George Nardone

GIORGIO NARDONE, PSYCHOLOGIST-PSYCHOTHERAPIST: TRAINING

Giorgio Nardone graduated from the University of Siena, faculty of teaching, with a thesis in philosophy of science, after which, as assistant to the chair of Prof. Mariano Bianca, he conducts a research project on the epistemology of clinical psychology and of the various models of Psychotherapy by examining the epistemological criteria of the different models of Psychotherapy.

From the very beginning, it was clear to him that the only one among these that could stand up to such scrutiny was that of the so-called Palo Alto School, or rather the work produced by the group at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto , California. In fact, the researchers at that institute, led by Don D. Jackson, had formulated a model of "interactional" therapy based on the study of the effects of communication on human behavior and mental health. Paul Watzlawick then developed a true theory of the pragmatics of communication and change (Watzlawick et al., 1967, Watzlawick et al., 1974) together with a corresponding model of therapeutic intervention applicable to a whole variety of mental disorders.

Giorgio Nardone was awarded, for which he will be eternally grateful, a scholarship from the University of Siena to study directly the work of these eminent scholars. In the early 80s, he arrived in Palo Alto and, as a resident researcher , along with rigorously studying the scientific material produced by the researchers , was also allowed to directly observe all the clinical work being carried out at the Mental Research Institute (MRI). This was a testament to Gregory Beatson's well-known statement: "There is nothing more practical than a good theory."

This sort of "lightning bolt" on the road to Damascus made him decide to change the course of his studies and his professional career. Thus, upon returning to Italy, while completing the research project, he managed to enter the exclusive School of Specialization in Psychology at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Siena, becoming, after three years, the youngest Italian to have obtained the title of Specialist in Psychology. At the same time, and at his own expense, he returned every year, for a few months, to the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto to train as an interactional-strategic therapist.

After completing his training, he began a research project (1985/86) to develop a short-term treatment for phobic and obsessive disorders under the supervision of Paul Watzlawick and John Weakland, thus beginning to develop innovative techniques for the intervention in an area of ​​pathology little explored by the traditional MRI model.

FIRST RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

It was the work carried out to realize this project that led to the increasingly close collaboration between Giorgio Nardone and Paul Watzlawick, leading to the joint founding in 1987 of the Centro di Terapia Strategica in Arezzo, an institute for research, training, and psychotherapy. This marked the beginning of what would later become the modern evolution of Brief Strategic Psychotherapy. The partnership between Paul Watzlawick and Giorgio Nardone, expressed through research, publications, seminars, and conferences worldwide, continued until the master's passing.

In 1988 the results of the research-intervention on phobic-obsessive disorders were published and the truly encouraging results started the tradition of studies of the Strategic Therapy Center of Arezzo (40 cases out of 42 treated cases had completely overcome their agoraphobic disorder with a therapy lasting 11 sessions followed by follow-up meetings three months, six months and one year after the end of the treatment). The same research-intervention methodology was thus applied to the study of all the variants of panic disorder and obsessive compulsive ones, leading in the following years to the elaboration of real strategic treatment protocols for these disabling pathologies that stood out for their effectiveness and efficiency compared to to other forms of therapy for such disorders.

This meant that many colleagues had come since then to train themselves in this new model of Psychotherapy, this was obviously also facilitated by the presence of the eminent figure of Paul Watzlawick.
In parallel to all this, from 1985 to 1990 Giorgio Nardone, as a research collaborator, participated in numerous research and intervention projects in the areas of social, clinical and educational psychology, under the direction of Saulo Sirigatti, Director of the Institute of General and Clinical Psychology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Siena.

PROFESSIONAL SUCCESSES AND ACADEMIC AWARDS

In 1990, the manifesto of advanced Brief Strategic Therapy, The Art of Change: A Manual of Strategic Therapy and Hypnosis Without Trance , written by Giorgio Nardone and Paul Watzlawick, was published. It detailed the developed treatment protocols and the innovative therapeutic communication strategies and techniques known as hypnosis without trance . The book was immediately translated into many languages, and Giorgio Nardone found himself catapulted into the global spotlight of psychotherapy.

In 1991 Giorgio Nardone was entrusted with the first university teaching in Italy of "Brief Psychotherapy Technique" at the School of Specialization in Clinical Psychology of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Siena. Office that he will hold for over 10 years and then pass it on to his student Dr. Emanuela Muriana.
From  1994 to 1995 he was Adjunct Professor of Social Psychology at the Faculty of Sociology of the Federico II University of Naples.

