In schools, anger often ends up categorized among behaviors to be contained: a disciplinary note, a reprimand, or a suspension in the most serious cases. Far less attention is given to the preceding step: the ability to recognize the emotion, name it, and understand how to navigate it without turning it into harm for oneself or others. This is the starting point for Sento dunque sono – Emozioni e identità a scuola, the new educational program presented by Unobravo and Edulia dal Sapere Treccani.
The initiative is aimed at lower and upper secondary schools across Italy and focuses on emotional literacy as an educational competency, rather than an occasional activity left to the sensitivity of an individual teacher. The presentation took place on October 12 at the Sala Stampa of the Camera dei Deputati, on the initiative of deputy Elena Bonetti. The event was also attended by Medici Senza Frontiere, an organization with which Unobravo is collaborating in October for the mental health campaign Anche questa è cura.
The project arrives at a time when incidents involving teenagers, both inside and outside of school, continually push youth distress to the center of the debate. However, reducing these incidents merely to indiscipline risks leaving a crucial part of the problem unaddressed: students must be able to learn how to distinguish between frustration, fear, shame, sadness, anger, and pressure, and the adults working with them need the tools to interpret those signs without having to improvise as therapists.
Six sessions for students and teachers
The format announced by Unobravo and Edulia includes six sessions. Three webinars will be dedicated to teachers, featuring materials and tools designed to support work on emotional awareness in the classroom. The other three events will directly involve students: they will be held at Treccani's Sala Igea in Rome, with classes able to follow via live stream from their own schools.
The approach thus seeks to bring together both sides of the school community. Students are offered a space for dialogue on identity, vulnerabilities, and personal experiences; teachers, on the other hand, receive a training opportunity aimed at helping make that dialogue manageable on a daily basis. It is an important distinction: a session with experts can open up a discussion, but continuity ultimately depends on classroom dynamics, the organization of schools, and the preparedness of trusted adults.
The content was developed with input from the clinical team at Unobravo. The sessions aimed at students feature mental health professionals and well-known online figures—a choice that attempts to use language familiar to a teenage audience while maintaining clinical oversight over the topics addressed. The first session will feature Papà per Scelta alongside a therapist from Unobravo, focusing on recognizing vulnerabilities and building identity.
The program also addresses the relationship between personal growth and digital environments. Social networks, technology, and AI-based tools are now an integral part of adolescents' social lives and self-representation; as such, they cannot be excluded from an educational reflection on emotions. However, this does not justify treating them as substitutes for professional support or dependable adult relationships. They can amplify comparisons, role models, and pressures, but also provide opportunities for information and self-expression: the difference comes down to the context, the quality of sources, and the digital literacy with which they are used.
From punishment to understanding, without confusing roles
One of the central themes of the initiative is anger. It is not presented as acceptable behavior in any form, nor as something to be romanticized. The stated goal is to shift the focus from the visible act to the emotion that may precede it. An aggressive reaction requires rules and, when necessary, consequences; but preventing it from recurring also requires understanding what tools are lacking both for those who act out and for those who witness it.
This approach can also help prevent a common misconception in public debate: emotional education and psychological support are not the same thing. Schools are not healthcare providers, and teachers cannot take the place of psychologists and psychotherapists. However, schools can be environments where students learn the vocabulary to describe what they feel, identify difficulties more easily, and, when necessary, are directed to appropriate counseling and care channels.
The need for structured intervention is also highlighted by data cited by the promoters. According to MINDex 2026, the barometer on the mental well-being of Italians conducted by Unobravo with Ipsos Doxa, nearly six out of ten people say they did not feel supported by school in developing emotional intelligence; 51% state that they lack adequate tools to manage their emotions. These are the findings of a survey sponsored by one of the parties involved in the project, and should therefore be viewed within that context, but they point to a widespread perception: for many adults, the education they received provided neither the vocabulary nor the tools to cope with distress.
Another piece of evidence cited is the 2025 Report by the Osservatorio Nazionale sul Bullismo e sul Disagio Giovanile: over 72% of students consider awareness-raising initiatives at school useful and ask for more opportunities for guided discussion, as well as psychological counseling desks. This demand does not only concern emergencies. Catching distress before it escalates into a crisis means addressing everyday behaviors: classroom conflicts, anxiety over judgment, family expectations, fear of failure, exclusion, and difficulties in building a self-image.
Performance pressure enters the school curriculum
The project's title brings together emotions and identity, but the issue of performance is equally relevant. For teenagers, academic achievement remains an important benchmark; today, however, it overlaps with an almost constant scrutiny driven by social media, online visibility, appearance, and the pressure to always appear adequate. Performance anxiety does not stem from a single environment and cannot be solved with a single webinar, but schools can avoid treating it as a purely private matter.
This is also where the concrete scope of the initiative can be measured. The live stream potentially allows classes across many cities to attend the sessions, reducing the logistical constraints of an in-person event. However, access does not automatically equate to impact. For the programme to have an effect in schools, time will be needed to process the content, teachers must be equipped to do so, and coordination with local community resources will be required for cases demanding specialist support. The project offers a starting point and a format; it does not replace investment in counselling figures, ongoing professional training, and mental health services.
Edulia dal Sapere Treccani brings to the initiative its work in the fields of education and innovation, while Unobravo provides the clinical expertise developed through its online and in-person psychological support service. The partnership reflects a broader movement across EdTech and education: digital platforms and content can expand the learning audience, but when it comes to student well-being, editorial quality and professional competence matter just as much as technological distribution.
Upcoming sessions will make it possible to gauge how effectively the model translates media attention surrounding distress into actionable tools for the classroom. The challenge is neither finding a quick label for every emotion nor turning every adolescent struggle into a clinical issue. Instead, it is about building a shared language in schools that allows people to recognise what is happening, ask for help in time, and distinguish between conflict that can be worked through and distress that requires more targeted care.
