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Assignment #1
Clinical psychology
Submitted to: Mam kehkashan
Submitted by: Madiha zainab
Zunaira Khalid
Ambreen Aslam
Taqdees Sana
Salina Akram
International Islamic university
Islamabad
Definition:
Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental
illness, abnormal behavior and psychiatric problems.
Clinical psychology is the single largest specialty area within psychology. This field is focused on the
assessment, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental disorders.
Clinical psychology is a broad field of practice and research within the discipline of
psychology, which applies psychological principles to the assessment, prevention,
amelioration, and rehabilitation of psychological distress, disability, dysfunctional
behaviour, and health-risk behaviour, and to the enhancement of psychological and
physical well-being.
The Birth of a Discipline: 1890-1910:
In the 1890s psychology was a young but rapidly growing science. The first psychology
laboratories had been established in 1879 by Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) at the University of
Leipzig in Germany and William James (1842-1910) at Harvard University in the United States.
G.stanley hall (1844-1924) established the second U.S laboratory in 1883 and James MC Keen
cattell opened the third in 1888. By 1900, however there were over forty psychology laboratories
in the united states (Benjamin,1996).Psychology was defining itself as a scientific discipline
devoted to understanding the human mind and behavior. However very early on there were those
who saw the applicability of the young science to alleviating human problems. Lightner witmer
(1867-1956) and Alfred Binet (1857-1911) were two of those pioneers.
Ancient Roots:
Lightner witmer founded the first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896
and that is the year most scholars recognize as the birth of clinical psychology. But one can
identify predecessors to the field dating back many centuries. Unlike the roots of a tree it is
difficult to trace an unbroken connection from the ancient roots of clinical psychology to its
budding new developments. Nonetheless the striking similarity between the ideas of some
ancient scholars and contemporary psychological thought deserves mention. Similarly one can
recognize functions of clinical psychologists in the methods of ancient practitioners.
First a clinical psychology is a discipline involved in studying and treating mental disorder, it is
worth noting that awareness of mental illness as distinct from physical illness can be dated back
as far back as 2100 B.C. to the ancient Babylonians (Brems, Thevenin&Routh, 1991).in fact
most ancient cultures, including those in south and central America as well as the ancient
Hebrews recognized and attempted to treat mental disorder .Typically mental illness was viewed
from religious perspective and treatments such as prayer wearing of amulets or religious rituals
were used .it is interesting to note however that despite the religious lens through which
psychological disorders were viewed some ancient writings suggest recognition of
psychological factors and treatment . For example foreshadowing Freud ancient Hebrew scholars
viewed dreams as expressions of unacceptable wishes and recommended unrestrained
communication about ones worries and troubles (Brems et al.,1991).
Western cultures traditionally trace the roots of medicine and philosophy to the ancient Greeks.
A predecessor of contemporary thought about the biological bases of mental illness can be found
in the writings of Hippocrates (C.446-377 B.C.), who hypothesized that psychopathology
resulted from imbalances in one or more of the four bodily humors: blood, black bile, yellow bile
and phlegm. An excess of black bile, for example was considered to be the source of melancholy
(depression). The term melancholy means “black bile “in Greek (Routh , 1998). Hippocrates also
organized mental conditions into types some of which are still in use today. Phrenitis was also
used to describe the condition in which person had a high fever and talked nonsense. The
condition cleared when the fever subsided. Mania described the person who was acutely agitated
in the absence of fever. Hysteria was used to describe women who presented with vague or
difficult to understand bodily complaints .paranoia described the person whose thinking was
bizarre in the absence of fever.
The Greek philosophers were of course not the only ancient scholars to study and theorize about
mental illness. Mental disorders like all forms of illness result from an imbalance of the powers
of “YIN” and “YANG”, according to the Yellow Emperor’s Book of International Medicine,
which was published in china in the second century B.C. (Routh , 1998). This book includes
description of traditional Chinese medical treatments including some, such as acupuncture that
are still in use today.
In addition to writing and thinking about psychopathology the ancient Chinese also preceded
modern clinical psychology by using mental tests for assessing and categorizing individuals.
