Master’s degree in Psychology – Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology Curriculum (LM-51)

Master’s degree in Psychology – Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology – programme overview

The Master’s degree in Psychology (LM-51) aims to complete the education of the undergraduate students in Psychological Sciences and Techniques (L-24) or other Bachelor’s degrees in the psychological field.

The course is based on two distinct curricula:

• Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation;
• Occupational and Organisational Psychology.

Even if based on a sound common training, the structure of both curricula is designed in such a way so as to envisage the presence of disciplines that already offer professionalising skills.

The main objective is to promote theoretical and applicable knowledge in the field of psychology of normal and pathological cognitive processes, neuropsychology and neuroscience, psychometric and psychosocial assessment and in the psychological intervention in different contexts in which the psychologist works, for example, in public and private nursing facilities, in hospitality services and educational institutions.

Online degree

The MA degree in Psychology (online) is designed for those who are unable to attend a traditional education programme due to distance or professional commitments.

Through Unicusano e-learning platform, it is possible to attend the Psychology degree classes online, to study using computer storage media at home, at your own pace and take the exam at the nearest exam centre. Thanks to the teaching quality and to the broad number of authorised exams centres spread across Italy, Unicusano is today the best choice for students willing to earn an online degree in Psychology.

Job profiles

Job profiles:

• Clinical and rehabilitation psychologist.

Possible job roles

Before starting to work independently, the graduate student should have completed the post-lauream internship and taken the “Esame di Stato” in order to be registered in the Register of the Psychologists.

Acquired Competences

Graduates in Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology will be able to use the following skills in different areas of professional integration:

Reading and context analysis skills, ability to analyze the demand according to the different theoretical / operational models (psychodynamic, neuropsychological, evolutionary)

Ability to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions

Skills related to the use of the main diagnostic tools and the main methods of data management and analysis

Manage independently your own business and manage and / or coordinate activities carried out in a team

Identification and management of the main areas of psychological distress and correct placement within the evolutionary path.

Make a diagnosis

Being able to relate with different professional figures (doctor, psychiatrist, etc.) through the use of appropriate language.

Career opportunities

• goods and services production area (including ASL, hospitals, schools);
• the so-called “third sector” workplaces (such as cooperatives and associations) that manage residential and semi-residential services, or implement prevention projects and reduction of discomfort during life;
• assessment and counselling to individuals, family systems groups self-employment.

The acquired skills can also be fully used in public and private structures, such as:

• ASP (rehabilitation centres, maternal and child services, S.E.R.T.);
• family services, Local Authorities (municipalities, region);
• services for the prevention of discomfort;
• educational institutions (listening branches and prevention projects).

A Master’s degree in Psychology – Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology prepares students to the following careers (ISTAT DATA):

1. Psychologists and Psychotherapists (2.5.3.3.1);
2. Developmental Psychologists  (2.5.3.3.2);
3. Occupational and Organisational Psychologist (2.5.3.3.3).

Entry requirements

All those who, after completion of their study path, intend to work as professional psychologists or psycho-therapists and take the exam for qualifying for these professions and accessing to the Psychologists’ Association, have to possess a Bachelor’s degree corresponding to the L-24 or L-34 class. Otherwise, all students possessing a Bachelor’s or a second-cycle degree or a five-year degree non corresponding to the L-24, L-34, LM-51 and 58/S or equivalent classes, if they intend to work as professional psychologists or psycho-therapists and therefore take the exam for qualifying for these professions and accessing to the Association of Psychologists, have to settle their training debit taking some exams in psychological disciplines at our University to get the following minimal allocation of entry credits:

• at least 9 credits in the  M-PSI/01 sector;
• at least 9 credits in the M-PSI/02 sector;
• at least 9 credits in the M-PSI/03 sector;
• at least 9 credits in the M-PSI/04 sector;
• at least 9 credits in the M-PSI/05 sector;
• at least 9 credits in the M-PSI/06 sector;
• at least 9 credits in the M-PSI/07 sector;
• at least 9 credits in the M-PSI/08 sector.

The student must remedy any deficiencies before the beginning of the course.

A B2 certificate of English is required to attend English courses.

The Teaching Regulations establishes the modalities to test the student skills.

Educational aim, objectives and course plan outline

The Master’s degree programme in Clinical Psychology LM-51 is structured coherently with what indicated in the D.M. 270/04 and according to the criteria established for the Europsy certification (www.inpa-europsy.it). Common objectives of the two curricula are:

• the acquisition of advanced theoretical and methodological knowledge in the field of psychology by adopting an interdisciplinary approach computer;
• the ability to analyse and evaluate the setting;
• the acquisition of professional ethics.

An amount of 1000 hours of internship is compulsory in order to take the “Esame di Stato”.

Graduates can choose to pursue their academic career with a Ph.D. or other specialisation.

Master’s degree in Psychology – Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology

The curriculum in Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology has the aim of promoting the specialized knowledge and skills in this sector.
According to the indications coming from the most recent international studies, documenting how the effectiveness of clinical and rehabilitative intervention in psychology is determined by the integration of knowledge deriving from the various psychological disciplines, the curriculum aims to provide integrated knowledge on the topics of dynamic psychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and developmental psychology. Particular attention will be paid to the development of knowledge and skills related to the understanding and evaluation of personality and its disorders, of the mnemonic, executive and affective processes from normality to pathology.

The graduate in Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology will also have to develop the skills that will enable to apply the knowledge acquired in the different contexts in which the Psychologist works. Specific competences will be constituted by the ability to formulate the psychological diagnosis, also through the use of psychometric investigation tools, according to scientifically validated theoretical and application models.
Graduates in psychology must also acquire adequate skills for the structuring of projects of psychological-clinical and rehabilitative intervention aimed to individuals and communities. Briefly, the course includes two main phases in the two years of the Degree Course.
The first phase involves the acquisition of specialist skills that allow the application of the basic knowledge acquired in the three-year course in different clinical and community settings. The second phase, which coincides with the second year of the Degree Course, involves the development of skills for the design, planning and programming of psychological-clinical and rehabilitation interventions.

Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and comprehension skills

Graduates in Psychology are able to apply the main theoretical/practical reference models to different settings (individual, family, organisational, cultural, social, biological, etc.).
These skills are verified through oral or written tests.

Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension skills

The ability to apply the acquired knowledge is assessed through exams on the relative modules, the assessment of laboratory activities, the final assessment of the training activities as well as the individual work carried on by the student under the supervision of a professor for the preparation and writing of the final paper.

Making judgements

These competences will be assessed through the ability to illustrate in a critical way during the course exams and the final exam, in particular using the various theoretical perspectives referring to the various specific issues treated.

Communication skills

At the completion of the course, the graduates will be able to communicate their own results and conclusions to a public of specialists and non-specialists in a clear and detailed way also in terms of the specific disciplinary lexicons.

The attainment of these communication skills will be assessed through exams, seminars envisaging an active role on the students’ part and the discussion of the final paper.

Learning skills

The Master in Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology offers the necessary expertise to the development of the profession required skills and, at the same time, gives the opportunity to continue the formation with further studies (schools of specialisations, Ph.D.).

The acquisition of these skills is assessed through assessment laboratory activities, through the final assessment of the training activities as well as through an individual work carried out by the student under the supervision of a professor for the preparation and writing of the final paper.

Final exam

To earn the degree, the student must write and discuss a thesis in original form, under the guidance of a supervisor.