The present work intends to describe a psychosomatic orientated intervention initiated through an online platform during the first “lockdown” in Italy and carried out through a “Psychoeducational Protocol” for COVID-19 pandemic stress adopted by SIMP (Società Italiana di Medicina Psicosomatica, Italian Society of Psychosomatic Medicine) and firstly developed by Dr Greg Crosby (International Association for Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes). In the immediate and short term, free support was offered both to health workers, exposed to great professional risks, and to individuals presenting forms of discomfort and suffering, in order to cope with the first phase of “Pandemic Fatigue” by teaching/learning self-help tools and activating or reactivating a process of acceptance of reality. The paper shows how the course allowed them to obtain significant results in facing an anxious-depressive state, process anger and hostility with greater awareness, envisaging new forms of adaptation, thanks to the acquisition of greater emotional and relational skills and, at the same time, with the representation of a different future through the use of imagination and positive, proactive thinking.
Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1978). Patterns of Attachment: A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Alcaro, A., & Carta, S. (2019). The “Instinct” of Imagination. A Neuro-Ethological Approach to the Evolution of the Reflective Mind and Its Application to Psychotherapy. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, Article No. 522. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00522
Alcaro, A., & Pankesepp, J. (2014). Le radici affettive e immaginative del Sé: un’indagine neuroetologica sulle origini della soggettività. In G. Northoff, M. Farinelli, R. Chattat, & F. Baldoni (Eds.), La plasticità del Sé. Un approccio neuropsicodinamico (pp. 65-89). Il Mulino.
Alter, D. S., & Sugarman, L. I. (2017). Reorienting Hypnosis Education. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 59, 235-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/00029157.2016.1231657
Battaglia, L. (2020). L’idea di salute globale. Una sfida per la Bioetica in “Il caso e la necessità. Covid 19, la (prima) pandemia del terzo millennio”. Key Editions.
Battaglia, L. (2022). Bioetica, Movimenti, Idee, fenomeni. Bibliografica.
Bauman, Z. (2000). La solitudine del cittadino globale. Feltrinelli.
Benasi, G., Fava, G. A., & Rafanelli, C. (2020). Symptom Questionnaire, a Highly Sensitive Patient-Reported Outcome Measure: Systematic Review of Clinimetric Properties. Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, 89, 74-89. http://doi.org/10.1159/000506110
Bonanno, G. A., Brewin, C. R., Kaniasty, K., & La Greca, A. M. (2010). Weighing the Costs of Disaster: Consequences, Risks, and Resilience in Individuals, Families, and Communities. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 11, 1-49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100610387086
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and Loss. Vol. 2: Separation. Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and Loss. Vol. 3: Loss, Sadness and Depression. Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1989). Una base sicura. Applicazioni cliniche della teoria dell’attaccamento. Raffaello Cortina Editore.
Brewer, N. T., Chapman, G. B., Gibbons, F. X., Gerrard, M., McCaul, K. D., & Weinstein, N. D. (2007). Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Risk Perception and Health Behavior: The Example of Vaccination. Health Psychology, 26, 136-145. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.26.2.136
Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The Psychological Impact of Quarantine and How to Reduce It: Rapid Review of the Evidence. The Lancet, 395, 912-920. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8
Cagiada, S., & Pizzi, R. (2020). Autoipnosi strumento per il mantenimento dell’omeostasi per la prevenzione della malattia attraverso l’attivazione delle risorse interiori. IPNOSI, 12, 25-36. https://doi.org/10.3280/IPN2020-002002
Canguilhem, G. (1998). Il normale e il patologico. Einaudi.
Casagrande, M., Favieri, F., Tambelli, R., & Forte, G. (2020). The Enemy Who Sealed the World: Effects of Quarantine Due to the COVID-19 on Sleep Quality, Anxiety, and Psychological Distress in the Italian Population. Sleep Medicine, 75, 12-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.05.011
Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P. L. (1999). Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research and Clinical Applications. Guildford Press.
