CLINICAL

• Definition of Clinical Psychology:

  • Involves rigorous study and applied practice directed toward understanding and improving the psychological facets of the human experience
  • Includes issues or problems of behavior, emotions, or intellect
  • Involves research, teaching, and services relevant to understanding, predicting, and alleviating intellectual, emotional, biological, psychological, social, and behavioral maladjustment, disability, and discomfort
• Skill areas central to the field of clinical psychology:

  • Assessment and diagnosis
  • Intervention or treatment
  • Consultation
  • Research
  • Application of ethical and professional principles
• Activities of Clinical Psychologists:

  • Therapy/Intervention:
  • Therapy is the activity that most frequently engages the typical clinical psychologist's efforts
  • Historically involved a search for insight into the origins of problems or undesirable behavior
  • Therapies involving specific skills may be more useful for reducing client's problems
  • Goals of therapy may include helping with a single type of symptom that prevents achieving certain goals
• Diagnosis/Assessment:

  • Assessment involves gathering information through observation, testing, or interviewing to answer important questions or solve problems
• Teaching:

  • Can be classroom lecture type or one-to-one
  • Clinical psychologists may teach informal classes or do orientation work with other mental health personnel
  • May lead workshops on various topics for different groups in the community
• Clinical Supervision:

  • Involves one-to-one teaching, small group approaches, and less formal varieties of instruction
  • Clinical psychologists spend significant time supervising students, interns, and others
• Research:

  • All clinicians are trained as scientists and practitioners
  • Expected to engage in both clinical and research work with equal emphasis
  • Clinical psychologists evaluate research conducted by others and conduct their own research
• Consultation:

  • Goal is to increase the effectiveness of those directed efforts by imparting expertise
  • Can involve case-by-case advice or discussing general problems
  • Clinical psychologists can serve as consultants in various settings such as legal, advertising, or corporate
• Administration:

  • Good administrators keep organizations running smoothly and efficiently
  • Important attributes include human relations skills, communication, and selecting the right people for the right jobs
• Training in Clinical Psychology:

  • Coursework includes basic courses like statistics, research design, biological foundations of behavior, social psychology, developmental psychology, and cognitive psychology
  • Practicum work involves practical application of previously studied theory and acquisition of specific clinical skills
  • Research competence development through master's thesis and dissertation reporting original research
  • Qualifying examination and board examinations are required
  • Internship/practicum combines academic content with practical experience
• Training Models:

  • Scientist-Practitioner Model/Boulder Model:
  • Focuses on extensive training in research and scientific methods
  • Emphasizes conducting original research based on scientific methods
• Clinical Scientist Model:

  • Stresses the scientific side of clinical psychology more strongly than the Boulder model
• Psychiatrists vs. Clinical Psychologists:

  • Psychiatrists are physicians who focus on mental "illness" with discrete causes and medical treatment
  • Clinical psychologists receive more training in psychological principles, assessment, and psychotherapy
• Counseling Psychologists:

  • Work with normal or moderately maladjusted individuals
  • Provide preventive treatment, consultation, vocational counseling, and short-term counseling/therapy
  • Tend to work with less seriously disturbed populations compared to clinical psychologists
• Clinical Social Worker:

  • Assist individuals, groups, or communities to enhance social functioning
  • Practice requires knowledge of human development, behavior, social, economic, and cultural institutions
• Social workers are intensely involved with the everyday lives and stresses of their patients
• School psychologists work with students, educators, parents, and school administrators to promote the intellectual, social, and emotional growth of school-age children and adolescents
• Health psychologists contribute to the promotion and maintenance of good health through research or practice
• Rehabilitation psychologists focus on physically or cognitively disabled individuals, helping them adjust to their disabilities and advocating for improved life conditions
• Paraprofessionals assist professional mental health workers, often in crisis centers, after receiving short training sessions
• Occupational therapists, recreational therapists, art therapists, and others can enhance the adjustment patterns of patients by teaching skills and providing outlets in various settings
• Significant Events in Diagnosis and Assessment:

  • Francis Galton establishes anthropometric laboratory in 1882
  • Alfred Binet begins work on his intelligence scale in 1904
  • Hermann Rorschach's Psychodiagnostics is published in 1921
  • DSM-I is published in 1952
  • DSM-III is published in 1980
  • DSM-IV is published in 1994
  • DSM-V is published in 2013
• Significant Events in Intervention:

  • Philippe Pinel introduces humane care in French asylums in 1793
  • Sigmund Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900
  • Jacob L. Moreno introduces group therapy in 1932
  • Aaron Beck introduces cognitive therapy in 1967
• Significant Events in Research:

  • Wilhelm Wundt establishes the first psychological lab in Leipzig in 1879
  • William James publishes Principles of Psychology in 1890
  • Carl Rogers and Rosalind Dymond report their research on the counseling process in 1954
  • Mary Smith and Gene Glass report meta-analysis of psychotherapy studies in 1977
• Significant Events in the Profession of Clinical Psychology:

  • American Psychological Association (APA) is founded in 1892
  • Lightner Witmer establishes the first "Psychological" Clinic in 1896
  • Psi Chi founded in 1930
  • Journal of Consulting Psychology founded in 1937
• Ethical Standards:

  • Beneficence and non-maleficence: Psychologists strive to benefit those they serve and to do no harm
  • Fidelity and responsibility: Psychologists establish relationships characterized by trust
  • Integrity: Psychologists strive to be accurate, honest, and truthful
  • Justice: All persons are entitled to access to and benefit from the profession of psychology
  • Respect for people's rights and dignity: Psychologists respect the rights and dignity of all people
• Key areas of the ethical standards:

  • Clinicians must always represent their training accurately regarding competence
  • Confidentiality is central to the client-psychologist relationship
  • Human relations issues include sexual harassment, termination of therapy when not helpful, and payment sources in research or practice