The International Institute for Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health
The International Institute for Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health is an academic ”spin-off” of the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, being part of the Babeș-Bolyai University (BBU) it is founded by BBU and The Albert Ellis Institute from USA. The Institute has the following objectives: (1) the research of personal development and optimization; (2) the promotion of mental health and prevention of disorders and (3) the treatment of mental and psychosomatic disorders involving etiopathogenetic factors.
For this purpose the Institute carries out:
- Fundamental/key/exploratory research – identification of psychological mechanisms involved in mental disorders. The work paradigm is ”clinical cognitive (neuro)sciences”.
- Translational research – utilization of mechanisms involved in mental dissorders – identification of other new research groups as to elaborate new psychological treatments. The work paradigm is ”clinical science”.
- Applied research – testing new and innovative clinical protocols through controlled clinical trials. Their analysis is done in a multilevel approach: (1) ”efficacy” and ”effectiveness” type of results, (2) theory/mechanisms of change, (3) cost-benefit analysis. In these protocols we utilize advanced robotic technologies, virtual reality, online, ”telecommunication”, ”computer-based”. The main paradigm is ”personalized evidence-based psychological treatments”.
- Development-innovation research – involves research that investigates how innovative treatments are assimilated as standards of good practice and the barriers that prevent their dissemination. The work paradigm is ”scientist-practitioner”.
The obtained results have been published in prestigious journals within international profile literature. Also, the Institute’s results helped certain clinical strategies for different disorders to be included in International Clinical Treatments Guidelines based on research conducted within the Institute.
The Institute represents an international research environment, where interdisciplinary teams can carry out their research activities, following the ”brain-gain” paradigm. At the moment, within the Institute we have ongoing projects implemented by research teams and researchers from prestigious universities (e.g., Oxford University) from the following countries: Belgium, Italy, Spain, Sweden, USA, UK. The International Institute for Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health is an institute which carries out excelency programs from BBU (receiving for this purpose the BBU excelency diploma) and has been recognized by CNCSIS.