The role of internship for the future of professional careers in psychology: an explorative study on the academic practices featuring Italian degree programmes

Abstract

The significant changes envisaged by the reform related to the role of internship in the degree programmes in Psychology will have important consequences for future psychologists’ professional careers in Italy. Con- sidering the relevant guiding function played by the internship in the development of future career paths of graduates, the MeMoS group, proposed a research project aimed to investigate the state of the art of the Italian degree programmes in Psychology, collecting information about internships and their impact on fu- ture psychologists’ professionalisation. A structured interview was developed to understand the processes related to internships within the Psychology programmes in Italy. So far, data have been collected among 17 Universities (12 bachelor’s and 31 master’s), but the study is still in progress. Preliminary results highlight a weak connection between the Psychology Departments and the Orders of Psychologists and between the university tutors and external tutors working in the hosting organisations. Results of this study could be relevant to inform policymakers and academic institutions on the best practices to structure internships en- hancing the quality of academic paths and career guidance for psychology students in the future.