What is CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY?

The clinical psychologist he is a figure in full evolution. Psychology has been changing, growing and dividing into specialties. For this reason, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate the (increasingly) branches of psychology. Clinical psychology is one of the specialties of psychology and is characterized by being focused on the mental health and psychological well-being of people. In this Psychology-Online article we explain what is clinical psychology and we detail its definition, its objective, its functions, examples of aspects it deals with, the tools it uses and the contexts in which they are applied, as well such as the history of clinical psychology and the main differences found between clinical psychology and the other specialties of the psychology.

Index

1. What is clinical psychology: definition and objective
2. Clinical psychology: functions and tools
3. History of clinical psychology
4. Differences between psychology and clinical psychology
5. Clinical psychology: examples of aspects it deals with
6. What is clinical psychology: graphic summary

Currently, the clinical psychology It is a scientific and professional discipline that is defined as the branch of psychology that is responsible for carrying out the evaluation, explanation, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of psychological well-being.

The goals of clinical psychology are understand, treat and prevent psychological problems and disorders through evaluation, diagnosis, intervention and research. Its main objective is to procure, care for and improve health at all levels, from a bio-psycho-social perspective of people. All this is done through the application of the knowledge, skills, techniques and instruments of psychology.

Clinical psychology can be practiced in different contexts, however, the main settings are still clinical centers, mental health services and general hospitals. In addition, clinical psychology is a profession that is continually evolving, expanding its functions and areas of work.

Functions of clinical psychology

The functions of clinical psychology are currently considered to be:

• Evaluate
• To diagnose
• Treat, intervene, rehabilitate
• Advise or advise
• Promote health and prevent
• Investigate
• Teach and supervise
• Direct or administer health systems

Tools of clinical psychology

These functions are carried out by clinical and health psychologists through techniques and procedures such as interviews, where the professional asks in order to collect the informationnecessary for evaluation. These interviews can be more or less guided. Information is also collected through direct observation of the professional. Another tool is the tests, in general, consistent and validated psychometric instruments to measure from symptoms to capacities in a patient, although there are many types of psychological tests. There are also psychophysiological records that serve to measure the physiological responses of the body. Self-reports, surveys and exercises are also used in which the patient himself observes and records her thoughts or behaviors. Once all the information has been collected, it is usually summarized in a psychological report. The report will vary depending on the recipient, but in general, it usually includes the reason for consultation, the tests applied during the evaluation process with the corresponding scores and interpretations and the conclusions with an orientation diagnostic.

On the other hand, there is a large number and variety of techniques and procedures used in the intervention phase. Some of the most common are:

• Behavior modification techniques, which include exposure techniques, based on the operant conditioning, covert conditioning, self-control, skill learning and relaxation.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which comprises different cognitive techniques (such as, for example, Beck's cognitive therapy) and coping techniques.
• The techniques of psychoanalysis, which include interpretation, clarification, confrontation, alliance, transference and countertransference applied in different variants of therapy psychoanalytic.
• The techniques of person-centered psychotherapy.
• The techniques of phenomenological and existence psychotherapy, such as Gestalt psychotherapy.
• Systemic therapy techniques based on relationships from a holistic and integrative perspective.

The history of clinical psychology dates back to 1879 with the start of the experimental psychology in the laboratory of Wilhelm Wund at the University of Lipzig. During the history of clinical psychology and today, experimental psychology is one of the most important foundations and pillars of clinical psychology.

Another important fact in the history of clinical psychology happens in 1885, highlights the psychology of individual differences. Within this framework, Francis Galton established for the first time a center for mental measurement.

On the other hand, in 1896, Lighnet Witmer he was the first to establish the first formal psychology clinic, that is, a center for clinical psychology where the evaluation was carried out to determine diagnoses and worked according to the guidelines of the scientific psychology. That same year, Sigmund Freud, who was already working at his center in Vienna and did his personality theory, he used the term "psychoanalysis" for the first time.

