Psychological wellbeing and support

Since 2004, the Scuola Normale Superiore has availed itself of psychological support services by means of agreements and direct assignments for specialist services for the psychophysical well-being of its students.
The counselling and psychological support service provides an initial consultation (which can include several sessions) in which the situation is assessed, the strategies to deal with the latter are set forth and the student is sent to the competent, preferably public, territorial structures.
The Scuola covers financially the service, that caters for different needs (different problems of differing complexity).

The Counseling and Psychological Support Service for the Students of the Scuola Normale Superiore is managed by PerFormat s.r.l., a training, consultancy, and research company founded in 2002 by a group of Professionals experienced in high-level training in organizational, healthcare, and social fields, as well as in business consultancy. It provides training interventions, educational and professional guidance, career counseling, coaching, clinical psychological therapies and psychotherapies.

Access to the Service is guaranteed up to a maximum of 17 hours to all eligible students, regardless of the type and complexity of their needs, as well as their cultural and geographical background. The Coordinator of the Team verifies the legitimacy of each access request through the database containing data of potential users.

There are two paths to access the service:

• Access through an email message sent to  psychohelp.sns@performat.it which will be received by the Coordinator and directed to the requested Professional.
• Direct contact with the Professional through the PerFormat App, or by phone/email.

The service is structured into 5 pathways:

Pathway A: An initial consultation to plan subsequent meetings (1 meeting).

Pathway B: Counseling and assessment service, up to a maximum of 6 sessions.

Pathway C: Brief psychotherapy, up to a maximum of 10 sessions.

Pathway C-bis: Follow-up sessions, at least 6 months after the end of Pathway C, up to a maximum of 6 sessions.

Pathway D: Group sessions, 2 meetings per year.

At the end of the series of sessions, the Professional can refer the Student to other pathways, facilitating their access if required. Any possible drop-out is managed by the Professional's request for at least one closing session in order to provide feedback on the pathway. This will allow the Students to resume the pathway when they feel ready, with a clearer understanding of their specific needs.

Cancellation Policy: please send a cancellation email to the booked Professional with at least 24 hours' notice. If the communication does not occur or does not happen in a timely manner, the appointment will be deducted from the available appointments within the pathway undertaken and considered as it took place.

Counseling, assessment and psychotherapeutic sessions might be:

• Online, using the PerFormat APP;
• In-person, at the PerFormat Salute Centers in Pisa and Firenze. You can find more information about their locations here.

The Team of the Service is composed as follows:

1. Dr. Anna Emanuela Tangolo (Coordinator) – Psychologist and Psychotherapist (Languages spoken: Italian and English)
2. Dr. Caterina Romaniello – Psychologist and Psychotherapist (Languages spoken: Italian and English)
3. Dr. Samantha Frediani – Psychologist and Psychotherapist (Languages spoken: Italian and English)
4. Dr. Alessia Barberi  – Psychologist and Psychotherapist (Languages spoken: Italian and English)
5. Dr. Mirko Paolinelli  – Psychologist and Psychotherapist (Languages spoken: Italian and English)
6. Dr. Fabiola Giannelli – Psychologist and Psychotherapist (Languages spoken: Italian and English)