The course aims to provide the fundamental elements to define and understand the personality in its multiple expressions, from healthy to pathological. Given the complexity of the theme, the course will adopt a basic bsycodynamic perspective with extensive references to other disciplines, such as neuroscience, biological psychiatry, transcultural psychology, cognitivism, and relational approaches.

The program is divided into three parts (2h+3h of lectures/week):

Part I. Definitions and theoretical models on personality:

• Definition and history of the concepts of personality/character/temperament (Lectures 1-2)
• Typological theories and theories of traits, factors, and dimensions of personality (Lecture 3)
• Attachment theory + cognitive and behavioral theories (Lectures 4-5) 
• Psychodynamic theories + focus on Kernberg's conceptualization of personality (Lectures 6-7-8)
• DSM, PDM, and the levels of personality, from healthy to pathological (Lecture 9)

Part II. The main personality styles and their psychopathological drifts (with a specific focus on narcissistic dimension, distinctive trait of contemporary era):

• Schizoid personality and cluster A of personality disorders (Lectures 10-11)
• Borderline area and cluster B of personality disorders (Lectures 12-13)
• Focus on narcissism and narcissistic personality (the culture of narcissism + thin-skinned and thick-skinned narcissism + malignant narcissism and antisociality) (Lectures 14-15-16)
• Dependent personality (interwines with masochism and relational perversions) and cluster C of personality disorders (Lectures 17-18)

Part III. General outline of the most effective treatments for personality disorders today (Lecture 19)

None.

The student will have to demonstrate to have acquired:

• Knowledge and understanding: the mastery of basic knowledge about personality and its psychopathology. 
• Knowledge and comprehension skills applied: the ability to recognize and distinguish the elements that charactherize the different styles and personality disorders, useful for evaluation in different psychological contexts.
• Making judgments: the ability to use knowledge and concepts to start a complex reasoning on the personality seen in the health-pathology continuum.
• Communication skills: the specific language for describing the phenomena concerning the personality in both a healthy and pathological sense.
• Learning skills: Upon completion of the course, students will have acquired a good autonomy in reading scientific material on the subject and in critical understanding of the complexity of personological phenomena in a contemporary interdisciplinary perspective to be declined in different application contexts where required.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Additional seminars on specific topics concerning the subject.

Teaching

Lectures, seminars, discussions of clinical cases.

Attendance

The frequency of the course is not mandatory but it is strongly recommended due to the applicative content of the subject, also for the purpose of the exam.

Course books

Lingiardi, V. & Gazzillo, F. (2014). La personalità e i suoi disturbi. Valutazione clinica e diagnosi al servizio del trattamento. Milano: Cortina (only the following chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 17, 23). pp. 362

Le Breton, D. (2016). Fuggire da sé. Una tentazione contemporanea. Milano: Cortina. pp. 176

A book chosen from the following:

• Funari, E. (2000). Il falso Mozart. Arte e patologia della imitazione. Milano: Cortina.  pp. 167
• Gabbard, G.O., & Crisp, H. (2019). Il disagio del narcisismo. Dilemmi diagnostici e strategie terapeutiche con i pazienti narcisisti. Milano: Cortina. pp. 163
• Lemma, A. (2011). Sotto la pelle. Psicoanalisi delle modificazioni corporee. Milano: Cortina. pp. 207

Assessment

Oral exam.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

There is no difference with the informations provided for Attending Students.

Attendance

There is no difference with the informations provided for Attending Students.

Course books

There is no difference with the informations provided for Attending Students.

Assessment

There is no difference with the informations provided for Attending Students.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

None.