In the current socio-cultural context, there is an increased awareness, also at an institutional level, of the need to have psychologists specifically trained to deal with the new emergencies related to childhood, childhood, pre-adolescence, adolescence and youth-adulthood. The incidence of malaise, maladjustment and psychopathology among children and young people has become more consistent in recent years, also as a result of the pandemic situation, and the need has emerged to have professionals capable of designing interventions to prevent discomfort, to grasp the presence of risk indices of these criticalities and to implement an accurate assessment of the individual's functioning in an integrated multi-level perspective, to design and implement targeted and effective therapeutic interventions.
The School of Specialization in Life Cycle Psychology of Università Cattolica has been designed to respond to these needs, from a multidisciplinary perspective. It is part of the Schools of Specialization in the Psychology Area and belongs to the Faculty/Department of Psychology. The School is divided into 4 years; it issues the legal title of Specialist in Life Cycle Psychology and qualifies to practice the profession of Psychotherapist. The title is obtained with the acquisition of 240 ECTS (Decree no. 50/2019) (19A02329) (OJ general series no. 84 of 090-4-2019)
- Professional Profile of the specialist in Life Cycle Psychology
The specialist in Life Cycle Psychology is characterized by a solid preparation on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying mental functioning, on clinical and dynamic psychology and on developmental psychopathology; possess an in-depth knowledge of the most recent theoretical and experimental contributions produced in the perspective of attachment theory and intersubjectivity; has developed a solid competence in psychodiagnostic assessment, aimed at identifying the characteristics of the individual's functioning and the quality of the relational context in which he or she is inserted, according to a multi-method approach; will be able to implement a wide range of intervention models applicable in different contexts, taking into account the complexity of the interaction between the multiple levels of functioning involved (neurobiological, emotional, cognitive, relational, symbolic-cultural).
The specialist in Life Cycle Psychology therefore presents the professional profile of a Clinical Psychologist of the developmental age who, starting from a solid scientific and methodological basis, is able to carry out clinical interventions in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders and developmental psychopathology, even in the face of maladaptive functioning profiles related to the use of social media (e.g. Internet Gaming Disorder, Hikikomori, Cyberbullying, Sexting); will be able to operate in the field of protection of minors involved in traumatic situations, maltreatment, abuse, bullying, also in a transcultural perspective; has the skills to promote adaptive functioning in people who are in conditions of frailty and disability related to genetic and chronic diseases and to support their families; it can carry out projects to support parenting and the educational function of the family and school.
The specialist in Life Cycle Psychology is therefore able to take charge of clinical cases in different types of settings - individual, couple or group - and also to work in multidisciplinary teams in the health sector, in local services (counselling centres), in the judicial field, in the educational field, in the design and implementation of evidence-based programmes, also in support of the parental function and in the implementation of intervention programs in educational contexts.