Examinations which included tests of mental abilities were used to recruit and select civil
servants for over 1000 years prior to the development of psychological tests in Europe and the
United States (Routh, 1998)
Paracelsus(1493-1541)and Johann weyer(1515-1588) both men were physicians who rejected
spiritual causes of psychological and emotional difficulties. Paracelsus introduced a completely
biological approach to mental illness. He practiced a form of medicine that was similar to what
we might call homeopathy today (Brems eta.,1991).weyer made a careful study of individuals
identified as sorcerers and witches and was successful at discerning physical causes for their
unusual behaviors. Through his observations weyer developed a sophisticated descriptive
classification system that included toxic psychoses, senile, psychosis, hysteria, delusions
paranoia, depression, and epilepsy. Weyer became an out spoken critic of witch hunts and the
brutality of faith-based treatment of the mentally ill. In 1583, he published De Praestigiis
Daemonum (“The Slight of Hand of Demons”), which disputed the Malleus Malificarum.
Weyer’s book was placed on the pope’s list of forbidden readings (Routh, 1998).
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries:
Laying the Ground for Clinical psychology:
In the eighteenth and particularly the nineteenth century’s important social and scientific
developments set the stage for the birth of clinical psychology. Three areas that laid the
foundation for clinical psychology were improved understanding of mental disorders, scientific
approaches to the measurement of individual differences, the emergence of scientific psychiatry.
UNDERSTANDING OF MENTAL DISORDERS:
The gradual shift away from a religious and toward a medical model of mental illness took a few
hundred years to complete. By the eighteenth century, mental illness, or “madness’ was generally
accepted as falling under the purview of the medical profession. With the acceptance of the
medical model came the development of psychiatry as a specialty branch of medicine. The early
pioneers of psychiatry included Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) in the United States, Philipe Pinel
(1745-1826) in France, Vincenzo Chiarugi (1759-18200 in Italy. and Francis Willis (1718-1807)
in England.
Unfortunately for the mentally ill, the advent of psychiatry resulted in treatment that was, at best,
only slightly less horrific than what they endured under the witches hammer. The mentally ill
were housed in asylums, where they were often chained or otherwise restrained. In most asylums
beatings were common and patients were ridiculed and mistreated by their guardians. They were
fed the coarsest of slops. Visits by physicians were infrequent and “treatment” usually consisted
of some method of adjusting bodily fluids including purges, bloodletting by leeches or other
means and vomits. Benjamin Rush, for example, was given to bleeding his patients frequently
and likely hastened the death of many through his treatments.
In the late eighteenth century, significant efforts were made to reform the way in which the
mentally ill were treated. This shift in treatment philosophy has come to be known as the moral
treatment movement. This movement was initiated, nearly simultaneously, by phillipe pinel in
France and William Tuke (1732-1822) in England.
The moral treatment movement was instrumental in shifting society views of the mentally ill
from useless individuals who needed to be ostracized from society to a more humanistic view of
the mentally ill as human beings deserving of compassion despite their irrationality
(Berms et al. ,1991).
MEASUMENT OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES:
One of the important figures in the early history of psychological tasting was Sir Francis Galton
(1822-1911). Although the types of tests that Galton developed bear little resemblance to modern
Psychological tests, he was one of the first to advocate for, and practice a scientific approach to
the measurement of individual differences. Galton established a laboratory at the South
Kensington museum in 1885 and for the next six years measured various characteristics of over
9000 people. Unfortunately not much was learned about human intelligence as a result of all this
Testing. However Galton did improve upon statistical methods used for analyzing data on
Individual differences and inspired others to continue with this pursuit.
James Mc Keen Cattell (1860-1944) an American had received his doctorate in 1886 in the
laboratory of Wilhelm Wundt in Germany where his dissertation focused upon individual
differences in reaction times. He established a psychology laboratory at the University of
Pennsylvania where he studied tasks similar to those being used by Galton. In an article
published in 1890 cattell was the first to use the term “mental test”. In this article cattell laid
down some of the important principles of psychological testing.