Ciucci, M. (2020). Mental Health during the Covid-19 Pandemic. ENVI Webinar Proceedings. Directorate-General for Internal Policies. European Parliament.
Colonnello, V., Leonardi, G., Farinelli, M., Bertoletti, E., & Russo, P. M. (2020). Psychological Distress in Hospitalized Patients without COVID-19 Symptoms: The Role of Fear of Infection and Remote Contact with Informal Caregivers. Psychological Medicine, 1, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720005012
Colonnello, V., Petrocchi, N., Farinelli, M., & Ottaviani, C. (2017). Positive Social Interactions in a Lifespan Perspective with a Focus on Opioidergic and Oxytocinergic Systems: Implications for Neuroprotection. Current Neuropharmacology, 15, 543-561. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570159X14666160816120209
Crosby, G., & Altman, D. (2012). Integrative Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy. In J. L. Kleindberg (Ed.), The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Group Psychotherapy. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119950882.ch5
De Luca, M. L. (2020). Impatto psicologico del COVID-19 Traiettorie prototipiche, rischi e opportunità nei possibili percorsi di risposta psicologica all’emergenza pandemica. Studia Moralia, 58, 315-330.
De Mori, G. (2019). Corpi diafani, corpi abusati. Istituto Italiano di Bioetica. https://www.istitutobioetica.it/appuntamenti/193-news-liguria/804-corpi-diafani-corpi-abusati
Dell’Osso, L., Carmassi, C., & Shear, M. K. (2013). Dal lutto complicato (Complicated Grief) al Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder. Journal of Psychopathology, 19, 185-190.
Delmastro, M., & Zamariola, G. (2020). Depressive Symptoms in Response to COVID-19 and Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Italian Population. Scientific Reports, 10, Article No. 22457. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.26.2.136
Durosini, I., Triberti, S., Savioni, L., & Pravettoni, G. (2021). In the Eye of a Quiet Storm: A Critical Incident Study on the Quarantine Experience during the Coronavirus Pandemic. PLOS ONE, 16, e0247121. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247121
Engel, G. L. (1977). The Need for a New Medical Model. A Challenge for Biomedicine. Science, 196, 129-136. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.847460
Esch, T., & Stefano, G. B. (2010). Endogenous Reward Mechanisms and Their Importance in Stress Reduction, Exercise and the Brain. Archives of Medical Science, 30, 447-455. https://doi.org/10.5114/aoms.2010.14269
Espie, C. A. (2006). Superare l’insonnia. Eclipsi.
Fabbri, A., De Iaco, F., Marchesini, G. et al. (2021). The Coping Styles to Stress of Italian Emergency Health-Care Professionals after the First Peak of COVID 19 Pandemic Outbreak. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 4, 573-575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.12.054
Faretta, E. (2020). EMDR e psicosomatica: Il dialogo tra mente e corpo. Edra.
Farinelli, M. (2020). #Iorestoacasa #noirestiamoacasa: le forme e i tempi dell’adattamento al distanziamento sociale. DNA—Di Nulla Academia, 1, 49-67.
Farinelli, M., Cevolani, D., Gestieri, L., Romaniello, C., Maffei, M., Agati, R., Leo, M. R., Huang, Z., Pedone, V., & Northoff, G. (2020). Brain and Behaviour in Post-Acute Stroke: Reduction in Seeking and Posterior Cingulate Neuronal Variability. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 42, 584-601. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2020.1780417
Fava, G. A. (2016). Well-Being Therapy: Current Indications and Emerging Perspectives. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 85, 136-145. https://doi.org/10.1159/000444114
Fava, G. A., & Guidi, J. (2020). The Pursuit of Euthymia. World Psychiatry, 19, 40-50. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20698
Fava, G. A., & Kellner, R. (1982). Versione italiana del Symptom Questionnaire (S.Q.) di Kellner. In R. Canestrari (Ed.), Nuovi metodi in psicometria (pp. 51-54). O.S. Organizzazioni Speciali.
