Master in Relaxation Techniques and Mindfulness

The master focuses on the skilled knowledge of relaxation, mindfulness and provides a brief theoretical comparison - practical even with Ericksonian hypnotic techniques. The students are guided towards a theoretical but above all practical knowledge which provides for the sharing of the experience but at times also the conduction of the group by the single participants. Particular attention will be paid to the psychophysiological and neurophysiological aspects that will guide us towards the study of the body-mind up to the PNEI model.

Recipients and keywords

This Master is reserved for graduates in psychology (first and / or second level degree), psychologists and psychotherapists, graduates in medicine with psychological training (specialized or specializing in clinical psychology, psychiatry, neurology).

Keywords: theoretical-experiential comparison between relaxation techniques, Meditation (Mindfulness) and Hypnosis, psycho and neurophysiological bases, PNEI model, epigenetics, mirror neurons, biofeedback and neurofeedback, indications and contraindications of techniques, training and subsequent ability to practice techniques on yourself, patient and group-class management, flexibility in the application of techniques, planning and marketing of courses.

Participating in our master means:

• Acquire techniques, tools applied with excellent results in various areas of psychology (in particular the clinical sector, sports, work) of wellness and stress prevention and management. In the psychological and psychotherapeutic fields, they are used by colleagues of all orientations (for example: cognitive-behavioral, systemic-relational, psychoanalytic, humanistic, etc.) and represent a solid basis for the development of a common language.
• Projecting into the professional future: integration between the psychological, neuroscience and PNEI model (PsicoNeuroEndocrinoImmunologia).

Request the free orientation interview for the master's program without registration

Testimonies students previous editions

"Relaxation was a great tool for me. It allowed me to discover and learn more about myself, to understand my fundamental values, to focus on my goals, to live my work passionately. He also allowed me to walk through life with greater serenity and self-esteem, etc. " (Valentina Morizio)

"I honestly would not recommend the master to everyone, unconditionally. I definitely recommend it to those who, at this moment, feel they have the resources to open up to the discovery, or rediscovery, of aspects of themselves. " (Sara Girotti)

"A professionally stimulating experience, intense and engaging personal work, a demanding journey, etc." (Agnese Olivato)

"This course is a true inner journey, to discover a tool that can give serenity, stability, making you remember that your body is a machine that works very well without too many humoral alterations to which we uselessly subject it daily, etc." (David D. Swan)

"Now that the exam is over, I want to thank you for the precision with which the master has been carried out, the attention to physiological aspects, the evident competence and above all the extreme willingness to accept any doubts and requests for support. I am also happy about the severity of the exam, much more useful than the classic "proforma" tests to give me back the effective effectiveness of my learning. In fact, much of my present happiness is due to the fact that it really seems to me to know something about relaxation and having passed this type of exam helps me to believe in it a little more. " (Matteo Castilletti)

"To say that the lessons were formative, it is to use a euphemism ... both as energy and positivity that you transmitted as teachers, and as enthusiasm to deepen the topics covered once returned home, etc." (Adele Callegari)

"Teachers have an original and adherent way of teaching to their personalities. They know, beyond the contents, also transmit passion for this work, enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge. One thing I noticed was the total absence of "intellectual selfishness" in them. Often and generously clinical experiences are shared, etc. " (Sabrina Menozzi)

"The possibility of managing the class, organizing and conducting the lesson in first person, having immediate feedback on my way of relating and leading the group, are live tests of what I will have to do with future patient groups that I will find to face, etc. " (Luca Mazzucchelli)

“The experience of this master was beautiful. Beautiful because it is complete and concrete, beautiful because you have given us insights that intrigued me, beautiful for your openness, availability and flexibility " (Marta del Bono)

To deepen the full version of the testimonies

Main objectives in summary

Our goals are to promote and increase the well-being and the ability to practice master techniques on ourselves and others, and to promote their own and others' personal and work growth, improve the ability to cope with both acute and stressful experiences that chronic, learning tools to use profitably in one's work and, last but not least, helping them to prevent work-related burnout and stress.

