The specialist training of emergency psychologists. Contributions from the XIII Field Camp of Psychologists for the Peoples - Federation (OdV)

This narrative-report presents the activities of the 13th Field Camp of Italian Emergency Psychologists which, due to the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, was held remotely one year after the planned date, on 9 and 17 April 2021. The voluntary organisation Psicologi per i Popoli - Federazione (OdV), on the strength of the training experience of the Field Camps that since 2006 it has been planning and - together with the association Psicologi per i Popoli - Trentino (ODV) - it has been managing at the Centro di Addestramento della Protezione Civile in Marco di Rovereto, puts at the centre of this online event the theme of the training of emergency-urgency psychologists. This training should be accredited by means of a postgraduate specialisation that also legitimises access to the emergency and urgency services of the National Health Service through competitive exams. The article also presents the results of the groups' work in proposing guidelines for the definition of "operational models" for emergency intervention.

The emergency psychologist and new technologies in the era of Covid-19. Teamwork in support of the most vulnerable population

The current pandemic was immediately characterized as an "extra-ordinary" (out of the ordinary) emergency in which everyone, in their own way, tried to find and bring out their own available resources. In this state of emergency, technology has assumed considerable importance: the only one capable of reducing, in every context and situation, the enormous distances unpredictably imposed. The total lockdown of the nation has contributed, in fact, to highlight the importance of technological support in reaching people. Starting from this reflection, Psicologi per i Popoli - Trentino ODV put forward the proposal to integrate technology into the daily working life of the emergency psychologist, starting from the idea that this can be a fundamental support in a time when there is no possibility of proximity and its important implications in the therapeutic relationship. "The virtual channel, although often limiting as it lacks some communicative dimensions and body language, is the one that today allows us to continue to promote the dimension of care, speech, relationship and prevent the worsening of pre-existing psychopathological situations, so how to provide an initial response and support to those who feel the need" (Di Giuseppe and Lauro, 2020).This contribution wants to share our experience of Psicologi per i Popoli Trentino ODV, with the population, in this sense. Our work was inside a remote psychological help and support service, called Vicini anche se lontani, inserted in the #Resta a casa, passo io service, activated by the Health and Social Policies Department of the Autonomous Province of Trento, in Italy, in collaboration with the Civil Protection. The Covid-19 epidemic represented the first experience of remote psychological intervention mediated by means of communication (telephone, smartphone, e-mail, instant messaging, videoconferencing platforms. etc.), thus opening new horizons and new operating methods.