Introduction to Clinical Psychology Lecture Notes PDF

Palestine polytechnic university – PPU Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Course Name: Clinical Psychology \ 2nd Year Medical students Lecture 1: introduction to clinical psychology Spring Semester 2024\2025 Lecturer: Abed Alkareem Asherah, Clinical Psychology, PhD Contents...

Palestine polytechnic university – PPU Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Course Name: Clinical Psychology \ 2nd Year Medical students Lecture 1: introduction to clinical psychology Spring Semester 2024\2025 Lecturer: Abed Alkareem Asherah, Clinical Psychology, PhD Contents What is Clinical Psychology. Understanding branches of Psychology. Nature and Characteristics. A Brief History of Clinical psychology. Role of Antecedents factors in the growth and emergence of Psychology. Scope and Functions. Types of Therapists. Who is a Clinical Psychologist. Definition of psychology The word psychology is derived from two Greek words “psyche” and “logy.” Psyche means soul and logy means the study. Thus, originally psychology was defined as the study of “soul” or “spirit.” But later on philosophers defined psyche as mind. Because of this, psychology began to be regarded as the study of an individual’s mind or mental process. Psychology: It is the study of behavior and mental processes. A specific way of Any action that Internal experiences asking and is observable such as sensations, answering and thus dreams, thoughts, questions. recordable. and feelings What do Psychologists do? Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. Psychologists seek to observe, describe, explain, predict, and modify behavior and mental processes. Psychologists rely on research to learn whether certain methods will work before they use them to help people.  Some major sub-fields in psychology include (1) Experimental Psychology o Relies on experimentation as a data–gathering method. o Experimental psychologists often do their work in a laboratory and frequently use animals rather than humans as their experimental subjects. o Experimental psychology studies one of several basic processes like sensation, hearing, perception, learning, and communication. (2)Neuropsychology - They study how basic processes are controlled by nervous system. - Example: If psychologists have been asked to explain why memory sometimes declines in old age, he would probe the brain for breakdown in the network of nerve cells that involves in remembering. (3) Personality psychology It is concerned with describing and explaining individual differences in behavior. They are interested in describing and understanding individuals’ consistency in behavior, which represents their personality. This area is interested in factors that shape personality and personality assessment. Tries to answer the following questions: How does personality develops? Can personality change over time? Can personality change in multiple situations? Can personality diseased? What are the factors that shape our personality? Developmental Psychology) 4( Try to describe and explain the systematic changes that occur in -.people throughout the life cycle.How ways of thinking and reasoning change as people grow older-.Looks at human development across the lifespan - Developmental psychology once focused primarily on child development but-.today devotes a great deal of research to adolescence, adulthood, and old age  (5) Social Psychology - Try to examine factors that affect personal response perception, motivation, and behavior in a given situation, like RTA or someone who collapsed suddenly. - What is the reaction of people around him? - How do people deal with others?  (6) Clinical and counseling psychology - Deal with diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders ,Also investigates the causes of these disorders. - Some psychologists believe that psychological disorders arise from a person’s unresolved conflicts and unconscious motives. - Others believe that there are biological bases to certain disorders. - Helps people with milder problems of social and emotional adjustment like marriage and family life. ) 7( Health Psychology - Deals with the relationship between personality and health. - Health psychologists believe that the mind plays a role in many physical disorders like ulcers, heart diseases. - In fact, some believe that psychological factors may be involved in his onset and progress of all diseases. -They try to understand how psychological factors (stress, hostility, and depression) can have harmful physical effects. -Try to identify psychological strategies to cope with serious illness.  (8) Forensic Psychology - Forensic psychologists work in the criminal justice system. - They determine the psychological competence of defendants. -They explain how psychological problems lead to criminal behavior. -They work with police departments to help select police officers, help officers cope with job stress, train officers in the handling of dangerous situations, such as hostage crises, family violence, and suicide threats.  (9) Community Psychology - Community psychologists study and help create social systems that promote and foster individual well-being. - Social systems might include mental health centers, hospital programs, and school-based programs. - They focus on: promoting change in the social environment, helping relatively powerless people, preventing threats to mental health in the social environment.  (10) Rehabilitation Psychology - Rehabilitation psychologists work with people challenged by a disability. - They help their patients develop strategies to compensate for their disability and live meaningful lives.  Why it is important for medical to study psychology Helps the student to understand their own behavior and others’ behavior, and reasons for that behavior. Helps the students to develop insights into the nature of the psychological process and suggests how the psychological knowledge and procedures can be applied in the problem solving of personal and social problems. Helps you in your future work as dealing with different types of patients & people. Helps you to be more perceptive in evaluating psychological information’s, you read or hear about. Goal of the psychology Description: Understanding of human behavior must begin with careful description of how people think, feel and act in specific situation. Explanation: Involves “ why and how” that behavior happened. Predication: The ability to say in advance how someone is likely to act A study designed to test a theory usually involves making a prediction that people will behave in a certain way in a certain circumstances, if the prediction is upheld ---theory is supported. Control: how can it be changed. What is Clinical Psychology o Clinical Psychology is an important and popular applied branch of Psychology. It is related to the description, classification, diagnosis and prognosis of the mental diseases. The diagnosis and treatment of various mental diseases are based on psychological methods and therapies. o Out of the total population of psychologists in America, one-third are the clinical psychologists. The importance of this branch is also clear by the data that out of 56 divisions of psychology of American Psychological Association, the division of Clinical psychology is the largest one. Cont.. o The official definition of Clinical Psychology by The Division of Clinical Psychology of American Psychological Association, as by Resnick (1991) is as follows: o The field of Clinical Psychology involves research, teaching and services relevant to the applications of principles, methods and procedure for understanding, predicting and alleviating intellectual, emotional, biological, psychological, social and behavioral maladjustment, disability and discomfort, applied to a wide range client populations.  Cont.. According to Saccuzzo & Kaplan (1994), “Clinical Psychology is an applied branch of psychology devoted to helping adjust, solve problems, change, improve and achieve their highest potential.” According to Korchin (1986), “Clinical Psychology is most distinctly defined by the clinical attitude, that is, a concern with understanding and helping individuals in psychological Distress… Clinical Psychology is concerned with generating and utilizing knowledge about the structure and functioning of human personality.”  Cont.. According to APA (American Psychological Association): “Clinical psychology is the psychological specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive mental and behavioral health care for individuals and families; consultation to agencies and communities; training, education and supervision; and research-based practice.” Thus, Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behavior, and psychiatric problems. Cont.. Branches of psychology Nature and Characteristics Clinical psychology is an applied branch of Psychology. It is more popular than other branches of Psychology, such as Industrial Psychology, Educational Psychology, etc. There is an emphasis on diagnosis and treatment of behavioral and emotional problems, such as mental illness, mental retardation, marital and family conflicts, drug addiction, criminal behavior, etc. Clinicians have different approach and point of view towards such problems which is called as ‘Clinical Attitude’ by Korchin (1986). Cont.. To understand the emotional and behavioral problems of the client or patient, there is an emphasis on the study of personality dynamics in this field. Sigmund Freud was most concerned with this view. Korchin 1986 & Phares (1984) have also emphasized the study of personality dynamics in Clinical psychology. Scope and Functions Psychotherapy: According to Rotter (1971), “Psychotherapy…is a planned activity of the psychologists, the purpose of which is to accomplish changes in the individual that make his life adjustment potentially happier, more constructive or both.” Clinical psychologists who work as psychotherapists often utilize different treatment approaches when working with clients. Diagnosis and treatment: Various types of diagnostic tools, such as observation, interview, psychological tests, etc. are used for assessment of psychological disorder, and treatment is done using various therapies. Cont.. Teaching: Clinical psychologists usually have a doctorate in psychology and also have receive training in clinical settings. Many psychologists engage in teaching often at the university level. Research: There is always scope of conducting more researches to gain more, information and utilizing the gained knowledge for the welfare of the needy. Cont.. Consultation: To strengthening the client’s motivation to do the right things and help in reducing emotional pressure as well as to facilitate in decision making. Administration and management: One of the scope and function of clinical, psychology is also to administer and manage to treat and prevent