Life Cycle Psychology

Structure of the training offer

To obtain the title of Specialist in Life Cycle Psychology, it is necessary to acquire 240 ECTS in 4 years of the course. Each university credit corresponds to 25 hours of work, for a total of 6000 hours. 17% of ECTS are assigned to individual study. 70% of the total ECTS of the entire training course are assigned to professional activities, for a total of 168 ECTS. Of these, 60 ECTS are dedicated to psychotherapeutic activities conducted under the supervision of qualified psychotherapists, as provided for by Decree no. 68 of 4 February 2015 of the Ministry of Education, University and Research, in agreement with the Minister of Health, to make the course of study qualifying for the practice of psychotherapy.

The teaching activity will take place within Università Cattolica and in blended mode, according to a student-centered approach (learner-centered approach) and using all the potential of Integrated Digital Teaching, to offer innovative learning experiences (e.g. Flipped classroom, Jigsaw method); Professional activities will take place at affiliated external locations.

On the basis of Ministerial Decree 68/2015 and with reference to the Dublin indicators, the activities are divided as follows:

Learning Profile

The specialist in Life Cycle Psychology must have gained theoretical knowledge on the neurobiological bases of the individual in the different developmental periods; must have a solid theoretical and applied knowledge of clinical psychology and developmental psychopathology, developmental and educational psychology, interventions specifically designed from a developmental and/or educational perspective, with particular reference to evidence-based ones.

Orientation of the intervention

At the end of the training course, the specialist must have gained skills that allow him/her to:

a) identify the protective and risk factors present in the individual and in his or her developmental context, as well as the level of resilience in relation to individual vulnerability factors (genetic, environmental and social) in different environments and at different stages of life;

b) detect the level of dysfunctionality of the individual in specific contexts that affect the course of developmental trajectories (e.g., the parental couple, the sentimental couple, the relationships that the individual establishes with the context in which he or she lives, educational contexts, social groups);

c) carry out assessment procedures according to a multi-method approach (e.g. interview, observation, self-report, test);

d) interpret the data obtained from the surveys carried out on the basis of nomothetic and idiographic parameters;

e) plan, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of screening, prevention (primary and secondary), support and psychotherapeutic interventions specific to the different stages of development;

f) favour, where possible, evidence-based interventions;

g) plan, manage and organize interventions aimed at the family and/or the developing individual in the context of social-health and socio-educational services.

Compulsory professional activities

In order to achieve the educational objectives of the School, the compulsory professional activities (CFU=168) are the following:

a) have participated in the evaluation of at least 40 cases of subjects in developmental age, with relative evaluation of the context of growth or the context of relevance of the evaluation (educational, family, etc.) for at least 300 hours;

b) have supervised at least 80 cases co-managed with other caregivers and discussed in a team for at least 300 hours;

c) have carried out a supervised clinical practice (each by the same and specific supervisor) on at least 5 cases fully followed in person for at least 350 hours;

d) have set up and implemented, under supervision, the formulation of the intervention plan, the plan for the application of specific protocols, the discussion of the organization of the various functions of the service and the management of the social-health and/or educational services attended during the course of specialized study for at least 450 hours;

e) have actively participated in the discussion of at least 5 interventions through evaluation of outcomes and/or therapeutic processes for at least 100 hours.