Hospital Psychology Services: Representations of structural and functional changes

Titolo Rivista RIVISTA DI PSICOLOGIA CLINICA
Autori/Curatori Matteo Reho, Silvia Bellone, Gianni Cacciatore, Linda Campilongo, Lorenzo Chiga, Sara Gemma, Federica Leonardis, Giovanna Massari, Oronzo Mazzeo, Andrea Mele, Sara Ponturi, Alessandro Puscio, Alessia Renzi, Alessia Sternativo, Gloria Lagetto
Anno di pubblicazione 2025 Fascicolo 2025/1
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 22 P. 51-72 Dimensione file 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/rpc1-2025oa19832
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

This study explores the evolution of Hospital Psychology Services (HPS) over the past decade, analyzing how professionals represent structural, functional, and managerial changes. Grounded in Semiotic-Cultural Psychology Theory (SCPT), the research employs Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping (ACASM) to examine interview data from 27 Italian HPS. Four themes emerged: Organizational complexity, Organizational challenges, Service networking, and Service consolidation. Results reveal bipolar semantic structures organizing these representations, notably Professional practice vs Networking and Challenges vs. Empowerment. The study provides a first overview of how the representational world of hospital psychologists can serve as a marker of the transformations taking place in the sector.

This study explores the evolution of Hospital Psychology Services (HPS) over the past decade, analyzing how professionals represent structural, functional, and managerial changes. Grounded in Semiotic-Cultural Psychology Theory (SCPT), the research employs Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping (ACASM) to examine interview data from 27 Italian HPS. Four themes emerged: Organizational complexity, Organizational challenges, Service networking, and Service consolidation. Results reveal bipolar semantic structures organizing these representations, notably Professional practice vs Networking and Challenges vs. Empowerment. The study provides a first overview of how the representational world of hospital psychologists can serve as a marker of the transformations taking place in the sector.

Parole chiave:; Hospital psychology services; healthcare transformation; cultural analysis; representations; ACASM

