Clinical Psychology Presentation created by Irving B. Weiner University of South Florida Division 12, Society of Clinical Psychology American Psychological Association

What Is Clinical Psychology? Clinical Psychology is a field of psychology concerned with understanding, evaluating, alleviating, and preventing mental and emotional disorders and promoting human adaptation, adjustment, and personal effectiveness and satisfaction. Clinical psychologists address the intellectual, emotional, biological, psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of human functioning across the life span, in varying cultures, and at all socioeconomic levels. Clinical Psychology is a science that generates research efforts to discover and validate information about what people are like and why they behave as they do.

What Is Clinical Psychology? Clinical Psychology is also a professional practice that provides health care services. The essence of Clinical Psychology is an integration of science and practice pursuits. Clinical psychologists are educated and trained in both scientific and practical methods, and the primary journal in the field is titled Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice.

What Do Clinical Psychologists Do? Some clinical psychologists engage in academic work in which they teach students, conduct research, and write articles and books for publication. Some clinical psychologists engage in applied work in which they provide assessment, treatment, consultation services, and clinical supervision. Many clinical psychologists combine these academic and applied activities in the course of their career.

What Do Clinical Psychologists Do? In a recent survey of members of the Society of Clinical Psychology, which is the clinical division of the American Psychological Association, the following percentages of respondents reported being involved in these several activities: Psychotherapy—76% Diagnosis and assessment—58% Teaching—49% Research and writing—47% Clinical supervision—47% Consultation—46%

What Is Psychological Assessment? Psychological assessment consists of a variety of procedures for evaluating intellectual, neurocognitive, and personality characteristics of people. These procedures include psychological tests, interviews, behavioral observations, medical and school records, and reports of family members. Information from these sources is integrated to describe the psychological characteristics, behavioral tendencies, and coping strengths and limitations of people being evaluated and to help determine the kind of treatment likely to alleviate their problems and concerns.

What Is Psychological Assessment? Two kinds of psychological tests are used in clinical work: Self-report tests, in which people describe themselves by indicating whether certain statements (e.g., “I am happy most of the time”) apply to them. Performance-based tests, on which people provide information about themselves by how they perform on certain tasks, such as putting blocks together to make a design or telling a story about what people in an ambiguous picture might be thinking, feeling, and doing.

What Is Psychotherapy? Psychotherapy is a verbal communication between patients and therapists that is intended to help people find relief from emotional distress, as in becoming less anxious, fearful, or depressed seek solutions to problems in their lives, such as dealing with disappointment, grief, family issues, and job or career dissatisfaction modify ways of thinking and acting that are preventing them from working productively and enjoying personal relationships

What Is Psychotherapy? Talking with a psychotherapist differs from talking with a friend in three respects that increase its likelihood of being helpful: Friends may be able and willing to listen and give advice, but qualified and duly licensed psychotherapists are trained professionals with specialized education and experience in understanding psychological problems. Whereas friendships are typically mutual relationships in which people take turns being helpful to each other, psychotherapy is devoted entirely to the patient’s welfare and focused solely on the patient’s needs for symptom relief, problem solutions, or life style changes.

What Is Psychotherapy? In contrast to the mutuality, informality, and multiple shared interests that usually characterize friendships, psychotherapy involves a formal commitment to meet regularly at a designated time, to talk only about the patient’s concerns, and to continue meeting as long as doing so serves the patient’s best interests. Many different kinds of psychotherapy have proved effective in helping people feel better, resolve problems in living, and modify their attitudes and behavior in constructive ways. Knowledgeable psychotherapists select and recommend an appropriate treatment approach and tailor their procedures to fit each individual patient’s personality style and life circumstances.