From Witmer's clinic and thanks to him, the University of Pennsylvania began to provide training in clinical psychology. He also founded "The Psychological Clinical", the first journal in the field.

Another important event in the history of clinical psychology is the formation of a clinical section within the American Psychological Association (APA).

The context of the First World War pushes the realization and implementation of psychological tests of personality and intelligence. The research advanced clinical psychology, which soon began to establish disorders, causes, and treatments.

In 1930 the functions and fields of application of clinical psychology were expanded and extended in places such as hospitals, prisons and others. In 1943 an important psychological test was published, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).

World War II also created a lot of work for clinical psychologists, especially with war veterans. In that context, clinical psychology was defined like that profession that performs the diagnosis, treatment and investigation of mental disorders. This profession was legally recognized and a code of ethics was created.

In 1952 Hans Eysenck, author of relevant contributions on personality collected in Eysenck's theorywrites about the effects of psychotherapy. The same year, the American Psychiatric Association publishes the first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I).

In the following years, some important authors in the history of clinical psychology contribute his contributions. For instance, Skinner publishes his research on behavior and uses the term "behavior therapy" and Beck also formulates a psychological model of depression, who will develop the best known and most used instrument to detect depression: the Beck's depression test (BDI)

Due to constant scientific advances, clinical psychology is a field that has been and continues to transform and that needs to be constantly updated.

The particularity of clinical psychology is the rigor of its actions, therefore, all its principles, techniques and instruments must be based on science. Although it is worth mentioning that psychology in general is currently considered a science, specifically, the science that studies human behavior through cognition, emotion, and behaviour. The difference is that clinical psychology is mainly applied in mental or behavioral disorders.

Psychology is a much broader discipline than clinical psychology and the latter consists of a specialization within the former. This specialization is considered the most relevant, since the volume of professionals in this branch is much greater than that of any other specialization that currently exists.

The psychology specialties that exist are, among others:

• Clinical psychology
• Health Psychology
• Psychotherapy
• psychological counseling
• Psychology of the education
• Forensic psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Social psychology
• Occupational psychology
• Sports psychology
• Teaching and research of psychology
• Child and adolescent psychology
• Road psychology
• Gerontopsychology
• Family psychology
• Emergency and disaster psychology

The fact that these specialties exist does not mean that they are accredited and recognized, there are also great differences between.

The difference between clinical psychology and the other specialties is that the object of study of this is the person and their mental conditions. Normally, it focuses on mental health and psychological problems on an individual basis, but also at the couple or family level.

Another difference consists of the training prior to the exercise of the profession. This is regulated differently depending on the country or organization you are in, but in general, clinical psychology requires more and more specialized training in this subject. In Spain, a psychologist is a graduate in Psychology, a person who has completed a university degree in Psychology. However, for the specialty of clinical and health psychology, a psychologist must also have the title of Specialist Psychologist in Clinical Psychology (PEPC) that is obtained through a 4-year training, which is accessed through competitive examinations, such as Internal Resident Psychologist (PIR) or the title of the Master's Degree in General Health Psychology (MUPGS) that includes a theoretical part and a practical part in centers sanitary.

There is even a difference between clinical psychology and health psychology, and it is that while the clinic specializes in mental clinical disorders, health psychology attends to psychological phenomena and problems in relation to health in general.

To further specify the differences between the professions related to mental health, it is interesting to know the differences between psychology and psychiatry.

Here are some examples of the problems that clinical psychology mainly deals with:

• Childhood disorders or problems
• Disorders or problems in adolescence
• Mood disorders or problems
• Anxiety disorders or symptoms
• Personality disorders
• Sleep disorders
• Eating disorder
• Adaptive disorders
• Disorders associated with medical illness
• Sexual disorders or problems
• Cognitive disorders
• Substance use disorders

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is clinical psychology: definition, history, objective and examples, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

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