Hospital Psychology Services: Representations of structural and functional changes

This study explores the evolution of Hospital Psychology Services (HPS) over the past decade, analyzing how professionals represent structural, functional, and managerial changes. Grounded in Semiotic-Cultural Psychology Theory (SCPT), the research employs Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping (ACASM) to examine interview data from 27 Italian HPS. Four themes emerged: Organizational complexity, Organizational challenges, Service networking, and Service consolidation. Results reveal bipolar semantic structures organizing these representations, notably Professional practice vs Networking and Challenges vs. Empowerment. The study provides a first overview of how the representational world of hospital psychologists can serve as a marker of the transformations taking place in the sector.