Clinical Psychology

Mission The mission is to apply clinical intervention models, develop psychological research in the oncology field, and promote educational and training activities.

The goal is to integrate psychological support into the patient’s care pathway, working in collaboration with healthcare professionals—doctors and nurses—also through the development of clinical research activities.

The Clinical Psychology Unit (SSD Psicologia Clinica) works to meet a wide range of needs: care, rehabilitation, social inclusion, prevention, support in decision-making, and consultation on communication processes. 

The unit carries out its specific activities according to internal quality protocols, which are periodically reviewed and updated. 

Service Scope 

The service is intended for both inpatients and outpatients at various stages of the diagnostic and therapeutic pathway (including those receiving oncology care at other hospitals). Given the emotional impact that cancer can have on the patient’s family, psychological support is also offered to family members. 

 Objectives of Psychological Intervention 

• Understand the individual experience of cancer and its therapeutic implications; 
• Address the psychological impact of the illness (anxiety, depression, and other adjustment disorders); 
• Promote integration of the illness into the person’s life story;  
• Support the development and use of functional and adaptive behaviors; 
• Encourage more open communication within the family and with the care team; 
• Teach relaxation techniques that can be used during different stages of the treatment process (diagnostic tests, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, follow-up visits, etc.); 
• Help individuals face the uncertainty of the future with greater awareness; 
• Place present challenges within a broader life context. 

Psycho-Oncological Research 

Psycho-oncological research serves as an interface between Oncology, Psychology, and Psychiatry, with the aim of studying key aspects of the illness experience, including: 

• The psychological and social impact of cancer on the patient, family, and healthcare team; 
• The role of psychological and behavioral factors in cancer prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment; 
• The effect of psychological therapies on disease adaptation and patients’ quality of life; 
• The psychological dimension in specific clinical situations in oncology (e.g., liver transplant, genetic diagnosis, rare tumors)… 
• The existential aspects of illness, particularly the search for meaning. 

Educational and Scientific Activities 

Staff of the Clinical Psychology Unit participate as lecturers in both institutional and non-institutional educational activities, including at the university level, and are actively involved in scientific congresses organized by oncology-related scientific societies.