What is Clinical Psychology?

Clinical Psychology is an important and popular applied branch of Psychology. It is related to the description, classification, diagnosis, and prognosis of mental diseases. Psychological methods and therapies are used to diagnose and treat various mental diseases.

Contents

Understanding the Branches of Psychology

Nature and Characteristics

A Brief History of Clinical Psychology

Roots From Ancient Greece

The Influence of Medicine on Psychology

Role of Antecedent Factors in the Growth and Emergence of Psychology

The Influence of World War

Scope and Functions

Types of Therapist

Who is a Clinical Psychoanalyst

Conclusion

Understanding the Branches of Psychology

The roots of psychology can be traced back 2000 years to the early philosophers, biologists, and physiologists of ancient Greece.

Hippocrates – Greek

Physiologists thought the mind or soul resided in the brain.

He believed that it was not composed of a physical substance.

This is called mind-body dualism – seeing mind and body as two different things that interact.

Pure or Basic Branch

Refers to the theories, concepts, and principles fundamental to human behaviour.

Nature and Characteristics

Clinical psychology is an applied branch of Psychology.

It is more popular than other branches of psychology, such as industrial and educational psychology.

There is an emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment of behavioural and emotional problems, such as mental illness, juvenile delinquency, mental retardation, marital and family conflicts, drug addiction, criminal behaviour, etc.

Clinicians have different approaches and points of view towards such problems, which Korchin (1986) calls ‘Clinical Attitude’.

This field emphasizes the study of personality dynamics to understand the client or patient’s emotional and behavioural problems.

Sigmund Freud was most concerned with this view.

Korchin 1986 & Phares (1984) have also emphasized the study of personality dynamics in Clinical psychology.

A Brief History of Clinical Psychology

A History of Psychology “Roots from Ancient Greece” More than 2000 years ago, Plato, a student of Socrates in ancient Greece, recorded his teacher’s advice “Know Thyself”. This phrase has remained as a principle for psychological study. Socrates suggested that we can learn much about ourselves by carefully examining our thoughts and feelings. Psychologists called this method of learning ‘Introspection’.

Another Greek philosopher, Aristotle, raised many questions about behaviour. One of Aristotle´s works was the “Peri Psyches”, which means about the mind. Peri Psych explores topics such as sensation, perception, thought, intelligence, needs, motives, feelings, emotions, and memory.

The ancient Greeks also theorized about psychological problems such as confusion and strange behaviour, they attributed these disorders to supernatural forces, and they believed that the gods punished people for their wrongdoing by causing them confusion and madness. Although a Greek physician, Hippocrates, suggested that such problems were caused by abnormalities in the brain, the idea that biological factors can affect our thoughts, feelings, and behaviour has influenced thinking about psychology ever since.

The Influence of Medicine on Psychology

To speak of “clinical” psychology is to invoke the medical metaphor of care at the bedside of the individual (the Greek word . klinein refers to a couch or bed). In naming clinical psychology, Lightner Witmer thus alluded to the tradition of Hippocrates.

Many of the founders and influential researchers in the modern academic discipline of psychology, including Wilhelm Wundt, William James, Hermann Helmholtz, and Ivan Pavlov, were physicians by education.

Another example of the influence of medicine on general psychology is provided by the work of Hermann Helmholtz. In terms of contributions to psychology and what is now called neuroscience, Helmholtz was the first to measure the speed of the nerve through 25 impulses in several different species. Some of his best-known scientific work is on vision and hearing.

The influence of medicine on general psychology is provided by the career of the Russian scientist, Ivan Pavlov, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology in 1904, for his work on digestive processes.

Role of Antecedent Factors in the Growth and Emergence of Psychology

Psychology was born as a modern science when psychologists opened psychological laboratories. In the year 1879 Wilhelm Wundt created the first psychology lab and established psychology as a science. Wilhelm Wundt and his students founded a field of psychology that came to be known as “Structuralism”, they were concerned with studying the basic elements of consciousness.

History of the Emergence of Psychology

The term “Clinical psychology” was first used in an article by Lightner Witmer (1867– 1956), a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. William James (1842-1910) was one of the founders of the school of Functionalism. They were concerned with how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment. They believed behaviours were adaptive because they were successful and less adaptive behaviours were dropped or discontinued.

American Psychology

Stanley Hall established the second American psychology lab at John Hopkins University in 1883, while James McKeen Cattell established the third American lab in 1888. Hall established the first independent psychology department at Clark University in 1887.

