Eugenia Pelanda Award: Clinical Writing of Psychotherapy Specialists from Lombardy 2024
The Order of Psychologists of Lombardy OPL together with the Council of Student Representatives of the Lombardy Psychotherapy Schools promotes for the third consecutive year the award dedicated to the memory of Dr. Eugenia Pelanda.
This year too, the award focuses on the clinical cases and clinical reflections of psychotherapy residents enrolled in OPL; an opportunity for the Order to give space, support and learn about the reflections of many colleagues. In the third edition of the Pelanda award the theme was chosen “Psychotherapists in training: how many of us are in the therapy room? Reflections on how the relationships, encounters and experiences of the resident during his training influence his clinical activity with patients”, the topic is broad and interesting and we are certain that we will receive numerous writings that will address it from theoretical and personal angles and references very different. In this Pelanda Award, as in the past, OPL rewards and encourages diversity and broad and critical reflection, with the aim of everyone being able to grow and learn new ideas thanks to colleagues in training.
1 – General notes useful for drafting the text:
In the essay, reflections could emerge relating to the relationship of the trainee with the meetings that characterize his training. More specifically, reference is made to the relationship with: the internship structure that hosts the trainee, the specialization school to which he or she belongs, the internship tutor, the supervisor, personal psychotherapeutic work, team work and personal history. We should ask ourselves how these aspects impact and influence the ongoing psychotherapeutic work with patients. The writing could highlight how these relationships can sometimes facilitate work with patients or in other situations can slow it down or even hinder it. The trainees find themselves working with their first patients followed during the specialty training full of enthusiasm and also fears, these meetings generate the evolving identity of the psychotherapist (in training or not) who is always evolving to reach the patient where he is.
2 – INSTRUCTIONS FOR DELIVERING AND WRITING THE WORK
The works must be sent via email in PDF format to the following PEC address [email protected] from 06/17/2024 and within e no later than Friday 02/08/2024. Please remember to send the essay from your PEC email address and not from your PEO email address.
Below are some guidelines for structuring the writing.
The aim is to present a written, reflective and self-critical paper highlighting:
1. critical issues and personal difficulties encountered in clinical work due to relationships with “institutions” that are sometimes not supportive and helpful;
2. positive and supportive aspects in relating to institutions that support and encourage good psychotherapeutic training and reflection;
3. being able to bring together numerous aspects of numerous training meetings that take place during training to become a spicotherapist;
4. experiences relating to the individual experience of testing oneself as a psychotherapist in training;
5. actions implemented to deal with the critical issues experienced, also with reference to external help, supervision, intervisions, methods and/or tools put into play;
6. factors that influenced the progress of clinical work during the initial phases of theoretical-practical training;
7. intuitions, reflections, any new and unexpected resource developed thanks to the need to overcome a difficulty and/or methods designed to take care of clinical work that have been supported and helped by the meetings had during the training;
8. reflections on how one’s life history, motivations and values have sometimes impacted on working with patients during the years of training as a psychotherapist;
9. modification and flexibility of technical aspects, theory of technique and tools proposed by the various clinical orientations, as well as any critical issues relating to the application of some working methodologies.
3 – REGULATION AND METHOD
Who can participate
They can participate in the prize registered with the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy who at the time of submitting the application are attending a specialization course in psychotherapy at a school recognized by the MUR or a university and are up to date with the payment of fees to OPL. Participants must not have disciplinary or administrative measures pending with the Order.
Those who have completed the four-year specialization course and are waiting to present their thesis are not admitted.
How to participate
The application for participation must be submitted, under penalty of exclusion, only via PEC to [email protected], from 06/17/2024 and no later than Friday 08/02/2024 at midnight.
The attachments that must be submitted are:
1. the application for participation (sample attached) duly completed and signed;
2. release and information on processing duly completed and signed;
3. text in pdf format (not in other formats under penalty of exclusion) not exceeding 4000 words in total, under penalty of elimination from the competition, which have the following characteristics:
Typographic and layout features
– Line spacing 1.5 Margins of 2.5 cm 4;
– indent the paragraph with 4 spaces (use the indicator on the ruler and not spaces or tabulators);
– Times New Roman fonts;- Divide the work into sections, each with its own title, avoiding chapters that are too long.
For the papers you can also take inspiration from the essays completed during the course of specialization in the psychotherapeutic fields of your choice (developmental age, adolescence, young adults, adults, groups, families, etc.), but these must necessarily refer to the first experiences clinical work with patients. Clinical work can be the result of experiences in both the public and private sectors during training as a psychotherapist. The work may have already been published but must comply with the acceptance requirements. The evaluation of the work for the purposes of the award will take place by giving value to the level of re-elaboration of the experience covered, reported within the work. Requests received in ways other than the procedures described above, not complete with the mandatory attachments or sent after the aforementioned deadline will be automatically excluded without preliminary assistance.
4 – COMMISSION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA
The OPL Secretariat in the figure of the Official Monica Pimpinella verifies:
– compliance with the deadlines for receiving the documents;
– possession of the requirement for registration in the Register of the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy and that the member is attending a specialization course in Psychotherapy;
– the verification that there are no disciplinary or administrative measures in progress within the Order.
The writings presented will be evaluated by a commission made up of the members of the Student Council of the Lombardy Specialization Schools of Psychotherapy and of the indicated representatives belonging to the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy, in the persons of Valentino Ferro (OPL Treasurer), Silvia Valadé (OPL councilor ) and Cinzia Sacchelli (OPL councillor).
The Commission verifies that the essay has the typographical and layout characteristics indicated above and that it does not exceed 4000 words.
The works will be evaluated by assigning a score from 1 to 5 for each of the criteria listed below.
* Reflective competence of the therapist in training regarding the structuring and unraveling of clinical work in the patient-therapist relationship, in reference to the characteristics of both the therapeutic couple itself and the intervention setting.
* Ability to adapt in the flexible use of tools and techniques learned during one’s training (e.g. bed, protocols, administration of tests, use of playrooms, etc.) in relation to the possibilities and limits of the settings and, more broadly, of the intervention contexts.
* Ability to build and maintain a solid and reliable set and setting, internal and external.
* Creativity in addressing the theoretical, clinical, existential and relational variables encountered at the start and in the early stages of clinical practice.
* Awareness of the limits and strengths, critical issues and transformative potential of one’s work.
*Scientific quality (i.e. empirical-theoretical foundation) and formal quality of the paper.
The evaluation of all writings will be carried out by the blind Commission.
4 – AWARDS
The best 5 papers will be awarded with a scholarship of EUR 500 net equal to EUR 680 gross maximum, which can be used as reimbursement for expenses related to training as a psychotherapist, such as: training, part of the enrollment fee for the school specialties, supervisions, conferences, books and psychological tests. The winners will have all the technical information on the scholarship from OPL Treasurer Valentino Ferro once the competition has concluded.
Furthermore, the winners will be invited to present and discuss their works at a public event of the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy which will be organized at the beginning of October 2024 at the Casa della Psicologia and online. The event promoted on the OPL website and through the Newsletter addressed to all subscribers.