Main skills acquired

Personal competence of self-awareness, relaxing, managing and preventing stress. Administration and management of techniques on individuals and groups with psychopathologies (only for those who are psychotherapists). Administration and management of techniques on individuals and groups in the field of wellness promotion, prevention of stress diseases, work and sport sector. Course design and marketing skills.

Methods and tools

The Master is strongly focused on practice . In each lesson there will be a brief theoretical introduction to the topic followed by an extensive practice of techniques .

Participants will be invited to practice the techniques at home and write the relevant protocols in order to practice and generalize learning outside the lesson.

Role-playing and simulations of interviews will be carried out in order to be able to verify personal experiences both as a conductor and as a user in an interview.

Before, during and at the end of the master the student will be asked to undergo psychophysiological measurements (with biofeedback) to assess his basic skills (and those he will acquire) and the ability to relax, manage stress and to be self-aware. pixel2013 / Pixabay

Basic Master's Program

A) Practice on yourself: how to promote well-being, prevent and manage stress with relaxation techniques.

RMP (Progressive Muscle Relaxation) technique according to E. Jacobson:

• Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercises.
• General information on the practice of relaxation: positions, shooting exercises, practical frequency at home.
• General information on the practice to be performed at home: time, clothing, environment, management of problems and difficulties, protocols.

Autogenic Training by JH Schultz:

• Exercises of the lower cycle (heaviness, heat, breath, heart, solar plexus, fresh forehead, face, eyes and shoulder-neck, reduced exercises). Proportional exercises.

Biofeedback:

• Psychophysiological survey (base-line) on students. Through the bioefeedback we will measure the basic, starting competence, which relates to relaxation and stress management of the student, monitoring, during and at the end of the master, the changes that occur over time with the practice of relaxation and Mindfulness (the latter in the advanced level master).
• Main parameters used: electromyography, heart rate, peripheral temperature, skin conductance.

Indications and contraindications of relaxation techniques.

B) How and why relaxation techniques work: neuropsychophysiology of relaxation.

• Stress and its management: eustress and distress, acute and chronic stress.
• Introduction to psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology (PNEI model).
• Elements of endocrinology and immunology involved in relaxation.
• The Central, Peripheral and Autonomous Nervous System (Sympathetic and Parasympathetic): motor, sensory and autonomous pathways involved in relaxation.
• Skeletal muscles and their functioning. Tension and muscle relaxation.
• Visceral relaxation: the smooth muscles involved in relaxation.
• Blood vessels: how they work and why they are involved in relaxation.
• Breathing: the lungs, the rib cage and the associated muscles.
• The heart and the cardiocirculatory system.
• The gastrointestinal system.
• Anatomo-physiological elements for the comprehension of the exercises of the eyes, of the face, of the shoulders-nape.

C) How to practice and manage relaxation techniques on others: wellness psychology, stress management and prevention.

• Group guide to relaxation practice. Each lesson includes two practical moments in which to dedicate oneself to relaxation. One of these two will be managed by the teachers while the other will be managed, starting from the second lesson, by the students who will follow one after the other to guide the group during the lessons.
• Group management after the execution of the practice and related psychological dynamics.
• The Socratic art of questions for group management.
• Presentation of clinical cases in which the practice of relaxation was used.
• Role-playing and simulations of interviews with students in the field of psychological counseling and social-health sector.

Advanced level Master program

A) practice on oneself: how to promote well-being, prevent and manage stress with mindfulness.

Introduction to Mindfulness

• What is Mindfulness? How does it differ (and what is it similar) from relaxation techniques ?
• Notes on the history of Mindfulness.
• Meditative practice through the MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction - Awareness based reduction method).
• Overview of the practice of Mindfulness: positions, shooting exercises, practical frequency at home, protocols.
• General information on the practice to be performed at home: time, clothing, environment, disturbance management and difficulties.
• Practice with the MBSR protocol: Awareness and autopilot; Living in the head; Collect the scattered mind; Recognize aversion; Accept / let go; Thoughts are not facts; How can I take care of myself in the best way? Cultivate and increase the new teachings.

