The course aims to provide the fundamental elements of clinical psychology as an applicative discipline that takes into consideration the individuality of the single case (idiographic approach), that refers to a specific method (the clinical method), and that contemplates a heterogeneous set of techniques (diagnostic and therapeutic), with particular attention to how these elements can be operationalized in the context of empirical research in the field, without losing specificity. Starting from a definition of the discipline and its method, and after an overview of the main areas of the contemporary clinic, various models of empirical research in clinical psychology will be presented and discussed.

The program is divided into two parts:

Part I. Clinical psychology and its fields of application:

• History, definition, and method of clinical psychology (Lesson 1)
• Overview of the main areas of the contemporary clinic (Lesson 2)

Part II. Research models in clinical psychology:

• Characteristics and problems of empirical research in clinical psychology (Lesson 3)
• Examples of empirical research in clinical psychology: validating clinical scales and testing complex theoretical models within the area of personality disorders (Lesson 4)

The student will have to demonstrate the acquisition of:

• Knowledge and understanding: the mastery of the basic knowledge of clinical psychology with particular reference to the specificity of the method in relation to empirical research.
• Applying knowledge and understanding: the ability to recognize and distinguish which elements characterize empirical research in clinical psychology.
• Making judgments: the ability to use knowledge and concepts to initiate clinical reasoning in reference to research hypotheses to be tested, research design to build, and data to be interpreted.
• Communication skills: the ability to use a specific language for the description of empirical research models in clinical psychology.
• Learning skills: Upon completion of the course, students will have acquired good autonomy in developing a research project in clinical psychology, taking into account the specificities and problems of the discipline.

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