International Summit "NEEDS, GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS: Dialogues on the Motivated Mind" - Sept 19, 2025

International Summit "NEEDS, GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS: Dialogues on the Motivated Mind" - September 19, 2025 Organized by the Network of Scuole di Psicoterapia Cognitiva APC-SPC-IGB-AIPC-SICC (https://apc.it/ ) Prof. Carol Dweck Prof. Eshkol Rafaeli & Dr. Barbara Basile Prof. Niki Petrocchi & Prof. Simone Cheli Prof. Francesco Mancini & Prof. Amelia Gangemi Chair: Dr. Maurizio Brasini PRESENTATION: We are naturally led to believe that every action reveals an intention, and that every intention responds to a need. Yet, this intuitive and commonsense vision of a motivated mind has struggled to translate into a solid and empirically grounded psychological theory capable of accounting for the role of motivational processes as organizing principles of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral activity. After being anchored to the Epicurean principle of the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain, influenced by the humanist and liberal vision of personal fulfillment, and framed within the Aristotelian framework of the human being as a social animal, the conceptualization of motivation has only recently been experiencing a promising phase of convergence between historical, disciplinary, and research perspectives. In this context, Carol Dweck's recent work on needs, goals, and motivations—which inspired this summit—represents one of the most significant contributions toward a unified and trans-theoretical theory of the motivated mind. It is precisely around his model that the volume "Understanding the Motivated Mind: Theories and Tools on Motivation and Psychological Needs," published by Giovanni Fioriti and edited by Brasini and Giacomantonio, is structured. This conference is the inspiration for this project. Carol Dweck's opening presentation, based on her article "From Needs to Goals and Representations: Foundations for a Unified Theory of Motivation, Personality, and Development," will provide the starting point for three clinical dialogues developed from different perspectives: one focused on unmet needs in the Schema Therapy model, the motivational and evolutionary perspective of Compassion Focused Therapy, and the cognitive perspective, focusing on goals and beliefs. The overall goal of the summit is to bring motivational processes back to the center of the conceptualization of mental functioning—in health and suffering—by promoting, through dialogue, an exchange between different theoretical perspectives and clinical practices. PROGRAM: Introduction - Maurizio Brasini From Needs to Goals and Representations: Foundations for a Unified Theory of Motivation, Personality, and Development - Carol Dweck Needs from a Schema Therapy Perspective - Eshkol Rafaeli & Barbara Basile From Threat to Security: Integrating Compassion-Focused Therapy with Dweck's Motivational Model - Niki Petrocchi & Simone Cheli From Needs to Expectations: The Need for Justice - Francesco Mancini & Amelia Gangemi