The master’s degree aims to train professional psychologists capable of addressing not only the personal difficulties of individuals, couples, and families, but also work-related issues and their development within enterprises, institutions, and non-profit organizations. In addition to traditional lectures, the program emphasizes active learning through exercises, role-playing activities, and group work. A curricular traineeship is also included within the two years of study and is mandatory for obtaining the qualification to practice as a clinical psychologist in Italy.

The curriculum in Clinical Psychology pursues specific objectives, including:

• acquiring theories, methods, and techniques in dynamic, clinical, and psychopathological psychology, together with their epistemological foundations, biological underpinnings, and neuroscientific perspectives on brain development;
• developing diagnostic skills for traumatic conditions and potential personality disorders, including prognostic indications for treatment;
• learning principles for planning interventions aimed at treating trauma-related consequences and establishing treatment pathways in cases of personality disorders;
• achieving mastery of the operational techniques that characterize the main methods of clinical and neuropsychological intervention;
• gaining the ability to design and implement interventions with individuals, couples, families, groups, and organizations, with particular attention to the relational, social, and cultural contexts in which psychological phenomena and clinical practices occur;
• acquiring methods for designing and conducting research in the clinical field.

Laboratory activities, conducted in small groups, include exercises and real or simulated experiences in the areas of clinical and dynamic psychology, neuropsychology, and psychometrics, aimed at developing a broad range of professional competencies. The program also offers extra-university activities and study periods at partner institutions in Italy and abroad, in accordance with international agreements.

To obtain the master’s degree in psychology (LM-51-R), which qualifies graduates for professional practice, students must fulfill two requirements:

1. complete, as part of the program, a Tirocinio Pratico-Valutativo (TPV; practical-assessment traineeship), providing supervised exposure to professional activities in core clinical settings and fostering mastery and autonomy in applying key psychological tools;
2. successfully complete the Prova Pratica Valutativa (PPV; practical evaluative test), conducted in Italian, which assesses the professional competencies acquired through the traineeship and verifies the candidate’s level of technical preparation for licensure. The PPV must be passed prior to the thesis defense.

Only students who obtain a passing grade in both the TPV and the PPV are admitted to the final examination.