In 1892, the American Psychological Association (APA) was founded and Stanley Hall was elected its first president. Until that time, psychology departments were dependent on philosophy. John B. Watson (1878- 1958) Behaviourists believe behaviour can be studied methodically and recognizably with no consideration of internal mental states. Watson believed that it was unscientific to study consciousness as a private event, he asserted that if psychology was to be a natural science, it must be observable and measurable.

Skinner (1904-1990) added to the behaviourist tradition of reinforcement. Skinner showed that when an animal is reinforced, or rewarded, for acting, it is more likely to act in the future. The psychology of Gestalt, which means shape or form in German, is based on the idea that perceptions are more than the sum of their parts, rather they are wholes that give shape or meaning.

Sigmund Freud and the School of Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), was one of the most famous of the early psychologists. The school of thought that he founded was called “Psychoanalysis”, it emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and internal conflicts and how they can influence behaviour.

Alfred Binet, a French scientist, founded the first psychology laboratory in France, in 1885. It was Binet’s pursuit to construct exams for examining children’s mental capabilities. In 1904, a French commission invited Binet and Theodore Simon to develop a method to assist in providing mentally disabled children with appropriate educational services. Binet and Simon’s intelligence test was developed.

Freud proposed that unconscious conflicts and emotional influences could cause mental and physical illness. Freud’s publication of The Interpretation of Dreams, published in 1900 resulted in the acceptance of a psychoanalytic perspective.

The Influence of World War

When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, a large number of recruits needed to be classified based on their intellectual and psychological functioning. The U.S. Army asked the APA for an appropriate test for military recruits. World War I saw the creation of the Army Alpha Test, a verbal assessment, and the Army Beta Test, a non-verbal examination. 

World War I AND II

In the aftermath, a boom in psychological testing development ensued, resulting in the creation of more than 500 tests. These tests included both verbal and nonverbal intelligence tests, personality and psychological functioning tests, and career interest and vocational skill tests.

The Goodenough Draw-A-Man Test (1926),

The ThematicApperceptionTest (1935)

The Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale (1939) – In 1939 David Wechsler developed the first comprehensive and individually administered intelligence test for adults. Wechsler-Bellevue – WAIS

Murray & Morgan developed the ThematicApperceptionTest (1935)

The Bendar GestaltTest (1938)- test of personality and brain damage

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or MMPI (1943)

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, or WISC (1949)

The Mental Hygiene Movement also influenced the emergence of Clinical Psychology. Dorothea Linde Dix (1802-1887) worked actively for 40 years for mentally ill people, and Sweetser gave the term Mental Hygiene in 1843.

Scope and Functions

According to Rotter (1971), “Psychotherapy is a planned activity of the psychologists, the purpose of which is to accomplish changes in the individual that make his life adjustment potentially happier, more constructive or both.” Clinical psychologists who work as psychotherapists often utilize different treatment approaches when working with clients.

Diagnosis and Treatment

The diagnosis of psychological disorders involves the application of multiple methods, including observation, interviews, and psychological evaluations, followed by therapy using various approaches. Clinical psychologists usually have a doctorate in psychology and have also received training in clinical settings. Many psychologists engage in teaching, often at the university level.

Research

There is always scope for conducting more research to gain more information and utilize the gained knowledge for the welfare of the needy. To strengthen the client’s motivation to do the right things and help in reducing emotional pressure as well as to facilitate decision-making.

Administration and Management

One of the scope and functions of clinical psychology is also to administer and manage to treat and prevent social problems.

Types of Therapist

Clinical psychologist with a doctoral degree in clinical psychology; provides therapy for people with mental disorders. A counseling psychologist is someone with a doctoral degree in psychological or educational counseling, who counsels people with milder problems.

Psychiatrist: has a medical degree with a residency in mental health, provides therapy for people with mental disorders, and is the only type of therapist who can prescribe drugs or other biomedical treatments.

Psychoanalyst: Any of the above types of credentials, but with training in psychoanalysis from a psychoanalytic institute.

Clinical social worker: has a master’s or doctoral degree in social work with specialized training in counselling, and provides help with social problems, such as family problems.

Who is a Clinical Psychoanalyst

Clinical psychologists usually do not just adopt one single approach. Instead, they draw on elements from several different approaches (Eclectic approach).

The most important tool is the clinical Interview (Listening skills).

Trained in the use and analysis of psychometric tests.

Psychometric tests transcend the status of simple questionnaires; they contain carefully devised questions and tasks that elucidate various psychological aspects.

FAQ’S

Conclusion

In the field of psychology, Clinical Psychologists hold a distinguished position in diagnosing and treating mental health disorders. It combines theories of psychology and therapeutic techniques to solve many kinds of emotional and behavioural issues.