EMERGENCE OF SCIENTIFIC PSYCHIATRY:
During the nineteenth century there was a growing faith in a science and the scientific method. It
was in the context that scientific psychiatry emerged as a legitimate discipline. The first order of
business for a scientific approach to psychiatry was the development of a system for classifying
psychiatric disorders. The nineteenth century saw the initial identification, naming, and detailed
description of several major psychiatric conditions. For example, J.Langdon down described a
syndrome involving mental retardation that continues to bear his name. general paresis was
identified as a syndrome caused by syphilis. Ewald hecker published a monograph on
hebephrenia, describing its symptoms and deteriorating course.
The emergence of the scientific psychiatry helped set the stage of clinical psychology in a variety
of ways. First, improved classification created a need for improved methods of making
differential diagnoses. Assessment, as we will see is one of the cornerstone activities of clinical
psychology. Diagnostic assessment was one of the first practical problems psychological tests
were developed to address. Second the differentiation of mental retardation from other
psychiatric conditions created a need for valid instruments for assessing intellectual functioning.
Third psychiatric classification systems most notably Kraepelins identified some psychiatric
conditions that may have non biological causes. The most important psychiatric syndrome for
which non biological causes were considered was hysteria.
ASSESSMENT:
By 1916 the first “world war” was in full swing and by 1917 the United States declared war on
Germany and threw itself into the war to end all wars. When the United States entered WWI
APA president Robert Yerkes (1876-1956) formed a committee to work with the army to
develop methods of classifying recruits according to their abilities. Among the more important
products of the groups work was the development of two group administered test of intelligence
called the Army Alpha and Army Beta. The Alpha test was a verbal scale for use with Eglish
speaking recruits. The Beta was a non verbal test of intelligence that was developed to assess
men whose primary language was not English.
During the war over 1700,000 men were tested in groups and another 80,000 plus were
examined individually. This was the first time that normative data on psychological tests were
gathered on such a large scale.
The period between the two world wars saw a huge amount of work in the area of intellectual
testing. In the tradition of the Army Alpha and Army Beta several group administered tests of
intelligence and mental abilities were developed in the 1920’s including the Otis classification
test (1923), the Institute of Educational Research Intelligence scale (1925), Miller Analogies test
(1926) and others individually administered tests of mental abilities were also developed. Lewis
Terman revised the Binet scale. The Binet scale was the most popular individually administered
tests of intelligence in the 1920’s and 1930’s. However other individually administered tests of
intelligence also developed and gained popularity during that period of time. For example the
Good enough Draw a Man test (1926) measured a child’s intelligence by scoring a drawing the
child produced in response to the instructions” Draw a Man”.
Along with the 1937 revision of the Stanford Binet the publication of the Wechsler-Bellvue scale
in 1939 was the most significant development in the area of intellectual testing during that era.
David Wechsler was chief psychologist at the Bellvue psychiatric Hospital in New York City
when he developed the test of intelligence. This test was one of the first individually
administered intelligence test developed for use with adults.
Advances in psychological testing were not limited to the arena of intellectual assessment in the
period between the world wars. Psychologists were also devoting their attention to developing
tests for measuring personality and diagnosing mental disorders. Once again the practical issues
Robert wood worth (1869-1962) created the first test for detecting mental disturbances called the
Psychoneurotic Inventory but labeled the personal Data sheet so that soldiers completing it
would not be alarmed the test sereved well as a screening instrument for identifying recruits
suffering with various mental conditions (Reisman, 1991).
In 1921 Herman Rorschach (1884-1922) published psychodiagnostik in which he described a
method of diagnosing patients and characterized features of their personality based upon their
responses to a set of ten ink blots.
Thematic test (TAT) is probably the best known projective test of personality it was also
published and popularized in the period between the world wars. Henry Murray (1893-1988)
developed the test at the Harvard psychological clinic and published it in 1938.
The other major test to appear on the scene in this period was the Minnesota Multiphasic
personality Inventory (MMPI) developed in late 1930,s by the psychologist and the neurologist
at the University of Minnosta Hospitals the MMPI was an empirically derived test designed for
the purpose of making differential diagnosis among psychiatric disorders.