  1. Adeogun, A., & Faezipour, M. (2025). Patient-Centric Paradigm: A Systems Thinking Approach to Enhance Healthcare. Healthcare, 13(3), 213. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare13030213.
  2. Alderwick, H., Hutchings, A., Briggs, A., & Mays, N. (2021). The impacts of collaboration between local health care and non-health care organizations and factors shaping how they work: a systematic review of reviews. BMC Public Health, 21, 1-16. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-10630-1.
  3. Baker, T. B., McFall, R. M., & Shoham, V. (2008). Current status and future prospects of clinical psychology: Toward a scientifically principled approach to mental and behavioral health care. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(2), 67-103. DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01036.x.
  4. Bauer, M. W., & Gaskell, G. (2000). Qualitative researching with text, image and sound: A practical handbook. SAGE.
  5. Bell, D. J., Self, M. M., Davis, C. III, Conway, F., Washburn, J. J., & Crepeau-Hobson, F. (2020). Health service psychology education and training in the time of COVID-19: Challenges and opportunities. American Psychologist, 75(7), 919-932. DOI: 10.1037/amp0000673.
  6. Carli, R., Paniccia, R. M., Policelli, S., & Caputo, A. (2017). Clinical psychology in hospital setting. In M. F. Freda, & R. De Luca Picione (eds.), Healthcare and culture: subjectivity in medical contexts (pp. 145-171). Information Age Publishing.
  7. Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  8. Cummings, N. A., O’Donohue, W. T., & Cummings, J. L. (2017). The impact of medical cost offset on practice and research: Making it work for you. Context Press.
  9. De Beerardinis, D., & Dondi, P. (2020). La psicologia ospedaliera ieri, oggi, domani [Hospital psychology: yesterday, today, tomorrow]. Una storia, 21. Retrieved from: https://www.fisppsicologia.it/images/riviste/Link-1-2020/La%20psicologia%20ospedaliera%20ieri,%20oggi,%20domani.pdf.
  10. de Lima, A. F. (2024). Mental health: hospital psychology and hospital psychoanalysis. South Florida Journal of Health, 5(1), 55-67. DOI: 10.46981/sfjhv5n1-005.
  11. Dülsen, P., Bendig, E., Küchler, A. M., Christensen, H., & Baumeister, H. (2020). Digital interventions in adult mental healthcare settings: recent evidence and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 33(4), 422-431. DOI: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000614.
  12. Engel, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: a challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196(4286), 129-136. DOI: 10.1126/science.847460.
  13. Fava, G. A., & Tomba, E. (2009). Increasing psychological well-being and resilience by psychotherapeutic methods. Journal of Personality, 77(6), 1903-1934. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00604.x.
  14. Gennaro, A., & Salvatore, S. (2023). The Themes of Texts: Automatic Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping (ACASM). In S. Salvatore, G.A. Veltri, & T. Mannarini (eds.), Methods and Instruments in the Study of Meaning-Making. Culture in Policy Making: The Symbolic Universes of Social Action. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-21995-5_4.
  15. Greenberg, N., Docherty, M., Gnanapragasam, S., & Wessely, S. (2020). Managing mental health challenges faced by healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic. BMJ, 368. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m1211.
  16. Harris, C.B., Barnier, A.J., & Sutton, J. (2012). Consensus collaboration enhances group and individual recall accuracy. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 65(1), 179-194. DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2011.608590.
  17. Hirko, K. A., Kerver, J. M., Ford, S., Szafranski, C., Beckett, J., Kitchen, C., & Wendling, A. L. (2020). Telehealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for rural health disparities. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 27(11), 1816-1818. DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa156.
  18. Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427-440. DOI: 10.1007/s10608-012-9476-1.
  19. Jasemi, M., Valizadeh, L., Zamanzadeh, V., & Keogh, B. (2017). A Concept Analysis of Holistic Care by Hybrid Model. Indian Journal of Palliative Care, 23(1), 71-80. DOI: 10.4103/0973-1075.197960.
  20. Kakuma, R., Minas, H., van Ginneken, N., Dal Poz, M. R., Desiraju, K., Morris, J. E., Saxena, S., & Scheffler, R. M. (2011). Human resources for mental health care: current situation and strategies for action. Lancet (London, England), 378(9803), 1654-1663. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61093-3.
  21. Kidd, S. A., & Styron, T. H. (2020). A systematic review of the psychology literature addressing hospital practice. The American Psychologist, 75(3), 316-328. DOI: 10.1037/amp0000498.
  22. McGinty, B. (2023). The Future of Public Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities. The Milbank Quarterly, 101(S1), 532-551. DOI: 10.1111/1468-0009.12622.
