Chapter 1

1. Chapter 1 Clinical Psychology:An Introduction

2. What is Clinical Psychology? • The field of Clinical Psychology integrates • science • theory • practice • Helps us understand and alleviate discomfort and dysfunction • Promotes human adaptation, adjustment, and personal development

3. What is Clinical Psychology? • Clinical Psychology focuses on • Intellectual • Emotional • Biological • Psychological • Social • Behavioral factors across the life span, in varying cultures, and at all socioeconomic levels

4. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • Psychiatry • rooted in the medical tradition • regards psychopathology as a mental “illness” that can be remedied with a medical treatment (i.e medication) • requires medical degree in addition to a residency in psychiatry • Psychiatrists can be referred to as medical physicians

5. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • Psychiatry • Declining field? • Prescription privileges • Decrease in interest • Perceived lack of prestige

6. Psychiatrists

7. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • Counseling Psychology • Traditionally work with normally or maladjusted individuals • Historically focused on educational or career counseling • Currently represent a wide range of theoretical orientations and treat clients across the life span

8. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • Counseling Psychology • in general provides the following services: • Preventative treatment • Consultation • Development of outreach programs • Vocational counseling • Short-term counseling / therapy from one to fifteen sessions

9. Differences Between Clinical and Counseling Doctoral Programs Clinical • Twice as many applicants as counseling programs • Average GRE scores of accepted students slightly higher • Research focusing on psychological disorders, clinical health psychology, and clinical child and adolescent psychology is more common • Counseling • Higher percentage of ethnic minority students and those with master’s degrees • Research focusing on minority/cross-cultural issues and vocational testing more common • Norcross, Sayette, Mayne, Karg, and Turkson (1998)

10. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • Clinical Social Workers • Mental health professionals trained in psychiatric diagnosis, individual and group psychotherapy • Training limited to a 2 year master’s degree • Intensely involved in the day-to-day lives of their patients • Focus more on the social and environmental factors that contribute to their patient’s difficulties

11. Social Workers

12. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • School Psychologists • Psychologists who work with educators to promote the intellectual, social, and emotional growth of school-age children • Activities may include evaluating children with special needs, developing programs or interventions to address these needs, and consulting with teachers and administrators on school policy

13. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • Health Psychologists • Psychologists whose research or practical work focuses on good health or the prevention of an illness, or the treatment of individuals with diagnosed medical conditions • Rehabilitation Psychologists • Psychologists who focus on individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities and the ramifications that come along with them

14. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • Psychiatric Nurses • Work closely with psychiatrists or clinical psychologists to implement the therapeutic recommendations • In most states certified nurse practitioners have prescription privileges

15. Psychiatric Nurses

16. Closely Related Mental Health Professions • Non-regulated “therapist” or “psychotherapist” • do not have sufficient educational or licensing requirements mandated by the state and provincial governments to be considered a mental health professional • Offer services using the title of “therapist”

17. The Clinical Psychologist

18. The Clinical Psychologist • Employment Settings • Private Practice has grown steadily over the years (~40%) • University, Psychology Department (~18%) • Medical School (~8%)

19. The Clinical Psychologist

20. The Clinical Psychologist • Demographics • Gender • 34% women • Race/ethnicity • 7% ethnic minority • Theoretical Orientation • Psychodynamic decreasing over the years • Cognitive-behavioral is increasing • Many consider themselves eclectic

21. The Clinical Psychologist

22. Training in Clinical Psychology • Coursework • Varies between programs • Normally includes a standard set of courses aimed to provide an understanding of the basics • Students also enroll in advanced clinical coursework that focuses on subjects of interest more in depth • Practicuum • Learning through clinical practica, or exposure to clinical work and practical applications of skills

23. Training in Clinical Psychology • Research • Involves courses in statistics, research methodology, and participation in research • Most programs require a master’s thesis, and all programs require an intensive original research project, a dissertation, to receive a doctorate • Qualifying Exam • Usually made up of intensive written (and sometimes oral) examinations in the third year • Can cover either all of psychology or just clinical

24. Training in Clinical Psychology • Internship • Usually comes at the end of graduate training • Allows students to gain experience working in a professional setting • Exposes students to clinical psychologists who may have different ideas and theoretical orientations than those encountered at the university, which helps to combat provincialism • Stimulates ideas for future research projects

25. Training in Clinical Psychology • Dissertation • Intensive original research project by the fourth or fifth year • Designed to contribute significant new information to the field • Most programs stress traditional experimental or correlational research for the dissertation

26. A Profession in Movement • Women in Clinical Psychology • Growing trend: more women than men are receiving their doctorates in psychology, especially clinical psychology • The increase in women earning doctorates in psychology will serve to advance the field because it will bring a broader range of perspectives to problems encountered in both clinical practice and clinical research

27. Training Models • Scientist-practitioner model • Predominant training philosophy in clinical psychology today • Requires that students acquire research competence by contributing to ongoing studies and eventually conducting their own original research project • Integrate the role of scientist with practitioner

28. Training Models • Clinical-scientist model • Arose from concerns that clinical psychology is not sufficiently grounded in science • Focuses on evidence-based approaches to assessment, prevention, and clinical intervention • Over 50 clinical training programs identify with the clinical-science model

29. Training Models • Professional Schools / Psy.D. • Professional Schools usually have no university affiliation • Offer advanced training in psychology that focuses on competence in assessment and psychotherapy rather than research • Most award the Psy.D. degree instead of the traditional Ph.D.