ECM – Scuola Medica Ospedaliera – Psychopathology of developmental age: clinical phenomenology and intervention.

Scientific Director: Dott. Ludovica Costantino

Topics covered

The developmental age is a fundamental period in the life of every individual, spanning from birth to twenty-one years, from infancy to adolescence. This long journey that every human being undergoes, starting from birth, is characterized by many significant physical, emotional, behavioral, and affective changes. The child faces the challenges of daily life that can sometimes be difficult: separation from parents, school integration, comparison with peers, learning new rules, and dealing with a world that changes at an sometimes relentless pace. Many situations can be sources of inevitable suffering, and often discomfort, during the delicate periods of childhood and adolescence, is expressed not verbally but behaviorally, physically, and emotionally. It is therefore important to recognize the signs of suffering in children or adolescents in order to intervene as early as possible and in the most appropriate manner. In this sense, it is necessary to have a sensitive mind, prepared to engage with childhood and adolescence without prejudices or misconceptions. To understand the clinical manifestation of a disorder in developmental age, it is necessary to review the developmental history of a child who has experienced a potential disorder and assess its severity. Equally important is to conduct theoretical exploration addressing the journey that a human being undergoes to achieve physical and psychological autonomy.

The course aims to delve into the development of the psychophysical reality of the newborn, starting from the fundamental difference between the prenatal and postnatal states, the relationship between the child and the mother-caregiver, highlighting the crucial importance of this first and fundamental human relationship.

It will then address the study of developmental disharmonies in children, proposing research on their internal image and providing theoretical tools for a comprehensive diagnosis of the psychological suffering that causes behavioral disorders.

Furthermore, the issue of violence in adolescence will be addressed, unfortunately a very current theme, opening the discussion on the possible psychopathology hiding behind this dramatic rupture with the social pact. Finally, the course will address child abuse, which remains the tragedy humanity has always suffered from and has not yet managed to overcome, delving into the historical-philosophical journey of the sick thought that underlies this terrible plague.