Psychologists’ Representations About Their Professional Functions Within Assisted Reproductive Multidisciplinary Teams

Background: In order to promote the use of specific Italian guidelines for psychological interventions during Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART), we conducted a preliminary analysis of the mental representations of a sample of psychologists working in ART clinics regarding their functions, roles and responsibilities as members of a multidisciplinary team. Method: Two focus groups were conducted with 12 psychologists working in private and public ART Clinics in the Lazio Region (Italy). The focus groups were recorded; the transcribed text was analysed using Emotional Text Mining (ETM). Results: Participants symbolized their work by means of three main categories: Position of the psychologist, in which they noted the difference between their hopes in doing this work and the disenchantment have experienced due to the difficulty of implementing a multidisciplinary model; The focus group, underlining the importance of comparison and collaboration among psychologists; Work, that evidenced the different aspects of the psychologists’ activity with both the patients and the clinical staff. Conclusions: Understanding the emotional, relational, and cognitive processes that form the basis of psychological practice in ART clinics can contribute to the development of interventions integrated with medical care that could impact patients, staff, and the health care system