Biofeedback and Neurofeedback

• Psychophysiological survey (base-line) on students. Through bioefeedback and neurofeedback we will measure the basic starting competence of relaxation, meditation and stress management of the student, monitoring during and at the end of the master the changes that occur over time with the practice of Mindfulness.
• Main parameters used: electromyography, heart rate, peripheral temperature, skin conductance, electroencephalography.

Indications and contraindications of Mindfulness.

B) How to practice and manage mindfulness on others: wellness psychology, stress management and prevention.

• Leading of the Mindfulness group and related psychological dynamics.
• The Socratic art of questions for group management.
• Each lesson, with the exception of the first, involves two moments in which the group dedicates itself to the practice of Mindfulness. One of these two moments will be managed by the teachers while the other will be managed, starting from the second lesson, by the students who will follow one after the other during the lessons.
• In all the lessons, role-playing and simulations of interviews with the students will be carried out in the context of psychological counseling and the social-health sector.

C) How and why relaxation techniques and mindfulness work: neuropsychophysiology, genetics and epigenetics.

• In-depth analysis of the PNEI model: the PsicoNeuroEndocrinoImmunologia.
• Brain activity (EEG): Rhythm Alpha, Beta and Theta.
• Neuroplasticity and neurogenesis: how the brain changes itself.
• The epigenetic revolution: the impact of the environment on DNA.
• Mirror neurons: the circuits of empathy.

D) Experiential comparison between relaxation techniques, mindfulness and hypnosis.

• Introduction to hypnosis: what is hypnosis? What is not hypnosis? Judgments and prejudices on hypnosis. How does it differ from relaxation techniques and Mindfulness?
• Definition of trance and suggestion.
• The phenomenology of hypnosis.
• Hints on the history of hypnosis.
• Main applications of hypnosis.
• Examples of induction techniques of directive and non-directive trance.
• Practical experiences of hypnosis.
• Introduction to the new Eriksonian hypnosis.
• Trance as a natural phenomenon (common everyday trance) and non-directive. The concept of rapport and the role of the therapist. Therapeutic setting: a flexible and creative approach. A new concept of resistance. Reading and storytelling by Milton H. Erickson. The paradoxical technique.

E) Introduction to marketing applied to psychology: how to design courses and how to advertise them.

• Introduction to marketing applied to psychology.
• How to structure a course effectively: structuring the objectives, contents, costs, identifying the best areas of application of the proposed techniques.
• Examples of successful course projects.

Lesly Juarez / Unsplash

Teachers and managers

• Dr. Maria Cristina Foglia Manzillo: psychologist and psychotherapist of cognitive-behavioral orientation enrolled in the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy, doctor-surgeon enrolled in the Order of Physicians and Dentists of Como, freelancer, founding member, lecturer, supervisor co -responsible of Centro Studi Panta Rei . She is responsible for the teaching of the Master in psychodiagnostics and counseling with an integrated approach organized by the same Center, and director of this master. He is specifically interested in clinical psychophysiology, neuroscience and the PNEI model.
• Dr. Nunzio Nast: psychologist and psychotherapist of cognitive-behavioral orientation enrolled in the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy, freelancer, founding member, lecturer, supervisor and co-manager of Centro Studi Panta Rei . He is director of the Master in integrated counseling organized by the same Center. Speaker and lecturer in conferences and courses in relaxation techniques.
• Dr. Cathia Aldeghi: psychologist, enrolled in the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy, master in relaxation techniques and two-year Master in clinical counseling and cognitive-behavioral community with integrated approach at the Centro Studi Panta Rei , a freelancer. She specializes in cognitive psychotherapy at the SITCC in Como. He deals with clinical and school psychology, professional guidance and training.
• Dr. Giuseppe Sacco: psychologist, psychotherapist with cognitive-behavioral orientation, member of the Order of Psychologists of Lazio. Specialized in Psychosomatic Medicine; Psychophysiology; Relaxation Techniques (Autogenic and Jacobson Training) and in Biofeedback. He worked as a lecturer, researcher and clinician first at the Institute of Psychology and at the Postgraduate School of Clinical Psychology at the University of Siena and later at the Department of Neurological Sciences and Behavior of the same University. He is currently Professor and Supervisor of the Center for Research in Psychotherapy (CRP) in Rome and in several National Psychotherapy Schools recognized by MIUR (Ministry of Education, University and Scientific Research). He is a member of the Board of the Italian Society of Psychosocial Medicine (SIMPS), collaborates with the Biofeedback Federation of Europe (BFE) and is President and founder of Libra Scientific Association of Rome, Center of Excellence recognized by the BFE. He has published 8 books and over 70 articles in the field of Psychology and Psychotherapy on national and international journals.