It has been estimated that in 1944 alone over 60 million standardized tests were administered to
20 million people (Reisman , 1991). In addition to the use of testing for classification the use of
tests as part of an individualized diagnostic evaluation also grew during the war. The physical
and psychological trauma suffered by soldiers produced a need for idiographic clinical
assessment. The recently developed MMPI Wechsler-Bellevue and Rorschach were used
extensively during the war and the identification of clinical psychology with these tests grew
stronger.
DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY PAKISTAN:
The end of British rule in India led to the independence of Pakistan in August 1947. The present
geographical boundaries of the country date from December 1971, when East Pakistan became the
independent state of Bangladesh. At the time of independence only two colleges taught psychology: the
Government College, Lahore, where psychology, as was common practice until the 1960s was taught as
part of the philosophy syllabus, and Forman Christian College, Lahore. The first independent psychology
department was founded at Karachi University with Qazi Muhammad Aslam, whose academic
background was in philosophy, as chair. Psychology achieved independent status at the Government
College, Lahore (University of the Punjab) in 1962, with Dr. Muhammad Ajmal as its first chair. The
psychology department at the University of Sindh became independent in 1960, with Dr. Rafia Hasan as
chair. Syed Muliammad Hafeez Zaidi observed in Frontiers of Psychological Research in Pakistan
(Karachi, Pakistan, 1975) that the tradition was for philosophy teachers to become psychologists. This
resulted in the adoption of traditional indigenous psychology that was also oriented toward philosophy.
Hafeez Zaidi wrote two articles on the early days of Pakistani psychology (American Psychologist, 1959,
14, 532-536; Psychologia, 1958, I, 187-190) Today, Pakistan has five major departments of psychology,
two in Lahore (Punjab), two in Sindh (Karachi, Jamshoro), and one in Peshawar (NWFP).. There are also
two institutes, the Muhammad Ajmal National Institute of Psychology (Islamabad) and the Institute of
Clinical Psychology (Karachi). A total of 25 doctoral degrees have been given by these psychology
departments and institutes.
Muhammad Ajmal (1920-1994) earned a doctoral degree from London University, and taught psychology
as well as philosophy at the Government College, Lahore. Although trained in the Western intellectual
tradition and a great proponent of Jung's analytical psychology. Ajmal laid the foundations of an
indigenous psychotherapy. He developed a Sufi doctrine (divinely inspired humanism), as an indigenous
approach to healing along scientific lines (Muslim Contributions to Psychology and Other Essays,
Islamabad, 1986). The Sufic psychotherapy inspired his students and gave rise to a sub discipline of
Muslim psychology at the Government College, Lahore. One of his students. Syed Azhar Ali Rizvi, took
a leading role in the establishment of the Institute of Muslim Psychology, Lahore.
The Peshawar psychology department published a research journal, Pakistan Psychological Studies
beginning in 1969, with Moghni as editor. A doctoral degree program was established between 1973 and
1974. Under his leadership a number of doctoral degrees were awarded, and those psychologists are now
faculty members. Dr. Moghni's original research involved studying motives. He developed altitude scales
to differentiate the respondents on the strength of their achievement-oriented, power-oriented. and
affiliation-oriented attitudes. In March 1968. the first Pakistan Psychological Association conference was
held in Dacca, East Pakistan, where Dr. Moghni gave his presidential address on the role of achievement
motivation in national development. During 1980 and 1981 he worked with David McClelland at Harvard
University as a postdoctoral fellow. The second area of Moghni's research interest involved the de-
velopment of objective-type tests for secondary school examinations. Most of his studies were published
in Pakistan Psychological Studies. Later, Moghni became in-terested in the scientific study of the
development of millat, Muslim nationalism, not only as it affected Pakistani Muslims, but Muslims in
general. This was a move toward establishing an indigenous psychology in Pakistan.
