Stefano De Dominicis

Stefano De Dominicis

Associate Professor

I am passionate about sport and its psychological processes, and my research and applied activities are focused on understanding how to leverage our psychological processes to boost athletic and non-athletic performance, why people engage or not in sport and exercise, and which effects sport and exercise exert on our mind, personality and behaviors. 

I joined the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sport (NEXS) in November 2017, and previously worked at the Business and Management Dep. of the LUISS University of Rome, Dep. of Psychology at the California State University San Marcos, University of Lausanne, School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences at the Claremont Graduate University and at the Dep. of Psychology of Developmental and Social Processes at Sapienza University of Rome, where I also earned his BSc, MSc and PhD. I am a licensed Sport and Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist specialized in Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy.

Primary fields of research

My main research interests and applied activities are related to:

- Behaviour change for healthy lifestyles (exercise, stress, nutrition, etc.), and the role of new technologies in affecting such change.

- Third Generation Coaching, and evidence-based methods in coaching psychology.

- Stress and wellbeing in high-performance contexts (sport, business, performance arts, etc.).   

- Talents identification and development in youth.

Teaching

In my teaching, I blend different modalities (classic and online video lectures, seminars, group work, case study discussions, invited guests, and applied fieldwork), since I believe in active learning and active participation of students. My courses at NEXS are:

Bachelor i idræt og fysisk aktivitet (Bachelor in Sport and Physical Activity):

- Sport Psychology and Identity

- Coaching and Team Development

Kandidatuddannelsen i humanistisk-samfundsvidenskabelig idrætsvidenskab (Master in Humanities and Social Sciences in Sport Science):

- Psychology of Competitive Sports

Ph.D. Projects Supervision:

- The role of different environments (built, natural, virtual) on exercise engagement

- Psychometrics in Sport Psychology

Possible conflicts of interest

Own business

Individual coaching and psychotherapy sessions, consulting, seminars, and workshops (approx. 50 hours/year on average; location: Copenhagen, online). Within such business, I conduct individual or group coaching or psychotherapy sessions, of about 45 minutes. In addition, I am occasionally invited to hold seminars or workshops for different private- or public-sector companies, or on theme/conference days for various professions (e.g., HR professionals), or to provide consulting on specific matters. Such activities often lie in the evenings or weekends, and only seldom also on weekdays if it is connected with conferences, theme days or the like. Any arrangement is agreed well ahead of time, and coordinated with my work commitments at NEXS. In no way do I consider that this could lead to a risk of conflict of interest. On the contrary, it often creates larger networks and positive synergy.

Guest Lecturer

University of Rome “Foro Italico” (maximum 10 hours/year); course “Talent, performance, and success: psychological strategies for achievement”. As a guest lecturer, I do not have any course/exam responsibility concerning this course. My task is to give a couple of lectures about a few topics taught in this course by the course responsible(s). My lectures are held online, so I do not have any need to travel to Rome. This activity is in no way leading to a conflict of interest, on the contrary, it has been so far very useful in fostering collaboration with colleagues at the University of Rome “Foro Italico”.

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