Although clinical psychology and neuropsychology are methods that share many fields, it is necessary to know the differences between them (Rojas, 2019). However, if there is a confluence between the two, which are the emotional and behavioral problems of people with an acquired brain injury, since, according to Pereira (2019), many people with a brain injury become irritable, apathetic, depressed, impulsive, among others, and in this case, the role of clinical psychologists and the role of neuropsychologists is to provide strategies to affected people and their families to improve these symptoms and facilitate the recovery process, thus improving the quality of life.
In short, according to Rojas (2019), the diagnosis and proper treatment of any type of disease, both psychological and neuropsychological, must take into account the two professional perspectives, since both help to complement each other to achieve the goal of providing autonomy and improving the quality of life of individuals and their families.
Clinical Psychology
Many people believe that clinical psychology was born when Lightner Witmer founded the first psychology clinic in 1896 (Rojas, 2019). This new branch merged with the establishment of the American Psychological Association, now known as the APA. According to Rojas (2019), initially, the goal of clinical psychology was to find the internal characteristics or factors that lead people to develop psychopathological conditions, studying not only the state itself, but also the factors that control and intervene in this type of behaviors.
Following this line of thought, this psychological approach emerged as the study of "anomalies", and therefore, its scope of action developed from the interpretation and treatment of those affected (Rojas, 2019). Over time, according to Rojas (2019), the focus became not only on recovery, but also on preventing the development of mental illness.
Therefore, people began to study techniques to avoid pathological development by teaching healthy mental habits (Rojas, 2019). According to Rojas (2019), the so-called "counseling therapy" was also introduced, which teaches people to effectively solve their problems, highlighting situations that may arise in their daily lives, and as a result, emotional support begins.
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology is a professional discipline in the field of psychology, which focuses on cognitive processes, such as memory, attention, executive functions, among others, and their relationship with brain injury and disease (Poza, n.d.). Neuropsychology formally emerged in the early twentieth century by the hand of Alexander Luria (Rojas, 2019). In his research, Luria developed techniques to study the behavior of people with a lesion in the central nervous system. According to Rojas (2019), these studies allowed neurologists to have enough data to identify the location and extent of the lesion and determine the best procedure to intervene.
With this principle, the work of neuropsychology, focuses on people with a brain injury, deriving a change in cognitive functions (Rojas, 2019). Therefore, this approach aims at the evaluation and rehabilitation of cognitive and behavioral functions. Currently, according to Rojas (2019), it works not only with people who have suffered damage, but also with children who have difficulties in their neuronal development.
Differences in Education
Currently, to become a psychologist it is necessary to receive a corresponding university training, for example, a four-year degree in psychology is required (Poza, n.d.). With respect to working as a neuropsychologist, according to Poza (n.d.), it is necessary, at first, an undergraduate degree in psychology, and at a second stage, postgraduate training to accredit that one has the required knowledge to work in this field.
On the other hand, according to Poza (n.d.), training in neuropsychology focuses more on higher cognitive processes and on a more detailed study of the brain and its neuroanatomical structure, as opposed to psychology, where research on more general psychological processes is prioritized.
Diferencias en la Evaluación
Another difference between psychology and neuropsychology is the way in which patients are evaluated (Poza, n.d.). The clinical psychologist will evaluate medical history, intelligence, academic skills, and personality traits. However, according to Poza (n.d.), this type of evaluation does not include tests to obtain data on difficulties related to different cognitive functions.
The neuropsychologist, on the other hand, will focus on the preserved and altered cognitive functions, for which he/she will perform detailed evaluations of memory, attention, language, executive functions, praxias, gnosias, among others (Poza, n.d.), since, according to Pereira (2019), after a stroke, cranioencephalic trauma or any other type of brain trauma, a large number of sequelae may occur.
The focus of neuropsychological assessment is to formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation plan, which takes into account all observed cognitive deficits (Poza, n.d.). Although neuropsychology also considers situational factors when assessing a person, according to Poza (n.d.), in clinical psychology more of these elements are involved, such as present and past personal experiences, traumatic events, subjective effects of certain relationships, among others.