Important Figures in clinical Psychology:
Farrukh Z. Ahmad, who earned his doctoral degree at Stanford University, joined the University of
Karachi in 1962 as a lecturer. She was the founder-director of the Institute of Clinical Psychology, where
post master's diploma/master's in philosophy/doctoral degree pro-grams were established. Ahmad's long
experience of teaching and practice in clinical psychology has led to two books (Dependency in
Psychotherapy, University of Karachi, 1988; Mental Health and Patterns of Child Rearing, University of
Karachi, 1993). Dr. Ahmad became editor of the Pakistan Journal of Psychology after Professor Zaidi
moved to Nigeria, and in 1990 became a founding editor of Pakistan Journal of Clinical Psychology,
remaining a regular contributor to both journals.
Other important researchers include Mah Nazir Riaz, chair of the department of psychology at the Uni-
versity of Peshawar, who has a doctoral degree from that university. Her major areas of research have
been in creativity and child rearing, most of her papers appearing in Pakistan Journal of Psychological
Research and Psychological Studies. The Urdu version of Child PARQ and Child PAQ were used in child
rearing research. Alay Ahmad has a doctoral degree from the University of Peshawar. His specialty is
mass media. His doctoral work was on the effects of television viewing on Pakistani children's reading of
printed pages activity levels and it was published in Japan (1980). Other contributions by Alay Ahmad
were published in Psychological Studies and Pakistan Journal o Psychology.
Najama Najm has a doctorate from an American university and is chair of the department of applied
psychology at the University of Punjab. Najm's main interests are in clinical psychology and social
variables. Najm is an editor of the Pakistan Journal of Behavioral Sciences which was founded in 1990.
Azhar All Rizvi, founder-director of the Institute of Muslim Psychology, formerly chair of the
psychology department, Lahore (University of the Punjab), is an editor of Zehan (Mind), the Urdu journal
of Muslim psychology. Rizvi's book, Muslim Traditions in Psychotherapy and Modern Trends (Lahore,
1994) results from intensive research on Sufi scholars of the Indo Pakistan subcon-tinent (particularly the
works of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi and Shah Waliullah) which have bearing on mental health.
According to Rizvi, the concept of abnormality is synonymous with the distance one maintains from the
creator, and therapy is geared to reduce the distance through cognitive understanding and strengthening
faith in God.
The Muhammad Ajmal National Institute of Psychology:
Established in 1976, the National Institute of Psychol-ogy was given the status of a Center of Excellence
in Psychology, and eventually moved to Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. Since 1984 it has offered
M.Phil./Ph.D. degree programs. The institute regularly presents national seminars and workshops. Before
it founded a M.Sc. degree program. The institute was much involved in psychological research on educa-
tional programs, adaptation and development of foreign tests for use in Pakistan, and social-psychological
research, including crime and deviant behavior. The institute publishes monographs, books, and tests
along with a biannual journal, Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research (PJPR), which was founded in
1986 under the editorship of Z. A. Ansari. The journal has an international board of consulting editors.
The institute also publishes a quarterly NIP Newsletter. The institute library is quite rich, with hundreds
of reference works and back issues of journals. Z. A. Ansari was the major force behind the overall
development of the institute before moving to the International Islamic University of Malaysia in the
early 1990s. One of the most prominent names associated with the institute is that of Dr. Ansari, whose
main research interests have been in educational problems and the development and validation of
educational tests. He has published in national and international journals. Ashiq Ali Shah, who has a doc-
torate from Berlin University has focused on social psychology. Before joining the International Islamic
University of Malaysia, he published a number of articles on aspects of social psychology in the Pakistan
Journal of Psychological Research and international journals. A number of doctoral candidates completed
their doctorates under his guidance, including a dissertation on the development of an indigenous Salma-
Shah Depression scale in 1990.
Naeem Tariq has a doctorate from the National Institute of Psychology. He is an editor of the Pakistan
Journal of Psychological Research, where he has published a number of articles on crime and other
deviant behavior. Drs. Seema Pervez and Ghazala Rehman have focused on child development and
Rorschach technique, respectively. Dr. Ghazala has developed an indigenous measure of religiosity and
has also developed a cultural adaptation of the Pickford Projective Pictures.
