Information for:
Laurea, Sapienza University of Rome, 2005
Specialization in Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy at School of Cognitive Psychotherapy (APC-SPC), Rome, 2012
Ph.D., Sapienza University of Rome, 2015
Nicola Petrocchi, Ph.D, Psy.D, is a licensed CBT psychotherapist based in Rome who has been teaching at JCU since 2015. During her international Ph.D in Psychology and Social Neuroscience, she spent one year as a visiting scholar at Boston University in the lab of Prof. Stefan Hofmann, where she conducted research on the effect of Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM) on dysthymic patients. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia (Rome). She has been the director of the Psycho-social Center for immigrants and refugees of the Identification and Expulsion Centre, Rome (C.I.E. of Ponte Galeria), and is now Clinical Advisor of several Psycho-social Services of Cooperativa Sociale AUXILIUM.
After more than 6 years of direct training and supervision with Prof. Gilbert, she is now an accredited Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) therapist and trainer in Italy and Europe. She also established Compassionate Mind Italia, the Italian association for the research, training and dissemination of CFT in Italy. She translated into Italian and edited the book Compassion Focused Therapy: Distinctive Features, by Prof. Paul Gilbert (published by Franco Angeli). Her research topic focuses on the physiological correlates of prosocial motivations, and the activation of compassion towards ourselves and others to overcome pathological self-criticism and improve psychophysiological wellbeing. She is the author of several national and international peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.
