Clinical Psychology

What is Clinical Psychology?

Clinical psychology deals with the treatment of mental illness and psychological disorders. It is distinct from most other fields of psychology in that it is often considered a form of medicine rather than a form of science. The majority of clinical psychologists work in medical institutions or in private practice, rather than in research settings, and those who do choose the research path are exclusively studying issues that come up in the practice of treating mental disorders. Research in clinical psychology is rarely if ever undertaken for its own sake.

The two central tasks in clinical psychology are psychological assessment and psychotherapy. Psychological assessment is analogous to a physical examination by a doctor. Through conversation, personality tests, and other processes of evaluation, a clinical psychologist examines a person’s mental condition, which often results in a diagnosis. The assessment may have many different outcomes, ranging from a recommendation that the patient seek immediate psychological treatment to the mental equivalent of a “clean bill of health.” If the patient needs treatment, then the process of psychotherapy begins. Psychotherapy refers to an enormous range of practices and medicines, all aimed at treating – and perhaps curing – the patient’s psychological disorders. While the complexity of the human mind and its illnesses makes complete recovery difficult to define, let alone reach, psychotherapy is generally effective in treating mental disorders.

Who should study Clinical Psychology?

Clinical psychology is a fairly specialized and highly applied field, meaning most people who study clinical psychology go on to practice it as a profession. A career in clinical psychology can be one of the most rewarding, and one of the most difficult, paths for a psychologist. Clinical psychologists usually work directly with patients, often those suffering from severe mental distress. This may include depression, troubled marriages, addiction, compulsive disorders such as hoarding, and even severe neurological problems like schizophrenia and Tourette’s syndrome. A career in clinical psychology, then, is a great way to help those in need, but it is also a job with a high degree of stress and pressure. Clinical psychologists need to be able to handle extremely delicate situations with care and compassion, but it is equally critical that they maintain some distance from their patients – otherwise, your patient’s problems can become your own.

The History of Clinical Psychology

It may be said that clinical psychology is the oldest of all psychological disciplines, since its founder was the grandfather of all psychology, Sigmund Freud. Freud was a doctor, a neurologist who studied brain disorders, and he was the first to formulate such theories as the idea of the subconscious, “drives” or sources of psychological motivation, and the repression of traumatic memories. He was also the first person to attempt to treat psychological disorders by talking about them with his patients, rather than treating them with drugs or surgery. While many of Freud’s theories have been discredited by decades of rigorous scientific experimentation, the basic insight that psychological wounds could be healed through conversation with a properly-trained  therapist remains the bedrock of clinical psychology today. The technique of “talk therapy” has become extremely sophisticated over the years, and many psychiatrists believe that more invasive medical treatments are only necessary in the most severe cases.

Freud made his career by studying unhealthy minds, but new developments in clinical psychology have encouraged therapists and researchers to look in another direction. In recent years, clinical psychologists have begun to incorporate the study not only of psychological dysfunction, but also of psychological flourishing. Positive psychology, as it is known, is the study of human happiness, of what brings us lasting joy and the feelings of wellbeing and wholeness that we all seek to attain in our lives. This field began as a question in clinical psychology – could a therapist help a healthy person to be more happy and content, in the same way that a doctor can train a healthy body to be fit and strong? – but has become an exciting and dynamic area of broader psychological inquiry.