ALBERTO SARDELLA
Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology at the Department of Education Sciences, where he teaches Clinical Psychology of Aging in the Master's Degree Program in Psychology, and Psychology of Disability and Rehabilitation in the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Psychological Science and Techniques.
In 2023, he obtained the National Scientific Qualification for the position of Associate Professor (Second Tier) in the Academic Recruitment Field 11/E4 – Clinical and Dynamic Psychology.
Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine of the University of Messina from 2021 to 2023. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences at the University of Messina in 2020.
He has carried out clinical and care activities in the field of adult and elderly Clinical Psychology at the Geriatrics Unit (UOSD) of the University Hospital of Messina, at the Geriatrics and Long-term Care Unit (UOC) of the University Hospital of Palermo, and at the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry of the Umberto I University Hospital in Rome.
He was a Visiting Researcher at King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychosis, and also at the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Alzheimer Centre – Erasmus MC, Rotterdam.
He has taught in Master’s programs and postgraduate specialization schools for psychologists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals on topics related to Clinical Psychology in adulthood and aging.
He is an Ordinary Member of the Italian Association of Psychology – Clinical and Dynamic Section; member of the Italian Association of Psychogeriatrics; member of the Italian Society of Health Psychology; and member of the European Health Psychology Society.
He currently serves as Secretary of the Regional Board of the Sicilian Section of the Italian Association of Psychogeriatrics, and was previously Vice President of the same section. He is also a National Board Member of the Italian Association of Psychogeriatrics for the 2025–2027 term.
He is a specialist in Cognitive Psychotherapy.
His research interests are primarily focused on clinical psychology of aging and psychogeriatrics, with particular attention to the following areas:
- Premorbid clinical psychological and personality factors involved in adaptation to aging;
- Cognitive frailty in older adults;
- The association between cognitive reserve and age-related clinical outcomes;
- Clinical psychological domains of frailty in the elderly;
- Cognitive-motor decline in older adults;
- Emotional regulation and dysregulation in aging;
- Psychopathological disorders in late life.
He also has clinical and research interests in psychological factors involved in the maintenance of psychopathology and/or psychological distress in adult population, such as:
- worry / rumination
- emotion regulation
- personality profiles
- metacognition
- self-compassion