Differences in Intervention
In terms of intervention, the difference between psychology and neuropsychology is also obvious (Poza, n.d.). In the field of neuropsychology, interventions usually focus on the use of cognitive rehabilitation techniques (Poza, n.d.). According to Poza (n.d.) and Rojas (2019), these techniques include training to restore functional changes; helping the person find strategies to compensate for irrecoverable functions or other skills training; and the use of external aids, such as agendas and alerts for those with memory problems.
In the same vein, according to Poza (n.d.) and Rojas (2019), neuropsychologists usually specialize in neurodegenerative diseases and changes caused by brain damage such as dementia, epilepsy, stroke, among others, which is different from what happens to psychologists, who pay more attention to anxiety, depression, phobias, interpersonal problems, addictions, sleep disorders or interpersonal problems.
On the other hand, according to Poza (n.d.), psychologists use tools such as psychotherapy, which is a process that includes behavioral, verbal and cognitive techniques to help patients understand and change their way of thinking and perceiving their own difficulties. In the field of prevention, clinical psychology is responsible for teaching coping strategies in complex situations, social skills and helps to understand and control emotions (Rojas, 2019). According to Rojas (2019), all these operations are performed so that the person learns to recognize himself and fully develop social and cognitive fields and as a result, he will be able to improve the quality of life.
Diferences in Investigation
In the field of research, there are also differences between psychology and neuropsychology (Poza, n.d.). Currently, one of the research fields of clinical psychology focuses on the deepening and understanding of psychopathological diseases (Rojas, 2019). It does so to find the difference between people who act in accordance with social needs and those who do not (Rojas, 2019). Likewise, it attempts to understand and theorize the personal development of individuals in a deeper way. Therefore, according to Rojas (2019), its exploration is aimed at factors that may make people more vulnerable to emotional disorders.
Another approach to research in psychology, is psychotherapy (Rojas, 2019). In this case, research is conducted in order to find tools to improve the way in which mood disorders are diagnosed and treated. Therefore, according to Rojas (2019), psychologists hope to develop tools that are more precise and adapted to each of the disorders.
In contrast, neuropsychology focuses its research on different aspects (Rojas, 2019). On the one hand, it goes hand in hand with cognitive neuroscience, where it tries to understand the role of advanced cognitive functions in the development of psychiatry and psychopathology (Rojas, 2019). That is, it focuses on discovering new information about brain function and different related pathologies (Poza, n.d.). Also, according to Rojas (2019), it aims to help develop strategies for more effective recovery from these diseases.
In addition, neuropsychological explorations focus on understanding the consequences of neurodevelopmental difficulties presented by individuals (Rojas, 2019). Therefore, according to Rojas (2019), research focuses on pathologies that have been shown to be related to difficulties in brain development, such as, for example, autism and hyperactivity.
Finally, neuropsychological rehabilitation is also in their focus (Rojas, 2019). Here, they hope to integrate more and more technological tools to make therapy more adapted to reality. As a consequence, since it is possible to perform activities closer to the patient's daily life, according to Rojas (2019), they aim to improve the results.
Referencias
Pereira, C. (2019). ¿En qué se diferencia un Psicólogo de un Neuropsicólogo?. Neuroredacer | recuperación del daño cerebral. Recuperado 4 February 2021, a partir de https://neuroredacer.com/en-que-se-diferencia-un-psicologo-de-un-neuropsicologo/?lang=en
Poza, U. (s.f). )Diferencias entre la Psicología y la Neuropsicología. Psicologiaymente.com. Recuperado 4 February 2021, a partir de https://psicologiaymente.com/psicologia/diferencias-psicologia-neuropsicologia
Rojas, M. (2019). ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre psicología clínica y neuropsicología?. La Mente es Maravillosa. Recuperado 3 February 2021, a partir de https://lamenteesmaravillosa.com/cual-es-la-diferencia-entre-psicologia-clinica-y-neuropsicologia/
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