Investigating Psychosocial Dysfunction in Personality Disorders
The European Society for the Study of Personality Disorders (ESSPD) is proud to announce the fourth ESSPD Summer School for early career researchers, organized in collaboration with the University of Parma, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Section of Psychiatry, with the financial support of the Cariparma Foundation and the Personality Disorders Lab.
Aims
The aim of the summer school is to increase the methodological competencies in conducting high quality research in the domain of psychosocial functioning and recovery in personality disorders (PD) from multiple perspectives. It will be acheived by interactive presentations, group discussions, speed-talk presentations.
Research topics
The research topics will focus on trajectories of psychosocial functioning in PD and associated risk and protective factors; neurobiological correlates of the processes involved in social functioning and social learning; computational approaches to study social functioning; inclusion of the perspective of people with lived experience in research designs on recovery; and treatment strategies to address self and interpersonal functioning.
Date and location
The Summer School will take place on August 31st (arrival day) – September 6th (departure day), 2025 at the Alba del Borgo agriturismo (province of Parma, Italy). This friendly residential context for both teachers and students ensures many spaces and informal occasions to create networks among participants.
Faculty
Katja Bertsch
Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology,
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
Rasa Barkauskiené
Developmental Psychopathology Research Center, Institute of Psychology,
Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
Chiara De Panfilis
Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Department of Medicine and Surgery,
University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Filip De Fruyt
Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology,
Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Joost Hutsebaut
De Viersprong National Institute for Personality Disorder,
Halsteren, The Netherlands
Paolo Ossola
Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Department of Medicine and Surgery,
University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Luca Sasdelli
ESSPD Lived Experience Group and Bologna Recovery College,
Bologna, Italy
Registration process
Applications must be forwarded by e-mail to [email protected] and received by February 1st, 2025.
All applications must contain a letter of motivation, a curriculum vitae and a 1-page summary of the relevant research project and how it relates to the applicant’s motivation to attend the Summer School (in one PDF file). Applications from early career researchers affiliated with an Eastern European University are encouraged.
All PhD students, MDs, or early post-doctoral fellows affiliated with a European university are welcome to the summer camp.
Fees
EUR 900 (full fee); EUR 450 (reduced fee for participants from Eastern European countries). Both fees include registration to all scientific activities, six overnight stays at Alba del Borgo (in double or triple rooms) , all meals/coffee breaks, and organized leisure activities, including the use of the delightful wellness centre of the farm.
Organizing committee
2025 ESSPD Summer School Work Group
Chiara De Panfilis, Joost Hutsebaut, Ueli Kramer, Michaela Swales