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Clinical psychology specialty integrates the science of psychology with treating complex human problems.
What Is Clinical Psychology?
Clinical psychology is thebranch of psychologyconcerned with assessing and treating mental illness, abnormal behavior, and psychiatric problems.
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This psychology specialty area provides comprehensive care and treatment for complex mental health problems.
In addition to treating individuals, clinical psychology also focuses on couples, families, and groups.
It was also Witmer who first introduced the term “clinical psychology” in a 1907 paper.
By 1914, 26 other clinics devoted to clinical psychology had been established in the United States.
Today, clinical psychology is one of the most popularsubfieldsand the single largest employment area within psychology.
During the 1940s, the United States had no programs offering a formal clinical psychology degree.
In clinical psychology PhD programs, this approach is today referred to as the scientist-practitioner or Boulder Model.
This practice-oriented doctorate degree in clinical psychology is known as the practitioner-scholar or Vail model.
The field has continued to grow tremendously, and the demand for clinical psychologists today remains strong.
Today, around two-thirds of clinical psychology trainees are women and one-quarter are ethnic minorities.
This involves drawing on different theoretical methods to develop the best treatment plan for each individual client.
Psychologists who utilizepsychoanalytic therapymay use techniques such as free association to investigate a client’s underlying unconscious motivations.
Modern psychodynamic therapy utilizes talk therapy to help people gain insight, solve problems, and improve relationships.
Research has found that this approach to treatment can be as effective as other therapy approaches.
Cognitive Behavioral Approaches
This approach to clinical psychology developed from the behavioral and cognitive schools of thought.
Clinical psychologists using this perspective will look at how a client’s feelings, behaviors, and thoughts interact.
This perspective looks at the client more holistically and is focused on such things asself-actualization.
Generally speaking, PhD programs are centered on research, while PsyD programs are practice-oriented.
Students may also find graduate programs that offer a terminal master’s degree in clinical psychology.
These programs are generally very competitive and are focused on both research and practice.
and in many capacities.
All of them require these professionals to draw on their expertise in special ways and for different purposes.
If you’re still unsure whether clinical psychology is right for you,taking a psychology career self-testmay help.
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