RISULTATI RICERCA

In the literature, the experience of siblings of children and adolescents with cancer has been extensively explored, mainly along two lines of research: the psychological impact of the illness on the typically developing siblings, and the support interventions designed for them. Instead, the effect of cancer on the sibling relationship itself has received comparatively little attention. This systematic integrative review aims to identify studies specifically focused on sibling relationships, to understand whether and how these relationships change during the illness, and what impact these changes may have on broader family dynamics. The review follows the PRISMA guidelines and includes seven studies identified through a comprehensive literature search. The findings were analyzed according to the research methods used and the themes investigated. Most studies employed quantitative methods, such as questionnaires, while only two used qualitative approaches, including interviews and focus groups, primarily with typically developing siblings. The studies reveal that siblings perceive changes in their relationship in ambivalent ways reporting both a general deterioration and an increased sense of closeness. These changes are also linked to their perceptions of the parental relationship. The results highlight a clear need for further research into the specific effects of cancer on sibling relationships and suggest indications for the psychological support to the whole family. More qualitative studies are recommended to explore the nuanced nature of these changes, with attention to the perspectives of both typically developing and siblings with cancer.

The integrated care needs of a philosophical paradigm. Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology can be it, provided that a consensus is created on its profound meaning. What is Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology (PNEI)? It is not Neuroendocrinoimmunology. PNEI (also called PNI, Psychoneuroimmunology) describes the relationships of mutual in?uence between the psyche and biological systems and between the whole organism and the physical and social environment, showing the scienti?c inconsistency of the reductionist dogma that makes the psyche a mere epiphenomenon of brain activity. We are in a phase of research that allows the de?nitive overcoming of the dualistic conception of the human being without falling into the trap of the mind-brain identity, in the reduction of the psychic dimension to the biological one, from which it undoubtedly originates but on which it in?uences. To this end, it is essential to critique the philosophical foundations of contemporary reductionism, while, at the same time, highlighting the theoretical-conceptual paradigm that underlies PNEI research and the practice of treatments that integrate medicine and psychology, which descend from this paradigm.

This paper proposes a reflection on integrating the physical and biological dimensions in PNEI-oriented psychotherapy. Starting from the paradox of a growing theoretical attention to the body in comparison with its marginality in clinical practice, the authors invite us to consider the human being as a unitary organism, in which mind and body constitute an interdependent system. Along the path from Freud through Ferenczi and Reich to contemporary neurosciences, a circular and relational paradigm is outlined, capable of connecting psychic and biological processes. The PNEI perspective is proposed as a framework to overcome the fragmentation of psychotherapeutic models and to promote an integrated vision of health and care. Significant and necessary modifications to both the basic theoretical assumptions and the techniques of intervention and care are derived from this and are discussed.

Negli ultimi trent’anni, accanto ai tentativi di modernizzare la nostra Pubblica Amministrazione attraverso varie riforme legislative, si sono realizzati numerosi cambiamenti dovuti all’iniziativa di singoli dirigenti. Trent’anni fa Fabrizio Autieri alla Camera di Commercio di Roma, di cui era Segretario, otteneva, a legislazione invariata cioè senza bisogno di modifiche normative, quei risultati che ancora nelle nostre amministrazioni si stanno cercando.