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 Association UK & Ireland
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.