The psychology of risk prevention and the psychology of health promotion are core activities of clinical psychology. Health psychology concerns the set of educational, scientific and professional contributions of the psychological disciplines to the promotion and maintenance of health, to the prevention and treatment of disease. The educational objectives of the course concern the acquisition of adequate knowledge with respect to the potential perspectives of prevention and health promotion and the necessary operating methods capable of providing adequate responses to requests in different contexts, intervening in collaboration with local institutions. The teaching is aimed at promoting the development of psychological knowledge and skills based on the current guidelines of health psychology, which involve the support to the prevention of the state of illness, interventions for the culture and promotion of health and the enhancement of the person, through the promotion of psychological and relational development.

The student will acquire the knowledge necessary to operate in the field of health psychology and the skills related to specific assessments and interventions. You will have gained knowledge relating to the various topics covered by the lessons and will understand the connection between theoretical approaches, research results, evaluation tools and intervention planning. You will be able to compare different approaches, highlighting strengths and weaknesses of different theoretical orientations. The student will acquire the skills to intervene with specific psychological-relational tools on health promotion and make use of specific prevention interventions in the various institutional and non-institutional contexts (family, school, community, etc.).

Lectures and laboratory activities with practical-guided exercises.

The laboratory activities will consist in carrying out practical-guided exercises in groups, with the support of clinical examples, aimed at training on family home visiting, a home intervention on the family which, on the basis of international empirical evidence, is also spreading in Italy, with the goal of supporting and promoting early attachment security between parents and their child.

Culture of health and promotion of psychological well-being in different contexts according to the biopsychosocial model and positive psychology.
Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention interventions: evidence-based models
State of health, quality of life, psychological well-being
Representations of health and disease
Emotions, emotional regulation, personality and health
Personal resources and health behaviors: models and theories 
Stress and coping; psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology; psychosocial risk factors
Lifestyles, risk behaviors and self-protective behaviors
Promoting health from a life-span perspective: resilience
Somatic pathology: quality of care and communication with the patient
Community interventions for health promotion and communication and prevention campaigns on health risk
Occupational health psychology
Psychological intervention in emergency 
Home intervention for risk prevention and promotion of mental health: theoretical assumptions, objectives, organizational aspects, assessment and intervention.

 

The evaluation will consist of an oral interview. It will be a moment of verification of the path carried out and individual exchange with the teacher. It is required to master the discipline, to grasp the interdependence links between the various topics and demonstrate the ability to organize technical knowledge according to specific objectives.

Students who will attend the Laboratory on Family home visiting (3 Credits) and who intend to use, through validation, the corresponding hours for the purposes of the internship, are required to write a report on the experience carried out. This report will be approved by the teacher at the end of the exam and delivered by the student to the Internship Office.

The contexts of health psychology
Biopsychosocial model
Health related quality of life
Well-being and positive psychology
Representations of health and disease
Emotions, emotional regulation and health
Personality influence
Personal resources and health
Health behaviors: models and theories of reference
Stress and coping
Risky lifestyles and behaviors
Adherence and self-protective behaviors
Psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology
Psychosocial risk factors
Health and positive functioning across the life span
Resilience
Health and positive and active ageing
Quality of care and communication with the patient in somatic pathologies
Risk prevention interventions
Community interventions for health promotion
Communication campaigns on health risk
Occupational health psychology
Psychological intervention in emergency