PSICHIATRIA E PSICOLOGIA CLINICA

Module CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

1. Knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course, students will have acquired basic theoretical knowledge in the field of clinical neurodevelopmental psychology, with particular attention to cognitive, motivational, emotional-affective, relational and personality aspects involved in typical and atypical development. Students will understand the most recent diagnostic definitions and classifications of major neurodevelopmental disorders, the role of clinical psychology in the study of disabilities, their developmental trajectories over time, and the underlying psychological processes and interactions with life contexts.

2. Applying knowledge and understanding

Students will be able to apply acquired knowledge to psychological assessment in the field of neurodevelopment, to the critical analysis of the relationships between disability and family and school environments, and to the understanding of the main models and methods of psychological intervention in clinical and rehabilitative settings.

3. Making judgements

The course fosters the development of independent judgement in the evaluation of neurodevelopmental conditions, encouraging critical reflection on diagnostic hypotheses and intervention strategies, with attention to professional ethics, principles of inclusion, and multidisciplinary care.

4. Communication skills

Students will develop appropriate communication skills, including the correct use of technical and scientific terminology and the ability to share information effectively with families, educational contexts and health professionals, adapting communication to different audiences.

5. Learning skills

At the end of the course, students will be able to integrate theoretical and applied knowledge, autonomously update their knowledge through scientific literature, and continue their educational and professional development in the field of clinical neurodevelopmental psychology.

 Neurodevelopmental disorders: intellectual disabilities; autism spectrum disorders; learning disabilities; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; language delays and disturbances The causal factors: genetic, pre-natal, peri-natal and post-natal. basic knowledge of the main deficit frameworks, relative to the defining characteristics and known causes. The diagnostic and evaluation tools.

Intellectual disability (psychodiagnostic tools, multidimensional approach, enabling interventions, comorbidities)

The main syndromes associated with Intellectual Disability

The main models of psycho-educational and neuropsychological intervention

Work in multidisciplinary teams

The life contexts of the person with developmental disorders: family, school, work.

The laboratory activities will consist in carrying out group exercises, aimed at practical-guided exercise on the administration and scoring of neuropsychological tests for the assessment of cognitive functions in disability and on the main methods of memory and attention rehabilitation. Furthermore, research results, illustrative cases and viewing of films will be shown to stimulate the links between theory and practice.

2. Boccaccio, F. M., Platania, G. A., Guerrera, C. S., Varrasi, S., Privitera, C. R., Caponnetto, P., Pirrone, C., & Castellano, S. (2023). Autism Spectrum Disorder: recommended psychodiagnostic tools for early diagnosis. Health psychology research, 11, 77357. https://doi.org/10.52965/001c.77357 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10477006/