Psycology and Health

The main general topics that the Course will address are: 1) basic constructs, theoretical orientations, and further developments of Sigmund Freud’s theories; 2) Infant Research; 3) Home-Visiting; 4) recent developments in parent-child psychotherapy; 5) laboratory activities, devoted to the assessment of dysfunctional relational dynamics. This is a seventy-two hours course. This amount will be approximately segmented as follows: 1) Basic constructs, theoretical orientations, and further developments of Sigmund Freud’s theories (32 hours). This thematic area will be devoted to the illustration of the following topics: Sigmund Freud’s theories; Ego Psychology (Anna Freud, Heinz Hartmann, René Spitz e Margaret Mahler); the inner world according to Melanie Klein; the Indipendents’ theoretical perspective (William R.D. Fairbairn e Donald W. Winnicott); Self Psychology (Heinz Kohut); the interpretative models of psychopathology; Wilfred R. Bion’s theory of thinking; the representational world according to Joseph Sandler; the borderline personality according to Otto Kernberg. 2) Infant Research (12 hours). This thematic area will be devoted to the illustration of the following topics: John Bowlby’s attachment theory; Daniel Stern’s psychodynamic developmental model; Joseph D. Lichtenberg’s motivational theory. 3) Recent developments in parent-child psychotherapy (4 hours). This thematic area will be devoted to the illustration of the following topics: the “secure base” in parent-child psychotherapy; "ghosts" in parent-child psychotherapy and intergenerational transmission of psychopathology; clinical implications of the recent dialogue between Infant Research and neuroscience; mychronalytic observation and “prototypical patient”; “minding the baby”. 4) Laboratory activities laboratorio (36 hours). These activities will be devoted to the assessment of dysfunctional relational dynamics, through films and clinical case presentation, which will be followed by group discussions and practical group exercises. Students will also be encouraged to give lessons on topics previously agreed with the teacher.

To more adequately digest the materials provided during the Course and the to take full advantage of the study of the textbooks proposed, it’s important for the students to have an adequate knowledge of developmental psychology, of psychological theories about cognitive processes, and of general psychology. If the students could not attend the lessons, such preliminary knowledges will allow the students to fully acquire the notions of the Course with the solely aid of the textbooks as well as of the didactic materials which will be made available as the Course unfolds.

- Lis, A., Stella, S. & Zavattini, G.C. (1999), Manuale di psicologia dinamica, Bologna: Il Mulino (all, with the exception of the following chapters: 3, 10, 14, and 17). - De Coro, A. & Ortu, F. (2010). Psicologia dinamica: I modelli teorici a confronto. Laterza (only the following chapters: 3, 9, 14, 19). Further didactic materials will be made available as the Course unfolds.

The Course will include traditional lessons aimed at providing the students with the knowledge of theoretical abilities that would help them understand the basic theoretical constructs of dynamic psychology, within a historical perspective that will consider its evolution as well as clinical implications in the light of empirical evidence resulting from research.

Attending the traditional lessons is not mandatory, because textbooks and other study didactic materials provided as the Course unfolds are sufficient to study the exam’s topics.

AIMS OF THE EXAM The exam will cover the topics of the Course. The evaluation of the exam will be carried out taking into account the following aspects: the ability of the student to efficiently use the terminology of dynamic psychology; the ability of the student to make connections between the psychodynamic constructs; the ability of the student to critically illustrate psychodynamic models and empirical evidence that contribute in describing healthy and pathological development of personality; the ability of the student to describe the recent psychodynamic developmental theories that guide early clinical interventions, aimed at streghetening parent-child relationship. TYPOLOGY, DURATION AND METHOD OF ADMINISTRATION The exam will be written (with three open questions) and will be two hours long. In the case of remote examinations, the Teacher reserves the possibility to opt for oral modality. FINAL EVALUATION Only the mark of the written exam will be considered.

Traditional lessons.