Clinical Psychology: Key Concepts, History, and Current Trends

Clinical Psychology

Field that focuses on diagnosing and treating mental illness.

Lightner Witmer

Introduced the term 'clinical psychology' and is credited with founding the field.

Doctoral degree in clinical psychology

Required education to become a clinical psychologist.

Scientist-practitioner (Boulder) model

Training framework requiring skills in both scientific research and clinical practice.

Clinical science model

Research-oriented training framework prioritizing empirical science.

Practitioner-scholar (Vail) model

Training model emphasizing clinical practice.

PsyD

Doctoral degree focused on clinical practice, with more students accepted.

Clinical scientist model

Approach emphasizing research and science in clinical psychology.

Graduate Programs Preferences

Know professional options, take relevant courses, gain research experience.

Internships

Predoctoral and postdoctoral internships are common requirements.

Licensure

Requirement to practice as a clinical psychologist, includes examination.

Private practice

One of the primary employment settings for clinical psychologists.

Psychotherapy

Clinical psychologists spend 31-37% of their time conducting psychotherapy.

Counseling Psychologists

Work with clients with disorders and in university counseling centers.

Psychiatrists

Can prescribe medications and emphasize biological approaches.

Social Workers

Focus on client-society interactions and successful transitions.

School Psychologists

Enhance students' lives and conduct psychological testing for learning disorders.

Professional Counselors

Counsel people with a master's degree and specialization.

Marriage and Family Therapists

Work with couples and families, often in private practice.

William Tuke

Pioneer who improved conditions in asylums and founded the York Retreat.

York Retreat

Historic mental health facility that pioneered 'moral treatment.'

Philippe Pinel

Pioneer who brought people with mental illness out of dungeons.

Treatise on Insanity

Published by Philippe Pinel in 1806 to dispel myths about mental illness.

Exam Schedule

Exams open at 12pm and close at 11:59pm on the last day of the week.

Thanksgiving Break

Scheduled from 11/23 to 11/27.

Discussion Posts

Available but not graded.

Required Text

Pomerantz, A. (2023) Clinical Psychology: Science, practice and diversity.

Grades

Based on 6 exams throughout the course.

Study Recommendation

Take notes and study all chapters of the book.

Eli Todd

Early pioneer of clinical psychology who carried out Pinel's message.

Dorothea Dix

Early pioneer of clinical psychology who traveled to collect data.

Psychological Clinic

Witmer's definition of clinical psychology.

Drapetomania

Cartwright argued that any slave attempting to run away was suffering from a mental disease.

Carl Jung's view on African people

Described them as 'primitive' and compared their psychological development to that of children.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM)

A manual used for diagnosing mental health disorders.

Edward Lee Thorndike

An influential figure in the assessment of intelligence.

Alfred Binet

Developer of the first intelligence test.

Rorschach Inkblot Method

A projective personality test.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

The most widely used psychological test for assessing adult personality traits.

MMPI-2

Designed for adults aged 18 and older.

MMPI-A

Tailored specifically for adolescents aged 14 to 18.

NEO Personality Inventory

A 240-item psychological test measuring the Big Five personality traits.

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)

A 21-question self-report tool designed to measure the severity of depression symptoms.

Beck Anxiety Inventory

A 21-question self-report tool used to measure the severity of anxiety.

Psychodynamic theory

A psychological framework studying how unconscious drives shape behavior.

Telepsychology

Delivery of psychological services remotely using digital tools.

Patrick H. DeLeon

Advocate for allowing clinical psychologists to prescribe medication.

Morgan T. Sammons

Another advocate for prescription privileges for clinical psychologists.

Applications of Technology in Clinical Psychology

Includes videoconferencing, apps, and online psychotherapy programs.

Virtual reality techniques

Used in clinical psychology to enhance therapy.

Wearable biofeedback sensors

Devices that provide real-time feedback on physiological functions.

APA ethical code updates

Revisions to ethical guidelines for psychologists.

Neurosis

A class of functional mental disorders involving distress but not delusions or hallucinations.

Psychosis

A severe mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality.

Emil Kraepelin

A significant figure in the development of psychiatric classification.

Charles Spearman

Known for his work in intelligence and statistical analysis.

Academy of Psychological Clinical Science

An organization of graduate programs subscribing to the clinical scientist model of graduate training in clinical psychology.

American Psychological Association (APA)

Prominent professional organization for psychologists in which many clinical psychologists are members.

