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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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:
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Psychotherapy—76%
Diagnosis and assessment—58%
Teaching—49%
Research and writing—47%
Clinical supervision—47%
Consultation—46%
What Is Psychological Assessment?
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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?
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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:
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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
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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
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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