Psychotherapeutic Training Intentions Among Psychology Students in Italy: The Role of Empathy, Personality Traits, and Psychopathology.

Gianluca Santoro, Annarosa Cipriano, Mattia Pezzi, Stefania Cella, Alessio Gori, Alessandro Musetti

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Clinical neuropsychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Gianluca SantoroDepartment of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Borgo Carissimi 10, 43121 Parma, Italy. Email: gianluca.santoro@unipr.it (G.S.); mattia. pezzi@unipr.it (M.P.); alessandro.musetti@unipr.it (A.M.).

Annarosa CiprianoObservatory on Eating Disorders, Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Viale Ellittico 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy. Email: annarosa.cipriano@ unicampania.it (A.C.); stefania.cella@unicampania.it (S.C.).

Mattia PezziDepartment of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Borgo Carissimi 10, 43121 Parma, Italy. Email: gianluca.santoro@unipr.it (G.S.); mattia. pezzi@unipr.it (M.P.); alessandro.musetti@unipr.it (A.M.).

Stefania CellaObservatory on Eating Disorders, Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Viale Ellittico 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy. Email: annarosa.cipriano@ unicampania.it (A.C.); stefania.cella@unicampania.it (S.C.).

Alessio GoriDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, Pad. 26, 50135 Florence, Italy. Email: alessio.gori@unifi.it (A.G.).

Alessandro MusettiDepartment of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Borgo Carissimi 10, 43121 Parma, Italy. Email: gianluca.santoro@unipr.it (G.S.); mattia. pezzi@unipr.it (M.P.); alessandro.musetti@unipr.it (A.M.).

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: The decision to pursue a career as a psychotherapist may be influenced by various psychological dispositions or self-healing motivations. The current study aimed to investigate differences in empathy, personality traits, and psychopathology between psychology students who intend to pursue psychotherapy training and those who do not. Method: The study involved 1978 psychology students (1764 women, 89.2%), aged between 18 and 30 years ( Results: Both groups of psychology students reported clinically relevant symptoms across various domains of psychopathology. However, students who expressed an intention to pursue psychotherapy training reported higher levels of empathetic concern, conscientiousness, and openness compared to their peers without such intentions. Conclusions: These findings suggest that individuals may choose to enroll in a university psychology program for self-healing purposes, and that individual differences in empathy and personality traits may play a role in the decision to pursue a career as a psychotherapist. Universities and psychotherapy training institutes should promote psychology students' access to psychotherapy services. Also, psychotherapy training institutes should consider individual differences in empathy and personality traits within their educational programs.

Indexed as

empathypersonality traitspsychology studentspsychopathologypsychotherapy

Identifiers

PMID40989039

DOI10.36131/cnfioritieditore20250407

PMCPMC12453029

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY-NC-SA

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.