In the same years he taught “Hypnotherapy without trance” at the School of Specialization in General Hypnosis of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the La Sapienza University of Rome directed by Prof. Franco Granone.
He is currently a member of the journal's scientific committee Contemporary Psychology.

From 2004 to 2008 he taught “The interview in the psychological clinic” at the degree course in Psychology at the University of Florence. Over the years he held Lectio Magistralis in numerous prestigious international universities such as the Academy of Sciences of Moscow, Oxford University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
He receives lifetime achievement awards and other honorary titles from prestigious institutions. His theories and applied techniques in the field of psychotherapy, problem solving and communication are internationally recognized as a true school of thought and applied practice.

THE MODEL BECOMES CERTIFIED AND CERTIFYING

In 2000 the training school of the short strategic psychotherapy model of Arezzo was recognized by the  Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) as Four-year School of Postgraduate Specialization in Brief Strategic Psychotherapy (with Ministerial Decree 20/11/200) which issues the title of Psychotherapist and Giorgio Nardone becomes the youngest Italian school leader and director of an Official School of Psychotherapy recognized on the basis of a model he himself formulated.

The specialised farming model Brief Strategic Therapy, Giorgio Nardone model has obtained international recognition, decreeing its originality with respect to traditional models of brief strategic therapy.
Subsequently, from 2006 to 2011, he was professor of the course "The interview in the psychological clinic" of the specialist degree course in Clinical and Health Psychology, University  of the Studies of Florence.

THE MODEL SHOWS ITS SUPERIOR EFFECTIVENESS (88% OF THE CASES CONDUCTED TO EXTINCTION OF THE DISORDER) AND EFFICIENCY (AVERAGE DURATION OF THE THERAPY 7 SESSIONS)

In 2000 a longitudinal research was carried out on the outcomes of the therapies carried out in the previous decade at the Strategic Therapy Center in Arezzo, all completely video-recorded and with follow-up performed up to one year from the end of the therapy with results that show the clear superiority of the efficacy and efficiency of Brief Strategic Psychotherapy compared to other models of therapeutic intervention.

In recent years, comparative research on the efficacy and efficiency of psychotherapies shows even more how the Brief Strategic Psychotherapy model stands out over all other forms of clinical intervention, even in direct comparison with Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT, considered the international gold standard). Such a comparison, performed using evidence-based criteria (Evidence based medicine) and randomized controlled trials (Randomized Controlled Trials, RCTs), as well as through longitudinal studies with external observers, demonstrates its greater effectiveness and efficiency
(Elkaim, 2007; Castelnuovo et al., 2011; Nardone and Salvini, 2013; Gibson, 2015; Pietrabissa et al., 2017; Jackson et al., 2018; Proietti et al., 2022).

More than 40 years have passed since his first studies in Palo Alto, and in this long period Giorgio Nardone has personally treated more than 30.000 cases and contributed to the evolution of a Model applied by thousands of professionals around the world who have come to train directly at the Strategic Therapy Center in Arezzo, which has become the global point of reference for the strategic approach not only as a therapy but as a true school of thought.

Today, over 50 research-intervention projects have been carried out to develop specific treatments for the most serious forms of psychopathology, and over 60 texts have been published by Giorgio Nardone and his collaborators, reporting the results of research conducted at the Arezzo Institute. These works have been translated into over 15 languages, including The Art of Change: A Manual of Strategic Therapy and Hypnosis Without Trance and Fear, Panic Phobias. Short-Term Therapy for Over 35 Years, which have become true classics and bestsellers in bookstores around the world, and others such as Brief Strategic Therapy: Philosophy, Techniques , and Research , Strategic Dialogue, Youth Anorexia, and the International Dictionary of Psychotherapy, are used as textbooks by leading international universities.

Since 2019 he has directed the Master in Psychology of Change at the Link Campus University in Rome.

Currently Giorgio Nardone continues to deal with research, training and Psychotherapy at the Strategic Therapy Center in Arezzo, he is the director of the School of Specialization in Brief Strategic Psychotherapy, and directs for Get all Grazie the series of short therapy essays and holds lectures, specialist seminars and workshops, conferences for the general public, around the world.
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