Psychology Journals in Pakistan:
There are three journals today: the Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research (PJPR), the Pakistan
Journal of Psychology (PJP), and the Journal of Behavioral Sciences (JBS). Both Pakistan Psychological
Studies and Psychology Quarterly have ceased publication. In 1982, Z. A. Ansari analyzed a sample of
the articles published in Pakistan journals between 1965 and 1980. He found that 50% were of purely
theoretical nature, 7% were case studies, while 43% were empirical. The present author generated 1996 .
seven broad areas of research articles published in three Pakistan journals between 1986 and, the trend
has changed from a preference for theoretical articles. Clinical studies are now at the top of the list and
social-psychological research occupies second place. Psychological testing and industrial-organizational
studies have middle positions, and cross-cultural research occupies the lowest position. Between 1986 and
1996 there was major emphasis on clinical research, particularly in the Pakistan Journal of Psychology.
Indigenization of Psychology in Pakistan:
Ansari (1986), in an introductory editorial to the Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, viewed the
application of psychological knowledge to solve social problems as meaningful and relevant. Since then
the journal has published empirical research in educational and social psychology, and research also
related to psychological testing. Much work has been done on the adaptation of various tests originally
published in the West, their translation into Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, in order to make
them culturally relevant. The Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research has been particularly active in
this area, publishing material on development of a questionnaire for assessing school-children's study
problems; a cognitive development task battery for elementary schoolchildren; translation and adaptation
of vocational interest inventory; and a bore-dom proneness scale. The Anjum-Klialique Type-A scale was
published in the Journal of Behavioral Sciences in 1992. Earlier, a version of MMPOI adapted for use
with schizophrenics was published in the Pakistan Journal of Psychology. It should be noted, however,
that these tests, although they were developed to be appropriate to Pakistani culture, were based on tests
that were originally developed in the West.
This paper was originally published in Encyclopedia of Psychology Vol.
6, edited by Alan E. Kazdin, Oxford University Press (2000) (pp. 27-32) sponsored by American
Psychological Association. It is being placed on website of Council of Social Sciences with the
permission of the author Professor Abdul Haque.
Significance:
The practical application of this psychological knowledge began when those principles of animal and
human perception were first applied in the field of education by Lightner Witmer when he inaugurated
the first psychological clinic in 1896; as this initial practical application of psychology grew, it expanded
its clinical applications to the treatment of various mental health disorders. Clinical Psychology is
concerned with the work of treating “sick” patients. In the broader, contemporary sense, however, clinical
psychology involves teaching about, research about, or treatment of persons with any of the common
mental health disorders. The concept of counseling (in British English it is spelled counselling) has
actually been around for ages, and it reflects the need for one person to seek out help or advice from
another person. Counseling as a professional occupation, therefore, derives not from the clinic but from
more social settings. It focuses on helping persons resolve problems or role issues related to work or
school or family matters. In this setting, the counselor is a “problem solver” who through direct advice or
non-directive guidance helps the client make rational decisions. Coaching, like counseling, is meant to
help “healthy” clients, but instead of helping them solve problems, coaching focuses on helping persons
utilize their abilities more effectively than they have previously. Advertising jargon would call this
“achieving your full potential.”
Clinical psychology includes the study and application of psychology for the purpose of
understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to
promote subjective well-being and personal development. Central to its practice are
psychological assessment and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists may also engage in
research, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and
administration. Some clinical psychologists may focus on the clinical management of patients
with brain injury—this area is known as clinical neuropsychology. In many countries, clinical
psychology is a regulated mental health profession.
