Dr. Mauro Cavarra | Psychotherapist, Researcher & Clinical Trainer

Professional headshot portrait of Dr. Mauro Cavarra, PhD, psychotherapist and clinical researcher, on his about page.

Background & Training

I was born and raised in Sicily and soon left my island to pursue high quality education across Italy and Europe.

After getting my MSc in Clinical Psychology at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan (IT) I started my clinical practice and teaching activity. My foundational training revolved around three main pillars:

  • The treatment of severe, self-harming, high suicidality conditions such as borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.

  • Hypnosis and hypnotherapy for the treatment of psychological and psychosomatic conditions such as chronic pain of both medical and psychological aetiologies. I got my hypnotherapy training at the Centro Ipnosi Nicoletta Gava/Milton H. Erickson Institute of Turin (IT).

  • Cognitive therapy, attachment-informed and tauma-informed therapies. I got my psychotherapy degree at the Cognitive Therapy Center in Como (IT) under the guidance of Prof. Bruno Bara, Prof. Giorgio Rezzonico among other prominent figures in the field.

dr-mauro-cavarra-psychotherapist-maastricht-university

Academic Research & Altered States of Consciousness

I further pursued my interest in altered states of consciousness and their therapeutic applications during my PhD at the Psychopharmacology Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience at Maastricht University (The Netherlands). My thesis (Trip the pain away: psychedelic therapies for the treatment of physical and mental pain) focused on investigating the potential of psychedelics in treating physical and mental pain and on the optimisation of psychotherapeutic approaches in the context of psychedelic therapy.

Beside my clinical practice, I am a post-doctoral researcher at Maastricht University where I coordinate clinical trials around the same topics under the supervision of Kim P.C. Kuypers, Johannes G. Ramaekers and Eef L. Theunissen.

Teaching & Clinical Training

I am also a clinical trainer and regularly hold courses addressed to psychotherapists and medical doctors on topics related to hypnosis, self-hypnosis, clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the Centro Ipnosi Nicoletta Gava/Milton H. Erickson Institute of Turin (IT).

Contact

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