THEORY AND TECHNIQUES OF CLINICAL INTERVENTION

Course objectives

General aims The main goal of this course is to teach the basic principles and the core techniques useful for conducting the first interview and the intake sessions with a patient. The lectures will be useful for teaching the theoretical principles and for describing the techniques. The loboratory hours will be devoted to illustrate and discuss these theoretical elements throught actual clin-ical material. Specific aims At the end of this course, the students will know the main kinds of dynamically oriented clinical interviews, the main concepts necessary for collecting and organizing the data during these interviews into diagnostic categories, several formats for organizing the formulation of a clinical case and the therapeutic implications of different diagnoses and plan formulations. Moreover, students will have acquired the competencies nec-essary for assessing the quality of a first interview and an intake session, and the accuracy of a case for-mulation. Applying knowledge and understanding. At the end of this course, the students will be able to conduct a first interview/intake session, to formulate a case according to the data collected during these interviews and the competencies necessary for develop-ing a therapeutic plan coherent with the diagnosis and the formulation of the clinical case. Making judgements Half of the course will be based on lectures and half will consist in group discussions of actual clinical ses-sions. At the end of the course, students will be able to develop reliable hypotheses about: what to investi-gate during a first intervie/intake session according to the different clinical features of a patient; how to make sense of the communications of a patient and of the thoughts and emotions stirred up by the patient into the therapist; how to deal with missing information or other difficultuies encountered during the inter-view; how to integrate these data in a diagnostic picure and in coherent and comprehensive case formula-tion. Communication skills At the end of the course, the students will be able to explain how they would choose the kind of first inter-view to conduct according to the different clinical situations, how they would decide if and what to inquire and how they develop their hypotheses about the patient’s funcionting and problems on the basis of the pa-tient’s communications, behaviours, emotions and problems. Learning skills During the course, the students will be given a set of references by which they will be able to deepen their understanding of how to deal with specific and complex clinical situations. Prerequisites In order to fully understand this teaching, it is important that each student have basic knowledges of general psychology (in particular about memory, language, emotions, motivations, attention), the main concepts of dynamic psychology (in particular about identity, defense mechanisms, reality testing, emotional regulation, impulsivity) and basic knowldges of psychopathology (the main criteria of the more diffuse clinical and per-sonality disorders).

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RACHELE MARIANI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
A first part of the course will focus on the psychodynamic functioning of mental processes, on the conception of defense mechanisms and on unconscious processes. Furthermore, the aim is to provide theoretical and clinical knowledge for the intake phase and for the first interviews in clinical intervertion. The assessment and setting phase of the psycho-dynamically oriented clinical case will be deepened. The basic elements of treatment planning will be explored. A second part of the course will focus on the clinical discussion group based on actual sessions.
Prerequisites
In order to fully understand this teaching, it is important that each student have basic knowledges of general psychology (in particular about memory, language, emotions, motivations, attention), the main concepts of dynamic psychology (in particular about identity, defense mechanisms, reality testing, emotional regulation, impulsivity) and basic knowldges of psychopathology (the main criteria of the more diffuse clinical and personality disorders).
Books
McWilliams, N. (1999) Psychoanalytic Case Formulation. Guilford, New York. Winnicott DW. (1971) Play and Reality. Routledge Bucci W. (2021) Emotional Communication and Therapeutic Change (Relational Perspectives Book Series). Routledge, Taylor and Francis. (Chapeter. 4-5-7-11)
Frequency
Attendance is voluntary
Exam mode
At the end of the course, an oral exam will assess the knowledge and competencies acquired during the teaching and laboratory classes. Questions will explore principal concepts about assessment and intake phases. The principal psychodynamic process will be explored. The basic elements of a good case formulation and the specificities of the different kinds of settings. After these questions, the students will be given an example of a first interview and s/he will have to discuss how to deal with that clinical situation and the hypotheses that s/he would make in situations such as that one. The oral exam includes an open stimulus with an open answer. The single oral exam is evaluated in 30/30. For Class Attendees, it will be possible to take 2 written exonerations during the course the final grade will be the average on a 30/30 score
Lesson mode
The course will be carried out through theoretical lessons on the main theoretical knowledge, group discussions and group work activities on clinical material. Reading of clinical sessions and discussions of clinical material
  • Lesson code10611901
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • Coursecorso|33573
  • CurriculumClinical psychosexology
  • Year1st year
  • Semester2nd semester
  • SSDM-PSI/07
  • CFU6
  • Subject areaPsicologia dinamica e clinica