This article was created with a clear objective: to tell the story of the first 10 years of the Italian Center and to reflect on the journey that has led Single Session Therapy to find an increasingly defined place within the Italian landscape.
Within this story, the Single Session Therapy blog undoubtedly represents a fundamental milestone. Created as the first Italian portal entirely dedicated to SST, it has been one of the first structured spaces for reflection, exchange, and dissemination of this method in our country and beyond.
Over time, the blog has become much more than a collection of articles. It has served as a reference point for professionals interested in the method, a space for theoretical and methodological sharing, and a concrete testimony of the path that the Italian Center has built over these 10 years.
Celebrating the history of the Italian Center today means recognizing not only an anniversary, but the systematic work that has allowed SST to take root in the Italian therapeutic landscape.
In 2026, the Italian Center for Single Session Therapy celebrates ten years of activity.
“10 years in one session” is not just a celebratory concept: it is a narrative of ten years of research, training, publications, international collaborations, and the evolution of the Single Session Therapy method.
There is no history without roots
The story begins before the official establishment of the Center.
In 2013, the first application for recognition was submitted to MIUR for what would officially become, in 2019, the School of Specialization in Brief Systemic-Strategic Psychotherapy, Istituto ICNOS.
Around this project, professionals began to gather who shared a common vision and direction. Federico Piccirilli brought together the first stable core, initially joined by Angelica Giannetti and Pier Paolo D’Alia. Later, Flavio Cannistrà entered the group, introducing Francesca Moccia. The original group took shape in the corridors of the Monterotondo office, in the province of Rome.
It was precisely here that a fundamental decision matured: to officially establish the Italian Center for Single Session Therapy.
The foundations: between action and shared direction
In 2016, the group consolidated and the Italian Center was formally established. Flavio CannistrĂ deepened his expertise in Single Session Therapy in California and Australia, bringing to Italy a method already structured at an international level.
In 2017, the Center established a legal foundation. The systematic presentation of SST began at national and international conferences, within Professional Orders, and at Universities.
The first Italian workshop on Single Session Therapy was also held in Rome, and the Istituto ICNOS obtained ministerial recognition from MIUR, completing a journey that had begun years earlier.
A significant moment in 2017 was undoubtedly the workshop with Michael F. Hoyt, one of the leading global references in SST: a direct bridge and still today a point of connection between the international community and the emerging Italian reality.
SST reaches bookstores and training programs
2018 marked another crucial step, a milestone in the history of SST in Italy: the publication of the first Italian manual on Single Session Therapy: Terapia a Seduta Singola. Principi e Pratiche (Giunti Editore).
SST officially entered the Italian publishing landscape. At the same time, training courses were launched in institutional contexts, such as those for Military Healthcare in Foligno, focusing on SST, stress management, and emergency intervention.
In 2019, the first cycle of the School of Specialization in Brief Systemic-Strategic Psychotherapy at Istituto ICNOS began. Additionally, Italian work was represented at the 3rd Single Session Therapy Symposium in Melbourne, Australia.
The group continued to evolve, and in the same year Valeria Campinoti and Beatrice Pavoni joined the team, becoming permanent members of both the Italian Center and Istituto ICNOS. The OneSession project was also launched, initially designed for single session therapists, later becoming a space for practice and volunteer work for students.
Research, network, and scientific recognition
In 2020, the first Italian research study on SST was published: Examining the Incidence and Clients’ Experiences of Single Session Therapy in Italy: A Feasibility Study. In 2021, the first systematic review on the effectiveness of SST in anxiety disorders was published.
This marked a fundamental step: the dissemination of the method was accompanied by the production of scientific evidence, as well as the launch of a series of international workshops in SST and SFBT for colleagues from other countries, along with the English translation of the Single Session Therapy manual.
In the same year, the team was completed with the addition of Vanessa Pergher.
Also in 2021, the first Italian book on Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (EPC Editore) was published, and SST and SFBT were steadily introduced into several Italian local health authorities (ASLs) for the training of clinical teams.
New beginnings, an ongoing story
In 2022, another key milestone for the Italian Center: the launch of the Master’s program in Brief Therapies for Developmental Age, expanding brief therapy interventions to work with children, adolescents, and their families.
In 2023, another historic moment: Rome hosted the 4th International Single Session Therapy Symposium, the first in Europe. Italy became an international reference center.
The Excellence Group and the ICNOS Clinical Center were established, adopting a walk-in and co-therapy model, integrating training and clinical practice. In 2024, the digital dimension was strengthened: new translations of the SST manual were developed, and the Terapiebrevi.it video course platform was launched.
International recognition and the tenth anniversary
In 2025, the publication of the Routledge volume consolidating the work of the IV Symposium and the invitation to represent Italy at the V International Symposium in Chicago strengthened global recognition. Translations of the SST manual continued, and a four-year specialization cycle was completed while a new one began. The story continued with the recent publication of the first manual on Terapie Brevi in etĂ evolutiva: crescere, cambiare, intervenire (Franco Angeli).
In 2026, the tenth anniversary of the Italian Center for Single Session Therapy is officially celebrated. A year of events, international collaborations, and in-person meetings, including the visit of Jeff Young to Rome.
Ten years telling a story still to be written
The story of the Italian Center is not only the story of an institution.
Over these ten years, Single Session Therapy in Italy has moved from being a little-known method to a structured reality, taught, studied, and practiced in both public and private contexts.
“10 years in one session” is not just a celebratory concept.
It is a metaphor consistent with the very essence of the method: intensity, direction, focus, responsibility, and the possibility of change.
And as with every single session, this milestone is not a conclusion, but an open door to the future.
Selena Tomei
Psychologist, Psychotherapist specialized in
Brief Systemic-Strategic Therapies
at the ICNOS Institute