What is clinical psychology? What do clinical psychologists do? It is not easy to answer these questions, since, there is a great variety of definitions and opinions around them (Puigbó, 2019). However, in correspondence with Puigbó (2019), there are a number of aspects that occur in almost all definitions of clinical psychology.
History of Clinical Psychology
The history of clinical psychology as a discipline, profession, and branch of general psychology begins in the year 1879 (Guízar, 2018). According to Guízar (2018), on that day, Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, where most of his research focused on people's perception and sensation processes, looking for consistent evidence about human behavioral problems.
In the United States, in the last years of the 19th century, a psychologist named Lightner Witmer, a disciple of Wilhelm Wundt, opened the first psychology clinic at the University of Pennsylvania to treat people with psychological problems (Regader, n.d.). Seven years later, there were already 26 more clinics in the United States alone (Puigbó, 2019). Subsequently, according to Guízar (2018), in the year 1907, Wilhelm Wundt's disciple, head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, first used the term clinical psychology to describe the practice he had conducted in the psychology clinic.
In Europe, the honor of being a pioneer of clinical psychology is often attributed to the prominent Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis (Regader, n.d.). However, many scholars tend to question the appropriateness of declaring Freud as one of the architects of clinical psychology, since, psychoanalysis has caused many controversies in the long run. However, according to Regader (n.d.), the Austrian was one of the first neuroscientists to conduct early research into treatment for patients with mental disorders.
Freud believed that a person's behavior depended, to a large extent, on repressed thoughts, desires and memories formed in childhood (Regader, n.d.). According to Regader (n.d.), his view of therapeutic intervention and its theoretical basis focuses on three levels: research, direct therapeutic intervention and formulation of theories, this being the methodology that establishes the basic standards of applied clinical psychology.
For a long time, clinical psychology focused on the study and psychological assessment (Puigbó, 2019). However, after World War II, due to the large number of people who suffered psychological damage, there was an increase in the revision of treatment methods. Due to this historical stage, according to Regader (n.d.), the interest and the need to provide the field of clinical psychology with means is manifested.
Finally, the Department of Psychology was established and a consultation and office specialized in the treatment of mental problems was opened (Regader, n.d.). Corresponding to Puigbó (2019), by the end of the 1930s, the field of what would become modern clinical psychology was already organized and clinical psychologists began to work both in clinics and hospitals and in prisons, both with adults and children.
What is Clinical Psychology?
Psychology has different fields and professional fields that can serve different disciplines with greater precision, one of these doctrines is clinical psychology (Regader, n.d.). According to Regader (n.d.), throughout the twentieth century and in recent years, clinical psychology has been studied and improved, and has become the object of research of many experts and scholars of human behavior.
In this order of ideas, clinical psychology can be defined as a subdiscipline of psychology, which studies all elements related to mental disorders and conducts research on mental health more broadly (Regader, n.d.). According to Badia (2019), this can be practiced in different settings, however, the main settings are clinical centers, mental health service institutions, and general hospitals.
The goals of clinical psychology are to understand, treat, and prevent psychological problems and disorders through assessment, diagnosis, intervention, and research (Badia, 2019). However, according to Badia (2019), its main objective is to seek, care for and improve health at all levels, from the biopsychosocial perspective of people, applying the knowledge, skills, techniques and methods of psychology.
On the other hand, people who may seek psychological counseling range from childhood to adulthood (Vega, 2019), from people with background diseases to people without any disease, from people with psychological problems to people related to poor family or social dynamics (Regader, n.d.). Thus, according to Vega (2019), psychological consultation can be individual, in pairs or in groups.
Although psychological problems are solved individually, sometimes, they may require the participation of a third party (Vega, 2019). For example, in correspondence with Vega (2019), couple problems often involve both parties, and family, cohabitation, or mediation issues are often resolved in a group setting.
References
Badia, A. (2019). ¿Qué es la psicología clínica? - Definición, Historia, Objetivo y Ejemplos. Obtenido 18 octubre 2020, de https://www.psicologia-online.com/que-es-la-psicologia-clinica-definicion-historia-objetivo-y-ejemplos-4387.html
Guízar, P. (2018). El concepto de la psicología clínica y dónde estudiarla. Retrieved 18 October 2020, from https://blog.ucq.edu.mx/concepto-psicologia-clinica
Puigbó, J. (2019). Qué es la psicología clínica: historia funciones y objetivos. psicologia-online.com. Recuperado 20 July 2021, a partir de https://www.psicologia-online.com/que-es-la-psicologia-clinica-historia-funciones-y-objetivos-4325.html
Regader, B. (s.f.). Psicología clínica: definición y funciones del psicólogo clínico. Obtenido 18 octubre 2020, de https://psicologiaymente.com/psicologia/clinica
Vega, N. (2019). Psicoterapia: Todo lo que debes saber sobre psicología clínica. Obtenido 18 octubre 2020, de https://blog.cognifit.com/es/psicoterapia-todo-lo-que-debes-saber-sobre-psicologia-clinica/
