Psychodynamic Psychopathology and Clinical Relationship in Developmental age and Adulthood

The course aims to illustrate the main features of the clinical interview with adolescents and to describe the methods, techniques and investigation instruments that lead from the interview to accurate diagnosis and case formulation. This psychodynamic assessment can significantly aid intervention planning and the implementation of treatments targeted to the adolescent’s specificity. To develop a comprehensive case formulation, a clinical interview must gather infor-mation about the teenager’s mental functioning, emerging personality styles and syndromes, and symptom patterns, taking into account developmental trajectories and adjustment processes in this developmental phase. For this reason, particular attention will be paid during this course to the theoretical-clinical framework provided by the "Adolescence" section of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual, Second Edition (PDM-2 0/18) and to the diagnostic examination of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) for adolescents. Specific space will also be devoted to the description and use of semi-structured interviews, tools, interview strategies, and appropriate procedures for the as-sessment of adolescents' psychological and interpersonal functioning (Clinical Diagnostic Interview for Adolescents, CDI-A; Psychodiagnostic Chart for Adolescents of the PDM-2, PDC-A; Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-II-A, SWAP-II-A) and, especially, for the identification of their defensive structure through the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale (DMRS). Final-ly, the role of the diagnostic alliance and other intersubjective dimensions that characterize the relationship between clinician and adolescent during the clinical interview will be explored. By the end of the course, students will have acquired the basic and necessary knowledge to: a) conduct a clinical inter-view with adolescents; b) use the information gathered in the course of the interview into an accurate psychodynamic case formulation that allows for a comprehensive assessment of the adolescent's personality and psychopathology; and c) navigate the methods, techniques and investigative procedures most appropriate to the specifics of the adoles-cent interview and most widely used for the purpose of a complex and articulated clinical-diagnostic assessment of adolescent functioning in this developmental stage. . During the laboratory, students will participate in case discussions and have the opportunity to apply interviews, techniques and methods of investigation suitable for promoting professionalizing skills in the field of clinical interview and psychodynamic assessment in adolescence. General aims The course aims to describe the specific features of the clinical interview with adolescents in order to promote accurate psychodiagnostic assessment of their mental functioning, emerging personality styles and syndromes, and symptom patterns. It aims to provide students with theoretical-clinical knowledge and technical skills on the most appropriate methods and techniques for developing sensitive diagnoses and case formulations useful for the construction of indi-vidualized and effective interventions at this developmental stage. The expected learning outcomes are: (a) the acquisi-tion of skills to conduct a clinical interview in adolescence and comprehensively assess the psycho(patho)logical con-ditions that emerge in this age group (Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual, Second Edition, PDM-2 0/18; Diagnostic and Sta-tistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5 for adolescents); and (b) the use of semi-structured interviews, methods and in-struments for evaluating the mental functioning, personality, and defensive style of young people (Clinical Diagnostic Interview for Adolescents, CDI-A; Psychodiagnostic Chart for Adolescents del PDM-2, PDC-A; Shedler-Westen Assessment Pro-cedure-II-A, SWAP-II-A; Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale, DMRS). Frontal classes provide students with the fundamental knowledge to understand the strong link between clinical inter-view and dynamic assessment of the adolescent's affective, cognitive, motivational and interpersonal processes. Laboratory activities allow the acquisition of professionalizing skills aimed at the use of tools, methods and assess-ment procedures, that are able to collect during the interview all the information necessary for the formulation of a di-agnosis sensitive to the adolescent's developmental specificities. Specific aims Knowledge and understanding Passing the exam guarantees students the acquisition of theoretical knowledge about the main characteristics of the clinical interview in adolescence and the practical skills necessary to develop an accurate assessment of the adoles-cent's personality, defensive functioning, and psychopathology. Applying knowledge and understanding Passing the exam guarantees students the ability to apply semi-structured interviews, investigation methods, and tools appropriate to different clinical and intervention contexts during the clinical interview with adolescents. Making judgments Passing the exam allows students to acquire the ability to evaluate the appropriateness of interviews, techniques and investigation tools based on different methodologies, and to critically consider their application and potential limita-tions. These skills are acquired during the course through the discussion of clinical cases and the viewing of video-recorded material (clinical interviews and movies). Communication skills Passing the exam guarantees students' acquisition of effective communication skills through learning scientific lan-guage appropriate to the specificities and purposes of clinical interview with adolescents. Learning skills Passing the exam involves the acquisition of learning skills that will enable students to further deepen, in the course of their clinical-diagnostic training, the knowledge of the main characteristics of the interview in adoelscence, as well as skills on the most common investigation techniques and procedures for assessing the personality and psychopatholo-gy of young people in this specific development phase. These skills are acquired, in different ways, both during the classes and during the laboratory sessions, devoted in particular to the discussion of clinical materials. Prerequisites Useful prerequisites for better understanding of the course content and more effective learning are: a) basic knowledge in the context of clinical interview [important]; b) basic knowledge in the field of general and adolescent psychopathol-ogy [important]; c) basic knowledge related to the most widely used nosographic systems for the assessment of adoles-cent mental disorders [useful]; d) basic knowledge of the main methods and procedures of diagnostic assessment of individual mental functioning commonly used for adolescents [important].