Psychodynamic Psychopathology and Clinical Relationship in Developmental age and Adulthood

Aims The aim of this course is to show how to run an assessment process which leads to psychological diag-nosis and case formulation, taking into account both the complexity of clinical observation and the use of valid and reliable assessment instruments, clinical needs and research evidence. The clinical-diagnostic assessment of mental disorders - with a particular attention to personality and its disorders – will be treated in the broader context of the psychodynamic psychopathology. The most relevant inter-national systems for the classification of mental disorders (DSM-5, ICD-11, PDM-2) and the most recent procedures for the personality assessment and psychological and relational functioning (SWAP-200, SWAP-II) will be described with particular attention to the treatment. Course aims. At the end of the course students will possess the basic and necessary knowledge for: a) orienting him/herself among the many assessment models of personality and psychopathology; b) choosing and selecting the assessment methods and nosographical systems which better satisfy the different needs of the different application contexts (clinical, research, epidemiological, etc.). Lab aims. During the lab the students will participate to clinical and case discussions and they will be supervised and tutored in the application of the diagnostic systems and assessment tools in order to acquire profes-sional skills in the field. General aims The course aim at providing the students with theoretical and practical knowledge that would help them to conduct an assessment process useful for diagnosing, developing case formulations, and plan-ning successful treatments; in other words, an assessment process that reflects the effort to promote a diagnostic approach bridging the gap between clinical complexity (idiographic) and nosographic sys-tems (nomothetic). The course aims at providing the students with necessary and most up-to-date knowledge: a) to find their way among the diagnostic systems (DSM-5, PDM-2, SWAP-200) and approaches to mental psychopathology; b) to conduct a psychodynamic personality (disorders) assessment; c) to de-velop an up-to-date reflection on issues related to the construction of sexual and gender identity; and d) to choose the most suitable evaluation methods and nosographic systems according to the different con-texts (clinical, research, etc.). The expected learning outcomes are: skills in clinical and diagnostic assessment of individual mental capacities, as well as in choosing patient-tailored treatments. Frontal lessons provide students with fundamental knowledge for the assessment of psychological func-tioning, including cognitive, affective and relational patterns. Lab activities promote the acquisition of professional skills aimed at using empirically validated tools, methods and procedures that are suitable for conducting an accurate assessment process. Specific aims Knowledge and understanding Passing the exam guarantees students the knowledge of main diagnostic systems, psychopathological syndromes, as well as of the most widely used assessment procedures of personality, mental function-ing, and symptom patterns. Applying knowledge and understanding Passing the exam would imply that students can apply methods and assessment procedures in various domains (clinical practice, empirical research, ecc.) tapped in the Course in Developmental Dynamic Psychopathology. Making judgements Passing the exam would imply that students are able to formulate informed judgments on the appro-priateness of assessment instruments and methods based on distinct methodologies and applied in dif-ferent context; such abilities would allow them to identify strengths and potential limitations of these measures. The student abilities would be acquired through case discussions, video of clinical interviews or movies, and practice exercise during the lab. Communication skills Passing the exam would ensure that students acquire the abilities needed for an efficacious scientific communication. These abilities would be attained during the frontal lessons and the lab sessions by learning both the “technical” diagnostic language and the non-jargon communication capacity with the patient. Learning skills Passing the exam would attest the acquisition of learning skills that will allow students to deepen, in the course of their academic and professional career, the knowledge of the most relevant diagnostic models, and to acquire skills on the most widespread procedures for personality and individual mental func-tioning assessment. These skills are acquired, in different ways, both during the frontal lessons and the lab, where particular attention is dedicated to clinical case discussions. Prerequisites To better understand and learn in a more effective manner all the contents of the course, students should consider that the following prerequisites are appropriate: a) basic knowledge in the field of psy-chopathology [important]; b) basic knowledge of the most widespread diagnostic systems used to assess mental disorders [useful]; c) basic knowledge of the main methods and procedures for individual men-tal functioning assessment typically employed in clinical and empirical contexts [important].