Review of Foundations and
Fundamentals of Clinical Psychology
Topic 1
What is Clinical Psychology?

Clinical psychology focuses on the diagnosis,
treatment, and study of psychological and
behavioral problems and disorders. Clinical
psychology attempts to use the principles of
psychology to better understand, predict, and
alleviate “intellectual, emotional, biological,
psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of
human functioning” (APA, 2000b).
Cont’d

The road to becoming a clinical psychologist is
a long one divided by a number of distinct
stages and phases, which include college,
graduate school, clinical internship,
postdoctoral fellowship, licensure, and finally
employment. However, academic positions are
usually available following receipt of a
doctorate degree and prior to licensure.
Cont’d
One of the great advantages of being a clinical
psychologist is that there are a wide variety of
activities and employment settings:
 teach at the university level
 conduct research
 provide consultation to a wide variety of
professionals and organizations
 conduct psychotherapy and psychological
testing with a wide range of populations.

Cont’d






Clinical psychologists’ employment settings:
hospitals
medical schools
outpatient clinics
colleges and universities
business and industry settings, and private or
group practices.
part time or full-time private practice. Following
private practice, educational settings, such as
academic careers in colleges and universities, are
the second most common employment setting for
clinical psychologists.
Cont’d
 Many
clinical psychologists ultimately
specialize in one or more areas of
research or practice. While there are
many types of clinical psychology
subspecialties, the most common include
child clinical psychology, health
psychology, neuropsychology, and forensic
psychology.
Cont’d
 Clinical
psychologist are organized into a
wide variety of professional organizations.
Most psychologists are members of the
APA. The APA is also divided into 55 topic
interest divisions. About 6,000
psychologists are members of the APA
Division 12 (Clinical Psychology).
Cont’d

In 1988, the American Psychological Society
(APS) was founded by many of the academic
or science-minded psychologists in the APA
who felt that the APA no longer adequately
represented their interests. Founding members
of the APS felt that the APA had become too
focused on professional practice and was
becoming less and less attuned to the science
of psychology.
Cont’d
 Each
state and most counties
maintain psychological
associations. Most clinical
psychologists join their state
psychological association and may
also join their county psychology
association.
Cont’d
 The American
Board of Professional
Psychology (ABPP) was founded in 1947
as an agency that would certify
psychologists in several specialty areas.
The ABPP diploma is considered an
advanced level of recognition and is
certification beyond a state license to
practice as a psychologist.
Cont’d
 Clinical
psychology maintains both
similarities and differences with other
mental health related fields such as
counseling psychology, school
psychology, psychiatry, social work,
nursing, and marriage, family, and child
counseling.
Cont’d
 Changes
in health care delivery and
reimbursement, the large number of
degrees being awarded in clinical
psychology and other mental health
disciplines, and the moderate salaries of
most psychologists can be viewed as
some disadvantages of clinical psychology
as a career option.
Cont’d

The field of clinical psychology is dedicated to
humanitarian concerns. Clinical psychology
seeks to use the principles of human behavior
to minimize or eliminate human suffering and
enhance and improve human quality of life.
Clinical psychology attempts to help
individuals, couples, families, groups,
organizations, and society achieve healthier,
happier,and more effective functioning.
Becoming a Clinical Psychologist: Philippine
Setting

A PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST
shall be authorized to engage in
the professional practice of psychology
consisting of the delivery of psychological
services:

(1) psychological interventions such
as psychological counseling, psychotherapy,
psychosocial support, coaching, psychological
debriefing, group processes, etcetera;
Cont’d
 (2)
psychological assessment or
the gathering and integration
of psychology-related data for the
purpose of making a
psychological evaluation,
accomplished through a variety of
tools; and,
Cont’d
 (3)
psychological programs or the
development, planning,
implementation, monitoring, and
evaluation of psychological treatment
programs and other psychological
intervention programs for individuals
and/or groups.
Cont’d
 A PSYCHOMETRICIAN shall be
authorized to do any of the following, provided,
that such shall at all times be conducted under
the supervision of a licensed professional
psychologist:
 (1) administering and scoring of objective
personality tests, structured personality tests,
pen and-paper intelligence, achievement and
interest tests, excluding projective tests and
other higher level forms of psychological tests;
Cont’d
 (2)
interpreting results of the same
and preparing a written report on
these results; and,
 (3) conducting preparatory intake
interviews of clients for
psychological intervention sessions.

