Università Roma Tre

INTRODUCTION
The course is an introduction to Clinical Psychology and Stress Management in organizations and education. Basics of Clinical Psychology and of the main mental disorders will be illustrated, along with a presentation of stress management strategies. Stress stems from the perceived discrepancy between the environmental demands and the individual resources. It is well known that in the field of organizations chronic stress contributes to the deterioration of physical and mental health, reduces productivity and increases absenteeism in all fields of work.
The notions of “stress” and “stressor” will be analysed, as well as Seyle’s model of general adaptation syndrome. Individuals are not defenceless subjects when confronted with stress: what is really meaningful is the way in which events, internal and external threats, and one’s own resources to cope with them, are evaluated.
The main mental disorders will be briefly illustrated, as well as the diathesis-stress etiopathological model. Finally, some techniques for stress prevention and management will be presented, including a few mindfulness practices. In particular it will be examined in depth the MBSR program (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) and the main principles for time management by Stephen Covey.