Teaching assistants

• Dr. Federico Scimone: psychologist, member of the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy. Two-year Master in clinical counseling and cognitive-behavioral community with an integrated approach at the Centro Studi Panta Rei . He is specializing in the AMISI neo-Dicksonian school of hypnotic psychotherapy in Milan. He is specialized in the use of the EMDR protocol He works as a clinical psychologist.
• Dr. Giancarlo Nazzareno: Clinical and Community psychologist, enrolled in the Register of Psychologists of Piedmont, master in relaxation techniques at the Centro Studi Panta Rei . Voluntary psychological counseling is carried out on a voluntary basis by AC OPEN SPACE of Moncalieri (TO). Promotes individual or group relaxation plans. Designs and coordinates sensory laboratories and relaxing days / weekends in synergy with other disciplines related to psycho-physical well-being.

Supervisors

Maria Cristina Foglia Manzillo; Nunzio Nasti; Cathia Aldeghi

Duration of the master

The master is divided into a basic and an advanced level. Each level consists of:

8 lessons (64 hours) 4 hours of individual supervision .

Total Master's total of 138 hours.

Schedule of lessons - Basic level

(Saturday) opening hours : 10.00 am - 1.30 pm / 2.30 pm - 6.00 pm; 3 and 31 October, 7 November, 12 December 2020 ; 9 January, 6 February, 6 March, 10 April 2021 .

Schedule of lessons - Advanced level

(Saturday) opening hours : 10.00 am - 1.30 pm / 2.30 pm - 6.00 pm; 8 May, 5 and 26 June, 4 September, 2 October, 6 and 27 November, 11 December 2021 .

Maximum number of participants: 15

Minimum number of participants for the activation of the Master: 8

Note: Master's students will be notified if their start is postponed at least 2 weeks before the scheduled start date if the minimum number is not reached.

Participation fee

Participation fee for each level

(Rates include 4 hours of individual supervision)

• € 1,400: advance of € 200 8 monthly installments of € 150
• € 1,250 (€ 150 discount) - € 200 advance payment of € 1,050 within the second lesson of the master.

Participation fee for the full course

(Rates include 4 hours of individual supervision)

• € 2,700: (€ 100 discount) - € 300 advance payment of € 150 monthly installments
• € 2,400: (€ 300 discount) - € 400 advance payment of € 2,000 balance within the second lesson of the master.

Note: The master is VAT exempt

Selection procedures and registrations

To access the master it is necessary, after having sent a curriculum vitae and the form to the Center, to hold an interview aimed at analyzing the expectations, attitudes, motivations, psycho-physical contraindications to participation, possible doubts of the participant and clarifications on the master's program.

Request, without registration, the free orientation guide to the master

Certificates of participation and diplomas

• The specialization diploma (specialist in relaxation techniques and mindfulness) can be obtained with the awarding of an overall opinion, passing the relative exams.
• Participants who do not attend at least 80% of the total hours will not be able to enter the final exam.

