Counseling and psychotherapy in italy: Historical, cultural, and indigenous perspectives

Abstract

The field of psychotherapy in Italy shows a plurality of voices that makes it hard to depict it, if not in broad strokes. At the same time, some common elements characterize the main discourses that inform the knowledge, training, and practice of psychotherapy in Italy. Some of these elements are about potentially constructive aspects of the Italian therapy scenario, like the professional regulations given by the Italian Order of Psychologists and the Ministry of Education, University and Research, the humanitarian role of the Roman-Catholic Church, the challenges and opportunities offered by the recent immigration, and the emphasis on relational and ecological (as opposed to detached, laboratory-style, and individualist) approaches to psychology. While other aspects may be deemed questionable and detrimental to the field, like the closed oligarchy of the university system, the relative international isolation of Italian psychotherapists, and the limited dedication to research studies in counseling and psychotherapy, especially concerning issues of cultural diversity and clinical or training outcomes.