Psychology profession, clinical psychology, psychotherapy. Specificities and boundaries

Titolo Rivista RIVISTA DI PSICOLOGIA CLINICA
Autori/Curatori Gianluca Castelnuovo, Santo Di Nuovo, Vittorio Lingiardi, Fabio Madeddu, Sergio Salvatore
Anno di pubblicazione 2023 Fascicolo 2023/1
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 19 P. 7-25 Dimensione file 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/rpc1-2023oa16357
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Vedi l'articolo Scarica l'articolo open access

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

In the Italian context, the psychology profession is regulated by a particular legal framework, which establishes that (a) a set of expert functions (e.g., psychological diagnosis, rehabilitation) are exclusively reserved to the psychology profession (b) psychotherapy is defined a second-order function reserved to psychologists (and practitioners) having a 4-year specialization after the master degree in psychology. This specific institutional framework raises the necessity of a threefold differentiation. First, the need to set clear scientific boundaries between professional psychology and other non-psychological forms of professional/expert practice (e.g., counselor, mental coach). Second, the need to clarify the specificity of the psychology practices operating in the clinical field with respect to those operating in other fields of intervention (e.g., school, community). Third, the need to model the articulation between the clinical psychologist and the psychotherapist. The paper provides a model to operate such a differentiation. Though motivated by and focused on the peculiarity of the Italian context, the current paper offers considerations that may transcend that context and be of general interest

In the Italian context, the psychology profession is regulated by a particular legal framework, which establishes that (a) a set of expert functions (e.g., psychological diagnosis, rehabilitation) are exclusively reserved to the psychology profession (b) psychotherapy is defined a second-order function reserved to psychologists (and practitioners) having a 4-year specialization after the master degree in psychology. This specific institutional framework raises the necessity of a threefold differentiation. First, the need to set clear scientific boundaries between professional psychology and other non-psychological forms of professional/expert practice (e.g., counselor, mental coach). Second, the need to clarify the specificity of the psychology practices operating in the clinical field with respect to those operating in other fields of intervention (e.g., school, community). Third, the need to model the articulation between the clinical psychologist and the psychotherapist. The paper provides a model to operate such a differentiation. Though motivated by and focused on the peculiarity of the Italian context, the current paper offers considerations that may transcend that context and be of general interest

Keywords:; Psychology profession, clinical psychology, psychotherapy

  1. American Psychological Association (2013). Riconoscimento dell’efficacia della psicoterapia. Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane, 47(3), 407-422.
  2. Barkham, M., Lutz, W., & Castonguay, L.G. (Eds.) (2021). Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change. 7th edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
  3. Llewelyn, S., & Aafjes-van Doorn, K. (2017). Clinical Psychology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  4. Norcross, J.C., & Lambert, M.J. (Eds.) (2019). Psychotherapy Relationships that Work, vol. 1: Evidence-Based Therapist Contributions, 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  5. Wampold, B.E. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate. models, methods, and findings. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  6. Westen, D., Morrison, K., & Thompson-Brenner, H. (2005). Lo statuto empirico delle psicoterapie validate empiricamente: Assunti, risultati e pubblicazione delle ricerche. Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane, 39(1), 7-90.

  • Trajectories of support intervention in clinical psychology Maria Francesca Freda, Ersilia Auriemma, Cristiano Scandurra, in RIVISTA DI PSICOLOGIA CLINICA 2/2024 pp.95
    DOI: 10.3280/rpc2-2023oa16675
  • Models of practice and training in psychotherapy: cross-national perspectives from Italy and Canada Victoria Klimkowski, Sofia McRae, Alexia Blick, Laurence Beaulieu, J. Reese S. Handley, Anara A. Hopley, Caroline A. Hyde, Devika M. Jain, Sylvia Kolodziejczyk, Josiane Laliberté, Alexa Lévesque, Lara M. Masri, Anya M. Monet, Reagan S. Nediu, Rachel Valihrach, Giorgio Tasca, in Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome /2024
    DOI: 10.4081/ripppo.2024.732

Gianluca Castelnuovo, Santo Di Nuovo, Vittorio Lingiardi, Fabio Madeddu, Sergio Salvatore, Psychology profession, clinical psychology, psychotherapy. Specificities and boundaries in "RIVISTA DI PSICOLOGIA CLINICA" 1/2023, pp 7-25, DOI: 10.3280/rpc1-2023oa16357