Boulder Model

Alternate name for the scientist-practitioner model of graduate training stemming from the historic 1949 conference of directors of training in Boulder, Colorado.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

A standardized measure used to document and track participation in non-credit professional development and adult learning programs.

Division of Clinical Psychology (Division 12)

Division of the American Psychological Association devoted to clinical psychology.

Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)

A standardized exam used by states and provinces as a criterion for licensure.

Lightner Whitmer

The founder of the field of clinical psychology, the first psychological clinic, and the first journal devoted to clinical psychology.

Marriage and Family Therapist (MFTs)

Professionals with some similarities to clinical psychologists, but who typically obtain a master's degree and focus on clinical work with couples and families.

Post-Doctoral Internship

A one or two year internship occurring after the doctoral degree in clinical psychology is granted that consists of supervised clinical experience in an applied setting, often with a specialized focus.

Practitioner-Scholar Model

A model of graduate training in clinical psychology that emphasizes practice over empirical research.

Predoctoral Internship

A year-long internship occurring near the end of graduate training in clinical psychology that consists primarily of supervised clinical experience in an applied setting.

Richard McFall

Author of the 'manifesto' that served as the foundation for the clinical scientist model of graduate training in clinical psychology.

Scientist-practitioner model

The traditional model of graduate training in clinical psychology with a dual emphasis on empirical research and practice, resulting in the PhD degree.

Vail model

Alternate name for the practitioner-scholar model of graduate training stemming from a 1973 professional conference in Vail, Colorado.

Behavioral

An approach to clinical psychology emphasizing empiricism, observable and quantifiable problems and progress, and a lack of speculation about internal mental processes.

Boulder conference

A historic 1949 conference in Boulder, Colorado, of directors of graduate training and clinical psychology from which the Boulder model of graduate training emerged.

Christiana Morgan

One of the creators of the Thematic Apperception Test, a popular projective personality test.

Cognitive

An approach to clinical psychology, emphasizing illogical thought as the foundation of psychopathology and logical thought as the foundation of psychological wellness.

David Wechsler

A pioneer in the assessment of intelligence for various age groups, including adults, children, and preschoolers.

Dementia praecox

Emil Kraepelin's term for a cluster of psychological symptoms similar to what is currently known as schizophrenia.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The prevailing diagnostic guide for mental health professionals, containing the definitions of all mental disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association.

Diagnostic criteria

Specific lists of symptoms used to define mental disorders.

Endogenous disorders

Emil Kraepelin's term for disorders caused by internal factors.

Exogenous disorders

Emil Kraepelin's term for disorders caused by external factors.

Family therapy

A form of psychotherapy in which family members attend sessions together and a primary goal is the improvement of dysfunctional characteristics of the family system.

Henry Murray

One of the creators of the Thematic Apperception Test, a popular projective personality test.

Herman Rorschach

Swiss psychiatrist who created the Rorschach inkblot method, a popular projective personality test.

Humanistic

An approach to clinical psychology, deriving primarily from the theories of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, emphasizing the tendency towards healthy growth within each individual.

J. C. McKinley

With Starke Hathaway, one of the creators of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)

A revision of the most widely used comprehensive objective personality test, published in 1989.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A)

Revision of the MMPI for adolescent clients published in 1992.

Objective personality tests

Personality tests characterized by unambiguous test items, a limited range of client responses, and objective scoring.

Projective personality test

A personality test in which individuals are assumed to project their personality characteristics via responses to ambiguous or vague stimuli.

Psychodynamic

An approach to clinical psychology, derived from the theories of Sigmund Freud, and emphasizing the goal of making the unconscious conscious.

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales

A widely accepted test of intelligence originally developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon.

Starke Hathaway

With J. C. McKinley, one of the creators of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

The psychological clinic

The first scholarly journal in the field of clinical psychology, founded by Lightner Whitmer in 1907.

The retreat

A residential treatment center in Connecticut founded by Eli Todd, in which the mentally ill were treated in a humane and dignified way.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective personality test in which individuals create stories in response to ambiguous interpersonal scenes.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

A prominent scale of intelligence for adults.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

A prominent scale of intelligence for children.

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI)

A prominent scale of intelligence for preschoolers.

Wechsler-Bellevue

The first intelligence scale created by David Wechsler in 1939, designed for adults.

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)

A form of cognitive psychotherapy, and an example of evidence-based treatment developed by Marsha Linehan that has been found to be effective in the treatment of borderline personality disorder.