Studio pilota sugli adolescenti all'era del Covid-19 : esiti di un intervento di gruppo online di psicoterapia della Gestalt per migliorare il benessere relazionale

L'articolo propone uno studio pilota volto a descrivere come, attraverso un intervento di tipo gestaltico (10 incontri di gruppo online), si possa sostenere il benessere relazionale degli adolescenti in un'epoca contraddistinta dal distanziamento sociale a causa del Covid-19. Due gruppi (64 partecipanti), divisi a loro volta in gruppo di controllo e gruppo sperimentale, sono stati sottoposti ad una valutazione pre e post-intervento al fine di misurare empatia, risonanza, consapevolezza corporea, ansia e depressione. Dal confronto fra i gruppi di controllo e i gruppi sperimentali è emerso un decremento di ansia e depressione ed un incremento di empatia, risonanza e consapevolezza corporea nel gruppo partecipante agli incontri online, a conferma dell'efficacia dell'intervento eseguito. [Testo dell'editore]

The article proposes a pilot study aimed at measuring and describing how a Gestalt ap-proach, operationally defined in 10 online group sessions, can support the development of ad-olescents' relational well-being in a period marked by social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Two groups of adolescents (64 subjects), recruited through the network and with the in-volvement of an educational institution and led by two Gestalt psychotherapists, were further divided into experimental group and control group.The research was divided into three phases: during the first phase a questionnaire was ad-ministered for the collection of socio-demographic information and tools aimed at measuring dimensions such as empathy, resonance and body awareness, and assessing the presence of risk factors.

During the second phase, the two experimental groups participated in 10 audio-recorded online group meetings; at the end of each meeting, the conductors filled out the Ther-apist Experience Journal to note observations on the research process and group dynamics. In the third phase, questionnaires were re-administered to check for any differences in scores be-tween the pre and post-intervention and between the experimental and control groups.The descriptive analysis allowed to verify the equivalence and the presence of homogenei-ty within the two groups. The inferential analysis, using a two-way mixed ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), showed a significant increase, in both experimental groups involved, in empathy, resonance and body awareness, as well as a decrease in anxiety and depression scores, high-lighting the effectiveness of the proposed intervention.

The results seem to support the efficacy of the Gestalt therapy approach carried out online in a group setting in improving adolescents' relational well-being, which is essential for building a solid identity, along with adequate social skills, and stable social relationships over time. [Publisher's text]