Fava, G. A., Kellner, R., Perini, G. I., Fava, M., Michelacci, L., Munari, F. et al. (1983). Italian Validation of the Symptom Rating Test (SRT) and Symptom Questionnaire (SQ). The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 28, 117-123. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674378302800208
Fiorenzato, E., Zabberoni, S., Costa, A., & Cona, G. (2021). Cognitive and Mental Health Changes and Their Vulnerability Factors Related to COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy. PLOS ONE, 16, e0246204. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246204
Fiorillo, A., & Gorwood, P. (2020). The Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Implications for Clinical Practice. European Psychiatry, 63, e32. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.35
Fiorillo, A., Sampogna, G., Giallonardo, V. et al. (2020). Effetti del lockdown sulla salute mentale della popolazione generale durante la pandemia di COVID-19 in Italia: Risultati della rete collaborativa COMET. European Psychiatry, 63, e87. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.89
Ghebreyesus, T. A. (2020). Addressing Mental Health Needs: An Integral Part of COVID-19 Response. World Psychiatry, 19, 129-130. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20768
Ghiretti, F., Gildoni, G., Grassi, G. M., Torricelli, L., Benassi, E., Bonaretti, E. et al. (2020). Psychological Support to the Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Field Experience in Reggio Emilia, Northern Italy. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, Article ID: 561742. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.561742
Gorwood, P., & Fiorillo, A. (2021). One Year after the COVID-19: What Have We Learnt, What Shall We Do Next? European Psychiatry, 64, e15. https://doi.org10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.9
Gruber, J., Prinstein, M. J., Abramowitz, J. S., Albano, A. M., Aldao, A., Borelli, J. et al. (2020). Clinical Psychological Science’s Call to Action in the Time of Covid-19. American Psychologist, 76, 409-426. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000707
Kellner, R. (1987). A Symptom Questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 48, 268-274.
Kellner, R., & Sheffield, B. F. (1973). A Self-Rating Scale of Distress. Psychological Medicine, 3, 88-100. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291700046377
Kersting, A., Brähler, E., Glaesmer, H., & Wagner, B. (2011). Prevalence of Complicated Grief in a Representative Population-Based Sample. Journal of Affective Disorders, 131, 339-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2010.11.032
Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On Death and Dying. Macmillan.
Lai, J., Ma, S., Wang, Y., Cai, Z., Hu, J., Wei, N. et al. (2020). Factors Associated with Mental Health Outcomes among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019. JAMA Network Open, 3, e203976. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. Springer.
MacLeod, C., & Bucks, R. S. (2011). Emotion Regulation and the Cognitive-Experimental Approach to Emotional Dysfunction. Emotion Review, 3, 62-73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073910380970
Moreno, C., Wykes, T., Galderisi, S., Nordentoft, M., Crossley, N., Jones, N. et al. (2020). How Mental Health Care Should Change as a Consequence of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7, 813-824. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30307-2
Muscatell, K. A., & Eisenberger, N. I. (2012). A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Stress and Health. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6, 890-904. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00467.x
Northoff, G. (2019). La neurofilosofia e la mente sana: Imparare dal cervello. Raffaello Cortina Editore.
Northoff, G., Farinelli, M., Chattat, R., & Baldoni F. (2014). La plasticità del Sé. Un approccio neuropsicodinamico (pp. 65-87). Il Mulino.
O’Donovan, A., Slavich, G. M., Epel, E. S., & Neylan, T. C. (2013). Exaggerated Neurobiological Sensitivity to Threat as a Mechanism Linking Anxiety with Increased Risk for Diseases of Aging. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 37, 96-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.10.013
Odum, E. P. (1972). Ecosystem Theory in Relation to Man. In J. A. Wiens (Ed.), Ecosystem Structure and Function (pp. 11-24). Oregon State University.
Pakenham, K. I., Landi, G., Boccolini, G., Furlani, A., Grandi, S., & Tossani, E. (2020). The Moderating Roles of Psychological Flexibility and Inflexibility on the Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown in Italy. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 17, 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.07.003
Panksepp, J., & Biven, L. (2014). Archeologia della mente. Raffaello Cortina Editore.