Centro Studi Panta Rei

For the integration between Psychology, Medicine and Neuroscience

The Professional Association of the Centro Studi Panta Rei was founded in 1997 in the province of Como (Italy) by the will of Foglia Manzillo Maria Cristina (psychologist, psychotherapist and doctor) enrolled in the Register of Psychologists of Lombardy (No. 03/4845) and Register of the Doctors of the Province of Como (No. 6539) and Nasti Nunzio (psychologist and psychotherapist) enrolled in the Register of Psychologists of Lombardy (No. 03/4998). The Center was created by the will of two psychotherapists (Nasti Nunzio and Foglia Manzillo Maria Cristina) grew up together during the years of the University and the following 4 years of the graduate school and who, in the meantime, got married.

The name of the Study Center was not chosen by chance. The phrase "Panta Rei" immediately refers to the ancient Greek philosophy and to a particular philosopher, Heraclitus. The phrase is commonly translated into Italian as "Everything flows" or "Everything becomes." It was chosen because it suits well both our life choices and our subject matter.

We have made "Everything changes" a point of reference for our lives. In fact, we agreed on this: "If something in our lives does not satisfy us, it is worth trying to change it." We did not want to live regret for not having had the courage.

As young people, not being satisfied with the place where we lived (the former "Campania Felix"), we decided to come to the North, we chose Como, a completely unknown place: we knew that, for that decision, we would have paid or earned In the beginning, we paid a lot, at certain times too much but then, with the passage of time, we were happy both of the decision taken and of having managed to endure the pain and build our Center. after brick, with infinite patience, our small project is growing.Our experience has not been different from a psychotherapy path with the foreseeable difficulties to tear up some roots to plant new ones, with the attempts to demolish and rebuild, to transform and smoothen, broaden and change your horizon.We think, in fact, that we could not introduce ourselves to patients without having the courage to change what we did not like. or could we have guided another person on a journey that we had avoided ourselves?

And so we try to embody what our profession has taught us and to put to good use the instruments it has endowed us with.

The way we look at change is not extreme, like nothing that characterizes us. No extreme perspective belongs to us. We are convinced that changing too much is like not changing.

Our Mission

We like the scientific spirit because it is potentially democratic, has a collective soul, is open to change in the interest of knowledge. We write "potentially" because science is made by scientists who are human beings and introduce our weaknesses in the scientific field.

We love psychology, medicine and neuroscience. We are very attracted by the man's ability to face difficult situations, to be able to get up after a heavy thud. We like resilience (the ability of man to face the inevitable difficulties of life with a constructive spirit). That is why we have studied the subjects mentioned above and are full of admiration for the new discoveries of unimaginable neuroscience for much of the old science that has opposed it and still does not integrate the new discoveries in its daily clinical practice.

We like to take care of others (do not be manipulated or exploited by others, or the lawyers of the causes lost at the start, attention!). We think that good quality social relationships are a beautiful fertile ground for human serenity. This is for us.

Nature is another of our interests. We try to pollute less, to recycle better, to use composting in our home, to buy "zero km" food from local producers, to encourage organic farming methods, to take advantage of a walk to clean up a path (pains in the back allowing).

Our main interests:

Psychology

Although we specialize in cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, which is the foundation of our professional preparation, we are committed to recognizing their worthy place in psychological clinics to many other approaches. This makes our counseling paths "stimulating" and "involving" both for the students and for the teachers but also "challenging".

Medicine

A passion felt by both as much as for psychology.

The studies have been and still are fascinating for Maria Cristina, who is involved in a long journey due to serious health problems that have seen her both as a student and a sick woman hospitalized in various departments.

This makes the reason for suffering if we sometimes observe attitudes in medicine that are not exactly in line with what one would like to be "the elegance and professionalism of the medical profession".

Neuroscience

The love for the functioning of the body and the mind see their highest expression in the interest of neuroscience at the basis of which are modern studies on the formation of brain circuits in the course of life and on the plasticity of the same. There are opening unsuspected and contrasted scenarios for centuries in medicine and "classical" neurology on the brain's ability to reprogram and tackle the adversities that occur even if it is a result of stroke that happened years ago. Prospects are very promising for the future of diseases and neurological conditions considered for centuries unchanging.