Courses

Premise
 
Some courses, developed by Professor Scrimali, during many years of original and innovative research, constitute the basis of the didactic activity at ALETEIA International.
 
 

Course n. 1 

Tullio Scrimali

Entropy of Mind and Negative Entropy

A cognitive and complex approach to schizophrenia and its therapy

Schizophrenia is still an unsolved problem, both with reference to its etiopathogenesis and its psychopathology, clinic, therapy and rehabilitation. 

In fact, if on one hand the pharmacological treatment is capable of modifying only the clinical phenomenology of this disorder but not its course, on the other we still don’t have enough evidences about the efficacy and a positive cost-benefit relationship of a psychotherapeutic approach to schizophrenia. 

Recently, a new cognitive approach to the psychotherapy and rehabilitation of the schizophrenic patient was developed. 

In the past ten years, the team coordinated by Tullio Scrimali systematically devoted itself at Department of Psychiatry, the University of Catania to a series of studied and research regarding the psychopathology, therapy and rehabilitation of schizophrenia. 

During the workshop will be illustrated the model of schizophrenia and its etiopathogenesis and psychopathology the Author develop and that it is called "Entropy of Mind". 

The an original complex system oriented approach to therapy and rehabilitation of schizophrenic patients, called "Negative entropy" will be presented and fully explained 

The didactic methodology will be articulated in diversified modalities and times, finalized to the acquisition of new information, heuristic models, of innovative conceptualization modalities for the planning of the therapeutic and rehabilitative interventions. 

These different moments will be achieved according to the format of the interactive lesson, supported by multimedial materials.

Participant will be able to practice with some original devices personally designed and developed by the Author such as:

  • MindLAB
  • Psycho Data Recorder
  • PsychoFeedback
Some practical work and some role playing are planned concerning the following topics
  • Biofeedback as a coping process for managing stress
  • Conceptualization and treatment of hallucinations
  • Conceptualization and treatment of delusion
  • Hermeneutic and narrative of delusion
  • Assessment of Expressed Emotion by using the Five Minute Speech Sample
  • Family Strange Situation

The participants will receive freely a CD including some didactical material.

The texbook of reference for this course is:

Tullio Scrimali (2008). ENTROPY OF MIND AND NEGATIVE ENTROPY. A Cognitive and Complex Approach to Schizophrenia and its Therapy. London: Karnac Books (www.karnacbooks.com)

  

Course n.2 

Tullio Scrimali

COGNITIVE THERAPY
FOR EATING DISORDERS AND OBESITY
 
Eating disorders constitute a real challenge for Therapists, considering that these disorders are very difficult to be managed and that anorexia nervosa implies a certain risk of death. At the Department of Psychiatry, University of Catania, some original and effective, behavioral and cognitive, therapeutical protocols were developed by Scrimali.
 
The main goals of the workshop will be:
 
To make able participants to develop a conceptualization of such disorders, starting from a cognitive, complex systems oriented approach.

To teach the participant to apply an integrated behavioral and cognitive protocols, developed by Tullio Scrimali and called  Fineus (bulimia)  Tantalus (anorexia) and Lucullus (obesity).

 
These protocols comprise:
 
Multidimensional assessment
 
Expressed Emotion

Multifaceted and integrated therapeutical and rehabilitative intervention at:

Behavioral level

Coping, Problem solving and Nutritional management in order to normalize the eating behaviour

Emotional level

Self monitoring and self control by biofeedback

Cognitive level

Cognitive restructuring

Making the patient aware of automatic thoughts and teaching to cope with them

Correcting the faulty human information processing process
Body image correction
 
Relational level

Social Skill Training for the patient applied by a systematic use of videomonitoring and videofeedback

Cognitive Family Therapy
 

During the workshop some practical works will be carried out by means of a portable Biofeedback device.

Some materials will be given freely to the participants such as:

  • a complete manual to apply the protocols “ Fineus et Tantalus”, recorded on a diskette (as a Adobe PDF file)
  • some assessment instruments concerning Expressed Emotion with the keys for scoring

 The texbook for this course is:

 

Tullio Scrimali 

FINEO, TANTALO and LUCULLUS                                                           

A Complex, Systems Oriented Approach to Patients with Eating Disorders.

I.S.S.Co. Press, 2010              

 

Course n. 3 

 Tullio Scrimali

Applying Neuroscience in Cognitive Therapy
 
New Methods for Client Assessment and Self-regulation
 
Assessment, Biofeedback, Mindfulness, Emotion Self-regulation
 

 

 Objectives of the workshop
 
Acquire basic knowledge about most important topics of Neuroscienze, its implications for diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation within following areas:
 
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychotherapy
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychiatric Rehabilitation
  • Psychosomatic Medicine
Acquire basic information about Clinical Psychophysiology. Learn and apply in clinical setting the techniques of monitoring, registration, biological retroaction of electrodermal activity by means of the set of hardware and software developed by Tullio Scrimali and called MindLAB.
Know and learn to apply at the level of diagnosis the MindSCAN - the assessment procedure useful for making diagnosis, formulating prognosis and monitorize therapeutic process and making a complete assessment of family dynamics by “Family Strange Situation” technique.
 
Topics
 
Modern Neuroscience and its relationship with clinical disciplines
Problem of the relationship mind-brain
Psychophysiology and Clinical Psychophysiology
Psychophysiological parameters:
Quantitative Electroencephalography
Electrodermal Activity
Assessment and Psycho-diagnosis - the protocols: MindSCAN And Family Strange Situation
Therapy and Rehabilitation: Biofeedback
 
 
Didactic Methodology
 
Lessons of theory and practical workshops with use of multimedial materials, instruments and its software, demonstrations and role-playing. Auto-observation by use of psychophysiological procedures.
 
Materials
 
Trainees will work wit some LAB Series instruments called: MindLAB and CardioLAB with use of specific and original software called: MindSCAN and CardioTEST. All the instruments have been developed by Tullio Scrimali for Psychotech (www.psychotech.it).
 
Experience
 
All the trainees will be subjected to the psychophysiological procedures related to the electrodermal activity and to the hart rate variability (HRV), knowing in this way their own psychophysical personality end potential risks of stress-connected diseases.
 
Instrumentations
 
For the participants of the courses it will be possible to acquire some instruments of biofeedback, developed by Tullio Scrimali, manufactured by Psychotech (www.psychotech.it) and  furnished with specific and complete software at special prices specified below. In this way it is possible to start to apply the assessment and some therapeutic procedures (biofeedback) in clinical setting immediately after coming back to professional activity.
 
The following photographs illustrate the MindLAB Set Kit, the MindLAB Set at work with a laptop and a tipical setting  for Cognitive psychotherapy including a MindLAB Set.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MindLAB is designed both for assessment, biofeedback and mindfulness. In the third image you can see the setting of clinical psychophysiology perfectly integrated with that of Cognitive Therapy.
 
The whole kit can by bought, during the course, at the special prize of  just 500 Euro!