social problems. The influence of Medicine on Psychology o To speak of “clinical” psychology is to invoke the medical metaphor of care at the bedside of the individual (the Greek word ‘klinein’ refers to a couch or bed). In naming clinical psychology, Lightner Witmer thus alluded to the tradition of Hippocrates. o Many of the founders and influential researchers in the modern academic discipline of psychology, including Wilhelm Wundt, William James, Hermann Helmholtz, and Ivan Pavlov, were physicians by education. o Another example of the influence of medicine on general psychology is provided by the work of Hermann Helmholtz. In terms of contributions to psychology and what is now called neuroscience, Helmholtz was the first to actually measure the speed of the nerve. Some of his best-known scientific work on vision and hearing.  Cont., o The influence of medicine on general psychology is provided by the career of the Russian scientist, Ivan Pavlov, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology in 1904, for his work on digestive processes.  A brief History of Clinical Psychology o A History of Psychology “Roots from ancient Greece” More than 2000 years ago, Plato a student of Socrates in ancient Greece, recorded his teacher’s advice “Know Thyself”. This phrase has remained as a principle for psychological study. Socrates suggested that we can learn much about ourselves by carefully examining our thoughts and feelings. Psychologists called this method of learning ‘Introspection’. o Another Greek philosopher Aristotle, raised many questions about behaviour. One of Aristotle´s work was the “Peri Psyches”, which means about the mind. Peri Psyches explores topics such as sensation, perception, thought, intelligence, needs, motives, feelings, emotions and memory.  Cont.. o The ancient Greeks also theorized about psychological problems such as confusion and strange behavior, they attributed these disorders to supernatural forces, they believed that the gods punished people for their wrongdoing by causing them confusion and madness. o However a Greek physician Hippocrates (c.460-c. 377B.C.), suggested that such problems were caused by abnormalities in the brain, this idea that biological factors can affect our thoughts, feelings and behavior influenced thinking about psychology ever since.  Role of Antecedent factors in the Emergence and Growth of Clinical Psychology o Psychology was born as a modern science, when psychologists opened psychological laborites. In the year 1879 Wilhelm Wundt created the first psychology lab, and establish psychology as a science. o Wilhelm Wundt and his students, founded a field of psychology that came to be known as “Structuralism”, they were concerned with studying the basic elements of consciousness. Cont. o The term “Clinical psychology” was first used in an article by Lightner Witmer (1867– 1956), a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. o William James (1842-1910) was one of the founders of the school of Functionalism, they were concerned with how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment. They believed behaviors were adaptive because they were successful, less adaptive behaviors were dropped or discontinued. Cont., o Alfred Binet, a French scientist, founded the first psychology laboratory in France, in 1885. Binet was interested in developing tests to investigate mental abilities in children. In 1904, a French commission invited Binet and Theodore Simon, to develop a method to assist in providing mentally disabled children with appropriate educational services. Binet and Simon intelligence test was developed. o Freud proposed that unconscious conflicts and emotional influences could cause mental and physical illness. Freud’s publication of The Interpretation of Dreams, published in 1900 resulted in acceptance of the psychoanalytic perspective.  The influence of World War o When the USA entered the war in 1917, a large number of recruits needed to be classified based on their intellectual and psychological functioning. The U.S. Army asked from the APA an appropriate test for the military recruits. During World War I , Army Alfa Test (a verbal test) and Army Beta Test (a non-verbal test) were developed. These tests could be administered to very large groups of people and both literate and non literate adults. Clinical Psychology between World War I and II o Then, a testing development explosion occurred, and over 500 psychological tests were produced. These tests included both verbal and nonverbal intelligence tests, personality and psychological functioning tests, and career interest and vocational skill tests. Various types of tests were developed, some of which are as follows: o In the Rorschach Inkblot Test (1921), Hermann Rorschach published one of the most famous Psycho Diagnostic tests. Psychological test o The Goodenough Draw- A-Man Test (1926). o The Thematic Apperception Test (1935). o The Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale (1939) - In 1939 David Wechsler developed the first comprehensive and individually administered intelligence test for adults. The Wechsler-Bellevue – WAIS. o Murray & Morgan developed the Thematic Apperception Test (1935). o The Bender Gestalt Test (1938)- test of personality and Brain damage. o The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory or MMPI Mental Health Profession Who is a Clinical Psychologist Cont..  Thank you ,,, Any Questions? Tuesday, September 24, 2024 42