Psicologia
dell’aviazione:
ambiti di intervento
e prospettive

Alessandra Rea

ITAPA President

Alessandra Rea is an aviation psychologist, President and co-founder of Itapa-Italia Associazione Psicologia Aviazione. She works in air traffic control field, airline operations, maintenance and aviation industry. With 27 years of experience, Alessandra has competencies related to different area in which aviation psychology is declined: HF training, selection and personnel assessment, No Technical Skills development, coaching.
Currently, she works in air traffic control with activity of Human Factor training and Notechs development with simulator setting. In the field of airline she works for Air Dolomiti where she manages the Support Program with the role of aviation psychologist according to EU Reg. 1042/2018. Alessandra is an expert of helicopters operations and organizations and she has experience as HF Manager and project manager for HF and CRM departments development. Alessandra is an operational psychologist too, she has been working for 10 years in SHL international Company, achieving competencies in selection, Assessment Centre, training and coaching for human resource.
Since 1996 she is an EAAP member and in 1998 participated to birth of AEPA- Asociación Española de Psicología de Aviación. From that time Alessandra is actively involved in the international aviation psychology community, confronting with collegues about HF issues and aviation psychologist role. She is a cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist under training.

Micaela Scialanga

ITAPA General Secretary and airline Captain

Micaela Scialanga is an airline captain with 35 years experience on medium and long-haul passenger and cargo flights, European Aviation Psychologist (accredited by EAAP European Association for Aviation Psychology) and an expert in Human Factor in Aviation.
She has co-designed and implemented the Support Programme IT-APA in fulfillment of the EASA EU 1046/2018 requirement for several Italian Airlines and she is currently national ITAPA coordinator for the psychologists Support Programme Team.
She is project leader of design and implementation of psychological free support Program “Here I Am” for Italian civil aviation professionals, the free training programme in CRM elements “Guarda Avanti” (Look Forward) for secondary public school and “Viaggio nelle professioni” (A journey in the , a program that aims to faciltate the familiarization of psychologists with aviation professions.
She is IT-APA coordinator for Psychological Support to victims and their relatives in case of aviation accident in fullfillment of ENAC Regolamento “Redazione e Gestione del Piano di Assistenza alle Vittime di Incidente Aereo e Loro Familiari”.
She works as a freelance in the personnel selection process in aviation according to reg. EU1042/2018.

Fabiola Cardea

Posizione

Psicologa, specialista in psicologia clinica e psicoterapeuta, dottore di ricerca nell’ambito della safety presso l’Università di Roma Sapienza con una tesi sulla gestione degli errori nei sistemi organizzativi ad alta complessità.
Psicoterapeuta EMDR, psicologia dell’emergenza e coordinatore (rapporteur) del gruppo di lavoro ICAO sulla Family Assistance (ICAO Facilitation Panel, Working Group on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families).
Dirigente in ENAC, attuale Direttore Safety, nel corso della sua carriera è stata anche dirigente aeroportuale, direttore del personale, Direttore Sicurezza e Logistica, program manager sviluppo risorse umane.

Giacomo Belloni

Posizione

Senior aviation professional with over three decades of experience in the industry. I combine high-level operational expertise with an interdisciplinary academic background.
His work focuses on aviation safety, advanced training methodologies, and the integration of advanced/intelligent technologies to support human performance in complex environments.
He actively contribute to the academic milieu and institutional innovation in aviation and related domains.
Presently he works as Airline Captain, Instructor, Examiner, and Senior Examiner for the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the UAE. Currently, He serves as a Standard Trainer and fly the Airbus A350.
In addition to 17.000 flight hours, he has accumulated almost 6,000 hours of flight simulator training and hold the qualifications of Flight Simulator Evaluator and Training Developer in the EBT context.
He held numerous managerial positions throughout his career. He served as Fleet Manager and Pilot Manager of the entire Airbus fleet at his national company, overseeing 100 aircraft, more than 1,000 pilots and approximately 500 flights a day.
He is an expert in Aviation Safety, having served as Deputy Safety Manager at an important training organisation.
His academic background is interdisciplinary and extensive: He holds 4 University degrees:

• Two degrees in the Humanities (Philosophy and Historical-Artistic Sciences) from the University of Rome "La Sapienza", both awarded with highest honours (110/110 cum laude);
• A master's degree in Air Safety Management from City, University of London.
• A Master of Business Administration (MBA) from York St. John University.