  23. Nguyen, A. M., Rivera, A. M., & Gualtieri, L. (2023). A new health care paradigm: the power of digital health and e-patients. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health, 1(3), 203-209. DOI: 10.1016/j.mcpdig.2023.04.005.
  24. Omboni, S., Padwal, R. S., Alessa, T., Benczúr, B., Green, B. B., Hubbard, I., Kario, K., Khan, N. A., Konradi, A., Logan, A. G., Lu, Y., Mars, M., McManus, R. J., Melville, S., Neumann, C. L., Parati, G., Renna, N. F., Ryvlin, P., Saner, H., Schutte, A. E., … Wang, J. (2022). The worldwide impact of telemedicine during COVID-19: current evidence and recommendations for the future. Connected Health, 1, 7-35. DOI: 10.20517/ch.2021.03.
  25. Pierce, B. S., Perrin, P. B., Tyler, C. M., McKee, G. B., & Watson, J. D. (2021). The COVID-19 telepsychology revolution: A national study of pandemic-based changes in U.S. mental health care delivery. American Psychologist, 76(1), 14-25. DOI: 10.1037/amp0000722.
  26. Porter, M. E., & Lee, T. H. (2013). The strategy that will fix health care. Harvard Business Review, 91(10), 50-70.
  27. Pudalov, L. R., Swogger, M. T., & Wittink, M. (2018). Towards integrated medical and mental healthcare in the inpatient setting: what is the role of psychology?. International Review of Psychiatry, 30(6), 210-223. DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2018.1552125.
  28. Runyan, C. N. (2011). Psychology can be indispensable to health care reform and the patient-centered medical home. Psychological Services, 8(2), 53-68. DOI: 10.1037/a0023454.
  29. Russell, D., Mathew, S., Fitts, M., Liddle, Z., Murakami-Gold, L., Campbell, N., ... & Wakerman, J. (2021). Interventions for health workforce retention in rural and remote areas: a systematic review. Human Resources for Health, 19(1), 103. DOI: 10.1186/s12960-021-00643-7.
  30. Rutkowska, A. (2022). Telemedicine Interventions as an Attempt to Improve the Mental Health of Populations during the COVID-19 Pandemic – A Narrative Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), 14945. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192214945.
  31. Salvatore, S. (2016). Psychology in Black and White: The project of a theory-driven science. Charlotte, NC, USA: Information Age Publishing Inc.
  32. Salvatore, S., Gelo, O.C.G., Gennaro, A., Metrangolo, R., Terrone, G., Pace, V., ... & Ciavolino, E. (2017). An automated method of content analysis for psychotherapy research: A further validation. Psychotherapy Research, 27(1), 38-50. DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2015.1072282.
  33. Salvatore, S., Gennaro, A., Auletta, A.F., Tonti, M., & Nitti, M. (2012). Automated method of content analysis: A device for psychotherapy process research. Psychotherapy Research, 22(3), 256-273. DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2011.647930.
  34. Salvatore, S., Palmieri, A., Picione, R. D. L., Bochicchio, V., Reho, M., Serio, M. R., & Salvatore, G. (2024b). The affective grounds of the mind. The Affective Pertinentization (APER) Model. Physics of Life Reviews, 50, 143-165. DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.07.008.
  35. Saraceno, B., van Ommeren, M., Batniji, R., Cohen, A., Gureje, O., Mahoney, J., ... & Underhill, C. (2007). Barriers to improvement of mental health services in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet, 370(9593), 1164-1174.
  36. Schielke, H.J., Fishman, J.L., Osatuke, K., & Stiles, W.B. (2009). Creative consensus on interpretations of qualitative data: The Ward method. Psychotherapy Research, 19(4-5), 558-565. DOI: 10.1080/10503300802621180.
  37. Stringer, H. (2024). Mental health care is in high demand. Psychologists are leveraging tech and peers to meet the need. American Psychological Association. Retrieved at: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/01/trends-pathways-access-mental-health-care.
  38. Topol, E. (2019). Deep medicine: How artificial intelligence can make healthcare human again. Basic Books.
  39. Townley, C., Grace, R., & Keidar, T. (2025). ‘Uncharted territory’: The experiences of health and social care practitioners in a multi-agency collaboration to support integrated service provision for children and young people in a disadvantaged community. Health Policy, 105299. DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105299.
  40. Valsiner, J. (2007). Culture in Minds and Societies. Foundations of Cultural Psychology. New Delhi: Sage Publications.
  41. Venuleo, C., & Guacci, C. (2014). L’organizzazione della sanità italiana e il ruolo dello psicologo di base. Rivista di Psicologia Clinica, 9(1), 45-58.
  42. Wahass, S. H. (2005). The role of psychologists in health care delivery. Journal of Family and Community Medicine, 12(2), 63-70.

Matteo Reho, Silvia Bellone, Gianni Cacciatore, Linda Campilongo, Lorenzo Chiga, Sara Gemma, Federica Leonardis, Giovanna Massari, Oronzo Mazzeo, Andrea Mele, Sara Ponturi, Alessandro Puscio, Alessia Renzi, Alessia Sternativo, Gloria Lagetto, Hospital Psychology Services: Representations of structural and functional changes in "RIVISTA DI PSICOLOGIA CLINICA" 1/2025, pp 51-72, DOI: 10.3280/rpc1-2025oa19832