Free research contributions during pandemic period: research is still alive

[page 1] Dear Colleagues, we hope that this Editorial finds you all well, with a spirit aware of the difficulties of the moment but also able to find ‘meaning and purpose’ in yourselves and in your work, just to quote a function of the M-axis of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual-2! Many things that we believed were transitory will probably stay longer and transform our lives, but we are confident in an economic and psychological recovery, thanks also to the launch of the vaccination campaign. Confident that you are not too afflicted by the pandemic fatigue, we hope that, despite the many restrictions of the case (e.g., in offline samples recruitment! ), you are writing or planning new and thought-provoking research papers. From the inevitable spread of online therapies to the specific coping styles induced by the major life changes imposed by the pandemic, we are experiencing very challenging transformations, both inside and outside the therapeutic setting. A scientific mind never rests, and we are proud to invite you to read this issue of Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome (RIPPPO), consisting of several free contributions, some of them related to the practice of psychotherapy during the pandemic. In more detail: Focusing on intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy provided by psychology trainees, Rocco et al. (2021) tried to clarify the controversial relationship between treatment effectiveness and therapist experience, by analyzing the effects on symptomatology and psychological functioning in patients with anxiety disorders. Using the global assessment of functioning, the symptom checklist, the inventory of interpersonal problems, and the Shedler Westen assessment procedure at the end of the treatment and 6 and 12-month follow-up, the authors state that this kind of therapy provided by trainees is effective in bringing broad and in-depth change to pathology that can perpetuate anxiety disorders and other psychiatric conditions. Demma, Suitner, Ferruzza, Nicolini, and Donini (2021) presented an important contribution to the Psychodynamic Focus Group technique in chronic disease. The results highlighted how the caregivers of psoriatic patients involved in the psychodynamic focus groups reported increasing levels of family dermatology life quality index, showing an improvement in their quality of respect to their relatives’ pathology; in contrast, caregivers of patients who did not participate in the psychodynamic focus group, maintained stable levels of family dermatology life quality index. The results provide preliminary evidence that the group setting of the Psychodynamic Focus Group can alleviate the negative impact of psychosomatic disease not only on patients but also indirectly on their caregivers. The well-known construct of separation anxiety was measured and compared with personality dimensions in a community sample of Italian emerging adults by Bassi, Mancinelli, Di Riso, Lis, and Salcuni (2021). Through a mediation model, the authors showed how separation anxiety influenced the identity problem and borderline personality dimension, assessed with the personality assessment inventory borderline scale, through trait anxiety. The clinical implications of the study for research in psychotherapy are discussed, emphasizing the importance of the dimensions involved during this delicate period of ‘transition to adulthood’. Finally, Tanzilli et al. (2021) investigated the connections between mentalization, attachment, and implicit emotion regulation, operationalized as defense mechanisms, in a clinical population of depressed patients. Their findings underlined that patients with secure attachment and good reflective functioning, showed significantly Free research contributions during pandemic period: research is still alive