He is a Doctoral Graduate Researcher at the Open University of the Netherlands in Heerlen. Together with the publication that will be presented to the 2nd IT-APA Convention "Anthropomorphic AI: Sociopathic AI Features as Predictors of Career Opportunities and Threats Perceived by Pilots in Commercial Aviation", in the last year, he has published 8 academic works with scienific journals.
He is the co-founder of HUMAI Research FZC, a human-focused research group that studies how advanced technologies can drive innovation for effective and efficient human performance training in today’s complex professional environments. Among its key activities, HUMAI Research seeks to implement Evidence-Based Training (EBT), emphasising the central role of humans in the decision-making process with the support of advanced technologies.

Martina Tinè

Posizione

Martina Tinè is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapist who specializes in the assessment, planning, and delivery of individual and group therapy in clinical and aviation settings; she practices in the Venice area.
Her private clinical practice is conducted both in person and online and is primarily dedicated to prevention, counseling, and clinical work with adolescents, young adults, adults, and groups. She conducts psychodiagnostic assessments to evaluate, from psychological and psychopathological perspectives, the individual’s cognitive, emotional, neuropsychological, and relational functioning. The aim is to formulate a precise diagnosis and guide therapeutic treatment with a focus on the individual’s personality structure, attitudes, and relational patterns.
Researcher on the project conducted with IT-APA and in collaboration with Air Dolomiti company titled “Flight Operations and Emotions Management: The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Pilots.” Member of the “IT-APA for Disability” working group for the drafting of guidelines on intervention and assistance for air crash victims with non-motor disabilities.
Emergency psychologist: providing assistance and support to victims of aircraft accidents and their families.
Clinical Aviation Psychologist (CAP) and Psychotherapist at the certified aviation operator Como Seaplanes and Air Service Center.

Laura Ricci

Posizione

Laura Ricci is a developmental and educational psychologist and emergency psychologist.
An expert in perinatal psychology, she has collaborated with educational services for children aged 0-6 years as a coordinator and trainer for nearly 20 years. As a freelancer, she provides psychological support to children and adolescents and parenting support. Since 2019, she has collaborated with regional training institutions as a teacher on topics related to typical and atypical child development, conflict management, risk management, and emergencies.
Since 2023, she has worked as an emergency psychologist at a rehabilitation center for patients with disabilities and psychiatric problems. Since 2008, she has been a member and board member of the association Psychologists for the People – Lazio Region with which she has participated in several emergency interventions nationwide.
Throughout the national health emergency, she worked at the COVID toll-free number managed by Ares118, providing telephone psychological support.
She lives and works in Rome.

Anna Paladino

Posizione

Anna Paladino is a psychologist and psychotherapist. She worked for 12 years as a neuropsychologist at the Policlinico of Milan, engaging in both clinical practice and research projects related to neurodegenerative diseases.
Since 2004, she has been involved in laboratory activities and internship tutoring in psychology at the University of Bergamo. Her interests and expertise focus on stuttering, eating disorders, and psychotraumatology.
For approximately 10 years, she has collaborated on a project aimed at integrating medical doctors and psychologists within primary care. She is an emergency psychologist and, with SIPEm SOS Lombardia (Italian Society of Emergency Psychology), she has participated in interventions in various emergency situations; within SIPEm, she is responsible for training and internships.
She has published several works in the fields of neuropsychology and psychotherapy and has been involved in teaching activities for Master's programs in neuropsychology of well-being and emergency psychology.
Shelives and works in Milan.