The School of Specialization in Clinical Psychology is part of the Faculty of Psychology of the Catholic University of Milan. Access is allowed to graduates of class 58/S (Specialist Degree in Psychology) and to graduates in Psychology of the system in force prior to Ministerial Decree 509/99; Pursuant to D.I. 5.5.2004 and D.I. 9.7.2009, all those in possession of a Master's Degree in Psychology will also be able to access.
The class of Specializations in Psychology is designed in accordance with:
- D.P.R. 162/82 and subsequent amendments and additions relating to the reorganization of the Specialisation Schools;
- D.I. 24.07.2006 (G.U. n. 246 of 21.10.2006), relating to the reorganization of the Schools of Specialization in the psychological area; Ministerial Decree of 10 March 2010.
The School issues the title of Specialist in Clinical Psychology which also allows the exercise of professional practice within the current regulations relating to the services provided by the Health System both at national and regional level, as well as by the welfare system and free-lance activity. The School also qualifies for the practice of psychotherapeutic activity by allowing registration in the List of Psychotherapists of the Professional Register of Psychologists.
The regulations and objectives of the School of Clinical Psychology are defined by the Ministerial Decree of 10 March 2010, Official Gazette 151, 1 July 2010 and are such as to train a professional in Clinical Psychology of which the specifications are as follows:
The specialist in Clinical Psychology must have gained theoretical, scientific and professional knowledge in the field of the applications of clinical and dynamic psychology to different subjects (people, groups, systems), according to different operating models (individual, systemic-relational, group) and according to the evolutionary phases of the individual, with particular reference to the adaptive and maladaptive characteristics of the personality
The clinical field of reference is varied and can be summarized as follows:
- individual psychological distress (in general and at various stages of the life cycle)
- Personality disorders and pathologies
- Psychological aspects of psychopathologies
- psychological suffering of the couple and the family
- impact of social and organizational contexts on adaptive and maladaptive processes.
Alongside these areas, all those problems that can be ascribed within the psychology of health, institutions, and communities in the adaptive and maladaptive processes of individuals, groups and organizations that significantly contribute to generating suffering or psychic pathology are taken into consideration. Aspects relating to the prevention of all the above conditions must also be taken into account, as a function of maintaining and promoting conditions of well-being. The complexity of the reference framework described above implies that the specialist has also acquired multidisciplinary and transversal skills for the assessment of psychological and psychopathological problems and dynamics. These skills include, in particular, the ability to choose and use evaluative and psychodiagnostic tools. Consequently, it is essential that skills in statistics and psychometrics are also acquired. Similar considerations can be made about the competences (on a theoretical and practical level) related to the possible modalities of psychological intervention and treatment. It is therefore necessary to acquire the ability to choose and implement the most appropriate psychological, psychotherapeutic (individual, couple and group) and rehabilitative interventions for each situation, on the basis of an individual training itinerary and an awareness of their specificities and effectiveness. This last aspect implies an in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of the scientific, clinical and empirical literature, as well as the ability to adequately evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions implemented.