The languages in therapy
Each language opens a door to a different way of seeing and expressing ourselves. Studies show that language shapes how we make sense of our experiences and connect with our emotions.
I’ve personally noticed that when I speak or write in Italian, English, or French, the tone, rhythm, and even the poetic quality of my words change.
For some, speaking in a language other than their mother tongue can reveal new facets of themselves—those more attuned to the present and the future than to the past.
Conversely, for others, speaking in their native language allows a more natural and profound connection to their thoughts, emotions, and personal history.
The use of images
The narratives we repeat to ourselves can solidify into patterns that confine us and are hard to release.
At times, using images can help access emotions that resist words and open new ways of seeing our own story.
Visual tools like Dixit cards invite free and open exploration. The images serve as floating objects: they don’t require logical explanation but offer a pathway to what once felt hard to access (Cappellini & Covelli, 2025).
Inspired by the ideas of Carl Jung and James Hillman, this approach sees images and symbols as gateways to the deeper dimensions of the psyche. Instead of imposing fixed meanings, it invites a dialogue with the images, letting new insights unfold organically.
Through this process, we can enrich our personal narrative, integrate hidden aspects of ourselves, and open to new ways of seeing.
Research and publications
A Qualitative Study on Psychosocial Transformation Pathways in Adults
This research explores how the creative process evolves in women during midlife. It questions the dominant narrative—especially prevalent in Italian culture, but not limited to it—that links aging with loss. The findings highlight how the years after 50 can be a period of renewal, personal expansion, and creative growth.
(Cappellini & Covelli, 2025, Journal of Women & Aging).
Consciousness, Mindfulness, and Neuroscience
This literature review explores how contemporary thought approaches the questions of consciousness and free will—issues that are increasingly central to our time. I see one of psychology’s key challenges as helping people find their authentic way of being amid the constant change and uncertainty of modern life.
If neuroscience uncovers the biological roots of our thoughts and the unconscious nature of our decisions, how do we still experience freedom and individuality?
This work brings together insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and mindfulness practice to explore how empirical findings can meet the lived experience of being human.
(Cappellini, 2022)
This body of work reflects a vision of psychology that brings together clinical practice and scientific reflection, seeking to deepen our understanding of change and personal growth.
For more information, you can reach me at psy.annacappellini@gmail.com
Reference theories
Existential Psychology
Rooted in Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time (1927), existential psychology views the human being not as defined by the past, but as a being of possibility. We exist in a constant process of becoming, where everything is change and transformation, and nothing is entirely fixed.
This perspective invites us to look at human life through a teleological lens—guided by what we are moving toward—rather than a causal one that limits us to what has already been.
Health Psychology
Positioned between clinical psychology, medicine, and the social sciences, health psychology examines how psychological, behavioural, and sociocultural factors shape health and illness.
In close collaboration with physicians, psychologists help tailor treatments to individual needs, support quality of life, and strengthen the overall impact of care. This integrated approach ensures that both mind and body are considered, leading to more effective and compassionate healthcare.
Narrative Psychology
Narrative psychology is based on the idea that we build our identity and make sense of our experiences through the stories we tell about ourselves.
Illness—whether mental or physical—is not only a biological event but also a rupture in one’s personal narrative. Understanding and integrating this experience within the broader story of one’s life is an essential step toward healing.
Narration becomes a space for meaning-making, where the psychologist helps the person explore and reweave their story. In this process, meaning, is co-created within the therapeutic relationship.
Positive Psychology
Positive psychology rests on a vision of personal growth and holistic well-being, relevant to both clinical and everyday life. It seeks to nurture individual strengths, encourage positive emotions, and promote a deeper sense of fulfilment—rather than focusing solely on illness or dysfunction.
This perspective invites us to recognise our capacity for resilience and flourishing. Carl Jung can be considered one of its early pioneers: his concept of individuation (corsivo), captures the lifelong process of coming to know and accept oneself more fully.
Post-Traumatic Growth
Post-traumatic growth is one of the core concepts underlying positive psychology. It is supported by an expanding body of research showing that people can experience qualitative transformation in their functioning following trauma.
According to this model, the emotional and cognitive processing of a stressful event can lead to the development of new tools and strategies that promote well-being. The nature of the traumatic event, individual characteristics, and environmental factors all play key roles in shaping post-traumatic growth.
Ethnopsychotherapy
Ethnopsychotherapy acknowledges how culture shapes our psychological development and the way we experience distress or illness. Our symptoms and suffering always exist within a social and cultural context.
Through genuine listening and respect for each person’s story and cultural background, therapy becomes a shared journey toward healing and understanding.
Numero RPPS : 10111566484
The psychologist is subject to a professional code of ethics. The RPPS number confirms that the practitioner is a registered clinical psychologist and verifies the psychologist’s professional identity.
This number is issued by the French Ministry of Health and Prevention.