PAP PRIMER
 Clinical
psychology is the scientific study
of mental health, personality and
everyday adjustment.
 It is the branch of psychology
engaged in the diagnosis, treatment
and prevention of psychological
problems, i.e., mental, emotional and
or behavioral problems.
Cont’d
 It
is a specialty that involves the
application of psychology for the
purpose of understanding,
preventing, and addressing
psychologically-based distress or
dysfunction.
Competencies
 A. Assess
individuals toward diagnosing
the nature and causes of mental,
emotional, and or behavioral problems,
and understanding how these
psychological problems manifest in their
current levels of functioning using various
clinical tools such as but is not limited to
interviewing, observation, and
psychological evaluation.
Cont’d
 B. Conduct
therapeutic interventions
directed at identifying the emotional
conflicts, personality disturbance, and
skills deficits underlying a person’s
distress and/or dysfunction, and facilitate
the healing process, using various
theoretical orientations, modalities and
techniques relevant and appropriate to
the needs of the person.
Cont’d
 C. Supervise
or train students (in
practicum or internship programs)
and novice practitioners (training and
actual work supervision programs) in
their conduct of assessment and
psychotherapeutic interventions.
Cont’d
 D. Provide
consultancy services in
different settings (e.g., hospitals,
schools, nongovernmental
organizations, communities,
mental health facilities) that
require clinical psychological
services.
Cont’d
 E. Conduct
research in the area of
clinical psychology to help
improve and enrich the current
practice of Clinical Psychology in
the Philippines.
Requirements
1. Active Associate or Fellow of the
Psychological Association of the Philippines.
 2. Educational Requirements:
 A. At least a Master of Arts (MA) in
Psychology, with major or specialization in
Counseling, Clinical Psychology, Family Life
and Child Development, obtained from an
accredited (FAAP, NQAAHE, or international
accreditation, or CHED Center of
Excellence) graduate program in psychology.

Cont’d
 B. Has
taken the following graduate level
courses or their equivalents
 • Abnormal Psychology or
Psychopathology
 • Introduction to Psychotherapy
 • Group Therapy
 • Projective Tests
 • Intelligence / Individual Tests
Cont’d
 3. Clinical Work
Experience:
 A. At least 100 hours of supervised
practicum, internship or training relating
to any of the above mentioned
competencies such as in psychological
assessment (e.g., administration, scoring
or interpretation of psychological tests,
or writing up clinical reports),
psychotherapy, and research.
Cont’d
 B. For
those with PhD, at least 3
years (minimum of 20 hours/week)
and for those with MA, at least 5
years (minimum of 20 hours/week) of
work in a clinical setting, doing
psychological assessment,
psychotherapy, consultancy, and or
research in clinical psychology.
Cont’d
 4. In
the first year of granting
certification, those who do not meet
the education requirements but have
extensive professional experience may
use at least 10 years of work in any of the
clinical psychology related functions cited
in the Competencies section in place of
educational qualifications.
Cont’d
 Evidence
for such work should be
documented in the form of psychological
reports, therapy reports, peer-evaluated
research reports, reports and materials of
consultancy projects, and other outputs that
fall within the various sub-areas of clinical
psychology. The evidence should show
consistent work over at least a ten-year
period.
Cont’d
5. Must have attended within the past three years
prior to the date of application conferences,
seminars, and continuing professional education
workshops in psychology organized by agencies
recognized by the PAP.
 6. Has not been convicted of any civil, criminal, or
administrative offense, or of ethical violation
related to the professional practice of psychology.

Cont’d
 Applicants
who meet all the above
requirements shall be granted an initial
certification that will be valid for three
years.To renew this certification, the
applicant should comply with
requirements for continuing professional
education which will be specified in future
guidelines.
Cont’d

Evidence for such work should be
documented in the form of (a)
psychological reports, (b) therapy reports,
(c) reports and materials of consultancy
projects, and other outputs that fall within
the various subareas of clinical psychology.
The evidence should show consistent work
over at least a three-year and five-year
period for Phd and MA degree holders,
respectively.
Class Activity
 Outline
the six major activities of clinical
psychology.
 Where do most clinical psychologists
work?
 How do clinical psychologists differ from
other psychologists?
 How do clinical psychologists differ from
other mental health professionals?