Past Experience
I began my postgraduate training in 2000 with the Italian League for the Fight against Cancer, where I dealt with issues related to palliative care and smoking. As a group facilitator, I worked with parents of adolescents facing drug or gambling addiction.
Since 2001, I have provided individual psychological counselling and support.
My training in Family and Systemic-Relational Psychotherapy has allowed me to work with couples and families within the Family Therapy Centre of the Italian NHS for 11 years (as a trainee, professional volunteer and independent practitioner).
I have contributed to the implementation of an innovative project dealing with conflicted families undergoing separation, with children at risk.
During this period, I co-founded the Professional Association of Psychologists Famiglie al Centro, where I collaborated with several other professionals such as GPs, Paediatricians, Psychiatrists, Nutritionists, Physiotherapists, and Family Lawyers, acquiring experience in many areas, including:
- Eating disorders, obesity, body image
- Psychosomatic disorders and Chronic pain
- Mood disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Addictions
- Eating disorders, obesity, body image
- Psychosomatic disorders and Chronic pain
- Mood disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Work-related stress
- Dysfunctional families and family crisis in different stages of the life cycle (e.g.pregnancy, birth, bereavement, retirement, separation and divorce), step-families, single-parent families
- Parenting counselling
- Psychotherapy with couples (high conflict, lack of communication, separation)
- Adoption and fostering
- Domestic violence
I was an expert witness for the Court of Florence, specialised in cases of separation and child custody.
I also have experience in education, both as a psychologist (providing supervision to teachers in primary and secondary schools, psychological counselling to parents as well as interventions to deal with bullying behaviour) and as a teacher (I taught Social Sciences in secondary school for 12 years).
During my clinical practice, I provided both direct supervision and indirect clinical and professional supervision to trainees, less experienced practitioner psychologists as well as teachers of primary and secondary schools.
For 5 years I was a volunteer at Body & Soul, a charity that promotes the respect, dignity and well-being of children, teenagers, adults and families living with and affected by HIV.
In this charity, I worked mainly with traumatised people using EMDR therapy.
Since the beginning of my training in EMDR in 2015, I have worked mainly with trauma.
Training
2020-23 DBR (Deep Brain Reorienting) Training
2019 EMDR Children and Adolescents Training (Core/Level 1), London, UK
2019 EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner
2016 ESTSS (European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies) Certificate in Psychotraumatology, London, UK
2015-16 EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) Training, London, UK
2009 Training course in Forensic Psychology “Technical Consultancy and Psychological Evaluation”.
2008 Postgraduate course in Family and Systemic-Relational Psychotherapy at C.S.A.P.R. (Centro Studi e Applicazione della Psicologia Relazionale), Prato and Rome, IT
2002 Postgraduate course “Social Worker in Adoption and Fostering”
2000 MD in Psychology, University of Florence,
Professional Affiliations
HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council) registered Counselling Psychologist
Chartered Member of BPS (British Psychological Society)
Member of AFT (Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice)
Member of EMDR UK
Member of EMDR Europe
Member of ESTSS (European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies)
Ethics
I abide by the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct and HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics.