carry out and promote every other professional/ technical/ cultural/scientific activity that will be deemed relevant to the Association purposes
•  certify the professional quality and build up accreditation procedures for members whom would like to take on the sociotherapist activity
• ensure that, through adequate organizational and techno/scientifical structures, the professional services provided by the members meet established quality criteria, offering a warranty of suitable satisfaction to clients/users requests
• redact, keeping it constantly updated, a Repertoire listing members whom are professionally capable of ensure performances and professional quality
• stand for the professional group in every location where there is a debate about the usage and insertion of the sociologist and/or sociotherapist
• enable accreditation forms for sociologists & sociotherapeutic training by the definition of standard and criteria
• plan, directly or not, training activities, also through the collaboration with Universities – particularly, with Faculties, Institues, Departments, University Centres, Higher Education Courses and Graduate Schools – where sociological and sociotherapeutical studies are carried out, with the goal of defining an adequate training in understaning civil society
• adopt external certification mechanisms for training processes (like ISO 9002)
• train social and health workers as dictated by ECM (more details in the Regulation);
• foresee the introduction of a mandatory assurance for the civilian responsibility of the single professional or the professional society, proportional to the damages occurred during the professional practice, in order to ensure the actual compensation of the damage taken, also during the activity of professional employees. Implementing regulations od this article will
  be adequate and compliant to actual laws.

Best practices

TRA-M.A.R.E. – Movement against Roma Communities Exclusion

Publications

• L. Benvenuti, Malattie Mediali, Baskerville, Bologna, 2002
• L.Benvenuti, Lezioni di Socioterapia, Baskerville, Bologna 2008
• L. Benvenuti, Devianza e mass media, in AA.VV. Disadattamento sociale: teoria e ricerca, Franco Angeli, Milano, 1983
• L. Benvenuti, La parità informatica dei diritti, Officina grafica di G. Barghigiani; Bologna, 1993;
• L. Benvenuti, (a cura di), L’Italia nelle statistiche sociali, Esculapio; Bologna, 1996;
• L. Benvenuti, M. Maccaferri, Dall’osservazione all’azione, in C. Cipolla (a cura di) Il ciclo metodologico della conoscenza sociale, Franco Angeli; Milano, 1998;
• L. Benvenuti, G. Piazzi, A. Roversi, Argomenti di Sociologia, Patron; Bologna, 1977;
• L. Benvenuti, Il tempo non al guinzaglio: una ricerca sul tempo libero, (a cura di) A. Federici, G. Mazzotti, Unicoper; Bologna, 1985;
• L. Benvenuti, R. Canestrari, M. Montanini Manfredi, Analisi dell’interazione verbale in soggetti in isolamento: un contributo metodologico, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1980
• L. Benvenuti, I. Filograsso, T. Viola, Dalla parte delle cicale: rilettura al presente di Gianni Rodari, Franco Angeli, Milano, 2012;
• L. Benvenuti, La miseria dell’università accademica: i documenti delle lotte studentesche, Fanon, Bologna 1968