CNOP-MIUR Protocol and School Psychologist: Report Data-PsyCare

20 Feb

Today more than ever the phenomena of expression of discomfort are increasingly widespread youth.
It is therefore necessary to have a proactive educational system that looks at the student and the need for the school to be a place of hiring responsibility for the needs and wants of others.

Never before have so many people felt the need for psychological support. On the front lines. i Boys, forced by the pandemic into distance learning, induced to give up that essential element of socialization and growth that is in-person school.

CNOP: i dati del report

The Piepoli Institute, on behalf of the National Council of the Order of Psychologists (CNOP) produced a report on the difficult situations experienced by young people and on the work of school psychologists.

The results remind us that the health emergency represents a real alarm that should not be underestimated because the data collected confirm what had already been observed until now: the pandemic has negatively impacted the psychophysical growth of children and adolescents.

We remind you that the report is part of the initiatives developed within the CNOP-Ministry of Education Protocol which aims to provide psychological support to students and teachers to respond to traumas and hardships arising from the COVID-19 emergency and to provide support in cases of work-related stress, relational difficulties, psychological trauma and to prevent the onset of forms of discomfort and/or psycho-physical discomfort.

According to the Report, in Italy, “six out of ten children under the age of six and seven out of ten over the age of six show psycho-behavioral problems, with a risk of developing more severe disorders three times greater than before the pandemic.”

The Study Center, through the Piepoli Institute, promoted a survey on the Italian population:

81% of Italians ask for a school psychologist
the percentage rises to 94% in the 15-18 age group.

According to the interviewees, the most important activities are:

listening and support (54%)
prevention of discomfort (41%)
support for families (29%)
consultancy to the school system as a whole and support for teachers (18%).

Among students (15-18 years old), seven out of ten choose the listening and support option, thus highlighting the need to communicate.

CNOP-MIUR Agreement

Education Minister Patrizio Bianchi, interviewed by the Parliamentary Commission for Childhood and Adolescence on issues related to childhood and adolescence, also with regard to the pandemic crisis, clearly stated:

…the school must take charge of all the difficult situations that have arisen and arisen during this period…

…school is neither a clinic nor can it be the solution to everything, but it is the means of everything….

And David Lazzari, president of CNOP, the National Council of the Order of Psychologists:

…now we need to give continuity to this experience; it would be tragic if it were interrupted, also because we need “psychological vaccines” for the psychopandemic, and school psychology is a fundamental tool.

It’s clear, then, that teachers, staff, and administrators must be empowered to understand the difficulty and, with the support of a psychologist, not simply resolve it but channel it into a process, working in conjunction with local health services, which guarantee continuity of care.

CNOP-MIUR Protocol: 80% of Italians want psychologists in schools

What do students and parents ask for? The psychologist at school to help children and young people, after many months of isolation, despite an ongoing pandemic.

Distance learning, classmates only seen virtually, online lessons (even the online gym), and home as the only habitat for months on end are jointly responsible for the damage caused by pandemic isolation..
And now they’re making themselves heard.

And it is not surprising that school-age children and adolescents show psycho-behavioral problems with a risk of developing more severe disorders three times higher than before the pandemic..
This, unfortunately, is what emerges from an initial report on the difficult situation of young people and the work of school psychologists made possible by the CNOP (National Council of the Order of Psychologists) – Ministry of Education Protocol of September 2020. At the time, the protocol led to the activation of the school psychology service in approximately six thousand schools out of a total of eight thousand, especially starting from October-November 2020. The service provided support to students, staff, and families with significant numbers: over a million people benefited from it.

Return to Class: School Psychologist Guidelines

In most Italian regions, classes will begin on September 13, 2021; the first school day began in Bolzano on September 6.

The Memorandum of Understanding updated for the new school year and signed pThe first day of August therefore includes interventions for psychological support which (as specified) It will be coordinated by the Regional School Offices and the Regional Orders of Psychologists and may be provided, including through agreements and collaborations between schools, through specific interviews with professionals qualified in the psychology and psychotherapy profession, conducted in person or remotely, in compliance with the required authorizations and in any case without any clinical intervention.

The Guidelines for promoting psychological well-being in schools suggest:

strengthening spaces for sharing and collaboration between schools and families, even remotely;
the use of psychological support actions capable of managing listening desks and assisting the activities of school staff in the application of innovative teaching methodologies (in person and remotely) and in the management of students with disabilities and those with DSA or specific developmental disorders or other special educational needs, for whom specialized support teachers are not provided.

The areas of intervention identified and taken into consideration are four:

1) Organizational support to the educational institution
2) Support for school staff
3) Support for students
4) Support for families

and they clearly indicate that the support is not aimed exclusively at students: neither school staff nor families can be left alone.

It is very clear how the presence of a psychological help desk at school helps pupils and students to become aware of any problems first, and to ask for help later..

Providing schools with this skill means creating opportunities for young people to grow and mature, especially now, after a pandemic that has affected and upended everyone.

The need to ensure continuity in the protocol and to increasingly structure the role of the school psychologist within institutions is undeniable.