The work performed by clinical psychologists tends to be influenced by various therapeutic
approaches, all of which involve a formal relationship between professional and client (usually
an individual, couple, family, or small group). The various therapeutic approaches and practices
are associated with different theoretical perspectives and employ different procedures intended to
form a therapeutic alliance, explore the nature of psychological problems, and encourage new
ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving. Four major theoretical perspectives are psychodynamic,
cognitive behavioral, existential–humanistic, and systems or family therapy. There has been a
growing movement to integrate the various therapeutic approaches, especially with an increased
understanding of issues regarding culture, gender, spirituality, and sexual orientation. With the
advent of more robust research findings regarding psychotherapy, there is evidence that most of
the major therapies are about of equal effectiveness, with the key common element being a
strong therapeutic alliance.Because of this, more training programs and psychologists are now
adopting an eclectic therapeutic orientation. Clinical psychologists work in a variety of settings,
including hospitals, clinics, and corporations, and in private practice. Some specialize in working
with mentally or physically handicapped persons, prison inmates, drug and alcohol abusers, or
geriatric patients. In some settings, a clinical psychologist works in tandem with a psychiatrist
and a social worker and is responsible for conducting the team’s research. Clinical psychologists
also serve the courts in assessing defendants or potential parolees, and others are employed by
the armed forces to evaluate or treat service personnel.
The training of clinical psychologists usually includes university-level study of general
psychology and some clinical experience. In the United States, New Mexico became the first
state to grant psychologists the right to prescribe medications for the treatment of mental
disorders. Most clinical psychologists who do not have medical degrees, however, are barred by
state laws from prescribing medications.
Clinical psychology aims to reduce psychological distress and to enhance and promote
psychological well-being. A wide range of psychological difficulties are dealt with, including
anxiety, depression, relationship problems, learning disabilities, child and family problems and
serious mental illness.
To assess a client, a clinical psychologist may undertake a clinical assessment using a variety of
methods including psychological tests, interviews and direct observation of behaviour.
Assessment may lead to therapy, counselling or advice. Clinical psychologists work largely in
health and social care settings including hospitals, health centres, community mental health
teams, child and adolescent mental health services and social services.They usually work as part
of a team with, for example, medical practitioners, social workers and other health professionals.
Most clinical psychologists work in the National Health Service, which has a clearly defined
career structure, but some work in private practice.
The work is often directly with people, either individually or in groups, assessing their needs and
providing therapies based on psychological theories and research.
Clinical psychology is a rapidly developing field and adding to the evidence base through
research is very important. Some clinical psychologists work as trainers, teachers and researchers
in universities.
Refrences:
Ajmal. M. (1969). Muslim traditions in psychotherapy. Pakistan Psychological Studies. I. 57-68.
Ajmal M. (1986). Muslim Contributions to Psychotherapy and other essays. Islamabad: National Institute of Psychology, Centre of Excellence
Ansari, Z. A. (Ed.). (1986). Editorial. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research , I, 1-2.
Ansari, Z. A. (1992).Quranic concepts of human psyche. Islamabad: International Institute Islamic Thought and Institute of Islamic Culture.
Haque. A. (1979). Cooperation and conflict between Pakistan and India as related to compassion-compulsion attitudes. Peace Research. II, 133-140.
Haque. A., & Lawson, E. (1980). Mirror image hypothesis in the context of Arab-Israeli conflict. International Journal of International Relations, 4, 107-112.
Khalique. N., & Haque. M. (1979). Conflicting communications: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 2, 207-209.
Rizvi. A. A. (1980). Reading therapy of Ashraf Ali Thanvi. Psychology Quarterly, 14,33-39.
Rizvi. A. A. (1994). Muslim traditions in psychotherapy and modern trends. Lahore: Institute of Islamic Culture.
Sinha, D. (1997). Indigenizing psychology. In J. W. Berry, Y. H. Poortinga, & J. Pandey (Eds.). Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: Vol. I. Theory and method (pp. 131-169). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Thanvi A. A. (1971). Tarbiat-ulsalik. Lahore: Jamia Ashrafia. Zaidi. S. M. H. (1979). Applied cross-cultural psychology: Submissions of a
cross-cultural psychologist from the third world. In L. H. Eckenberger, W. Lonner, & Y. H. Poortinga (Eds.)m Cross-cultural Contributions to Psychology (pp. 216-243). Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Zaman, R. M. (1991). Clinical psychology in Pakistan. Psychology and Developing Societies. 3, 221-233.
Jeffrey E.Hecker,Geoffrey L.Thorpe.Introduction to clinical psychology,practice and ethics,published by Pearson.
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