Pratiche di salute, pratiche di psicologia: per una professionalizzazione della Psicologia della Salute in Italia

This paper aims at presenting and discussing the current status and the future developmental lines of health as a professional field in the Italian context. After having presented the historical and conceptual framework of this work (theoretical perspective of analysis: professionalization as a social construction), the main results of a field study conducted on 1.500 registered psychologist (which are representative of the Italian population of psychologist) are discussed. This study aimed at describing the role of health as an organizer of practices and professional positions and the changes of scenario from 2008 to 2012. Data offer three main key lines: 1) Health psychology is nowadays a promising professional field, not currently but potentially. At this regard, professionalizing health psychology is a key priority. 2) Health psychology professionalization requires a "plural" planning, basing on a complex framework of professional profiles and placements which are consistent with the different contexts in which it is implemented. 3) This planning also requires an active answer to the innovation and discontinuity signals that are visible in the Italian psychological professionalism development (crisis of the relationship with welfare, neo-professional scenario)