Panksepp, J., & Farinelli, M. (2015). The Instinctual Foundations of Infant Minds: How Primary Affects Guide the Construction of Their Higher Cognitive Proclivities and Abilities. In R. J. Noone, & D. V. Papero (Eds.), The Family Emotional System (pp. 123-138). Lexington Books.
Parkes, C. M. (1980). Il lutto. Studio sul cordoglio degli adulti. Feltrinelli.
Pert, C. (1999). Molecules of Emotion: The Science between Mind-Body Medicine Scribner. Pocket Books.
Pert, C. B., Ruff, M. R., Weber, R. J., & Herkenham, M. (1985). Neuropeptides and Their Receptors: A Psychosomatic Network. The Journal of Immunology, 135, 820s-826s.
Pfefferbaum, B., & North, C. S. (2020). Mental Health and the Covid-19 Pandemic. The New England Journal of Medicine, 383, 510-512. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2008017
Pizzi, R., Oreni, L., Grassi, S., Ridolfo, A. L., Rusconi, S., Croce, F. et al. (2015). Telemedicine for Africa: Collaborative Action between Italy and Swaziland against HIV Infection. International Journal of Biology and Biomedical Engineering, 9, 90-97.
Porges, S. W. (2018). La guida alla teoria polivagale. Il potere trasformativo della sensazione di sicurezza. Giovanni Fioriti Editore.
Prezza, M., & Santinello, M. (2002). Conoscere la comunità. Il Mulino.
Rajkumar, R. P. (2020). COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Review of the Existing Literature. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 52, Article ID: 102066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102066
Rizzolatti, G., & Sinigaglia, C. (2005). So quel che fai. Il cervello che agisce e i neuroni specchio. Raffaello Cortina Editore.
Rossi, R., Socci, V., Talevi, D., Mensi, S., Niolu, C., Pacitti, F. et al. (2020). COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown Measures Impact on Mental Health among the General Population in Italy. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, Article No. 790. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00790
Rubin, G. J., & Wessely, S. (2020). The Psychological Effects of Quarantining a City. British Medical Journal, 368, m313. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m313
Schleider, J. L., Dobias, M. L., Sung, J. Y., & Mullarkey, M. C. (2020). Future Directions in Single-Session Youth Mental Health Interventions. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2, 264-278. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2019.1683852
Schwartz, G. E. (1982). Testing the Biopsychosocial Model: The Ultimate Challenge Facing Behavioral Medicine? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 1040-1053. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-006X.50.6.1040
Selye, H. (1971). Hormones and Resistance. Springer-Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65192-2
Selye, H. (1974). Stress without Distress. JB Lippincott Co.
Shah, K., Bedi, S., Onyeaka, H., Singh, R., & Chaudhari, G. (2020). The Role of Psychological First Aid to Support Public Mental Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Cureus, 12, e8821. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.8821
Siegel, D. J. (2007). The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well. W. W. Norton & Company.
Thayer, J. F., Ahs, F., Fredrikson, M., Sollers, J. J., & Wager, T. D. (2021). A Meta-Analysis of Heart Rate Variability and Neuroimaging Studies: Implications for Heart Rate Variability as a Marker of Stress and Health. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 36, 747-756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009
Viorst, J. (1986). Distacchi. Frassinelli.
Walsh, F. (2003). Family Resilience: A Framework for Clinical Practice. Family Process, 42, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2003.00001.x
Williams, J. M., Barnhofer, T., Crane, C., Herman, D., Raes, F., Watkins, E., & Dalgleish, T. (2007). Autobiographical Memory Specificity and Emotional Disorder. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 122-148. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.122
Wolpe, J. (1969). The Practice of Behavior Therapy. Pergamon Press.
World Health Organization (1946). Constitution. https://www.who.int/governance/eb/who_constitution_en.pdf
Xiang, Y. T., Yang, Y., Li, W., Zhang, L., Zhang, Q., Cheung, T. et al. (2020). Timely Mental Health Care for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Is Urgently Needed. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7, 228-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30046-8