Flavio Cannistrà

I have an MS in Psychology and a PsyD in Psychotherapy. Since my earliest studies in Psychology my main interest has been how to make the most of every single session of therapy, allowing people to regain their well-being in a short time and by using their own resources.

With Michael Hoyt at the Mental Research Institute.

During my studies in Psychology I began to study Jungian psychoanalysis. Fascinated by this, but convinced that we could find more efficient approaches, from 2008 I began to deepen my understanding of brief therapies, studying in particular the strategic approach of the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California.

After two years I went to Arezzo to study Brief Strategic Therapy at Giorgio Nardone’s Strategic Therapy Center. Subsequently I further explored the links between the strategic approach and hypnosis, attending the Level 2 Masters course in Ericksonian Hypnosis at the Italian School of Hypnosis and Ericksonian Psychotherapy in Rome.

However, I wanted to understand the logics and techniques of brief therapies in more depth, so I studied books and research by foreign authors, interacting with some of them.
It was during this period that I came across Single-Session Therapy, which was relatively unknown in Italy at that time. I began to deepen my knowledge in contact with Michael F. Hoyt, one of the leading researchers in the field and a member of the original team that led the first studies on SST. I began a correspondence with him which is still ongoing, discussing brief therapies and Single-Session Therapy, and even organising workshops with him here in Italy.

After that, I went to San Francisco to train directly with him, attending classes held at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto. On my return I founded the Italian Center for Single Session Therapy with Federico Piccirilli and began the task of researching, training and disseminating Single-Session Therapy in Italy.

Later on, I also studied at the Bouverie Family Centre in Melbourne, Australia, directed by Jeff Young.
I’m the main author of Single Session Therapy. Principles and practices (Giunti Publishers), the first Italian book devoted to SST, with contributions by many writers (Michael Hoyt, Moshe Talmon, Jeff Young and several Italian psychologists). The book has been ranked top several times on Amazon.it (“Psychotherapy” and “Clinical Psychology” categories).