Where Do Clinical Psychologists Work? Clinical psychologists work in many different settings including office practice, mental health clinics, healthcare service organizations, hospitals, schools, universities, industries, legal systems, medical systems, counseling centers, governmental agencies, and the military. Respondents to the recent survey of members of the Society of Clinical Psychology reported the following primary employment settings: Private practice—41% Universities and Medical Schools—34% Hospitals and clinics—11% Veterans Administration—5%

What Are the Major Theoretical Orientations in Clinical Psychology? The major theoretical perspectives in clinical psychology are Psychodynamic perspectives developed from the psychoanalytic formulations of Sigmund Freud and emphasize (a) that behavior is caused and not random or accidental, (b) that how people behave is influenced in part by thoughts and feelings of which they are not fully aware, and (c) that early life experiences have considerable impact on what people are like as they grow up. Psychodynamically oriented psychotherapists use such techniques as free association and interpretation to identify underlying motivations and enhance self-awareness. Cognitive-behavioral perspectives developed from the concepts and procedures of such innovators as B. F. Skinner, Joseph Wolpe, and Aaron Beck and emphasize that people become psychologically disturbed and have problems in living because of faulty ways of thinking and learned patterns of unhelpful behavior. Cognitive-behavioral therapists seek to modify maladaptive ways in which people are thinking or acting with techniques involving cognitive restructuring, behavior shaping, and problem-solving exercises.

What Are the Major Theoretical Orientations in Clinical Psychology? The major theoretical perspectives in clinical psychology are Humanistic-experiential perspectives developed from the contributions of humanistic thinkers like Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May and emphasize that people are active agents in determining their own destiny and can achieve personal growth through self-actualization and taking responsibility for themselves. Humanistic-experiential therapists utilize techniques of active experiencing to help people realize their human potential.

What Qualifications Are Required for Practicing Clinical Psychology? Most positions in Clinical Psychology require a doctoral degree, and applied practice requires a state license as well. There are two training models for doctoral degrees: The traditional PhD in Psychology (Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology), which emphasizes research and science The PsyD degree (Doctor of Psychology), which focuses primarily on applied practice

What Qualifications Are Required for Practicing Clinical Psychology? Both PhD and PsyD programs include substantial coursework in personality and psychopathology. With differing degrees of emphasis, both PhD and PsyD programs provide education in research methods and training in methods of assessment and treatment. Both PhD and PsyD programs require at least one full year of internship experience in a service delivery setting. The American Psychological Association sets the standards for Clinical Psychology education and training programs and grants accreditation to programs that meet these standards

What Is the History of Clinical Psychology? Clinical psychology is considered to have originated in 1896, when Lightner Witmer established the first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896. For the next 50 years, some psychologists did clinical work that focused mainly on the development and application of methods of assessing intelligence and personality. However, formal education and training programs in clinical psychology were not established until the late 1940s. WWII was a major impetus to the formal development of Clinical Psychology as a profession. In the military during the war and among veterans following it, large numbers of men and women experienced psychological disabilities requiring mental health services. To meet this need, the Veterans Administration created hospital and clinic positions for staff psychologists to provide assessment and treatment services, and it also established paid internship positions for training clinical psychology graduate students.

What Is the History of Clinical Psychology? Additionally in the late 1940s, the National Institute of Mental Health instituted training grant support of psychology departments with clinical psychology programs, and the American Psychological Association (a) formalized a required curriculum for becoming a clinical psychologist and (b) began accrediting programs that meet these requirements. In the 1950s, the newly formalized clinical psychology profession began to be recognized by state licensure, and psychology has long since been a licensed profession in every state in the U.S. There are currently approximately 105,000 licensed psychologists in the U.S.

What Are Sources of Information About Clinical Psychology? Website: www.div12apa.org; Books: Thousands of books are available on topics in Clinical Psychology; online catalogs are available for all major publishers of these books. Journals: Dozens of journals publish information on topics in Clinical Psychology. Core journals are the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, and Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, published by the Society of Clinical Psychology (which is the Clinical Division of the APA).

What Are Sources of Information About Clinical Psychology? Other journals related to clinical psychology published by APA or its Divisions include Psychological Assessment Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Journal of Abnormal Psychology Professional Psychology Psychoanalytic Psychology Law and Human Behavior Psychotherapy