When you imagine a clinical psychologist, you perhaps picture a person dressed in tweed, meticulously taking notes while across the desk in a cluttered office filled with books, on a couch, lies a patient pouring out their feelings. While this has been the image we’ve seen ofclinical psychologistsin pop culture, movies likeGood Will HuntingandA Beautiful Mind, it probably shouldn’t be. But what is clinical psychology exactly? And how can it help you and your mental health?
It’s core objective is to help you develop as a person and improve your well-being.
No matter what form of mental health treatment you seek, there will likely be some clinical psychology involved. After all, it has been around since the 1890’s when psychologist Lightner Witmer opened a clinic focused on children with learning and behavioral challenges. While the groundwork was laid in the late 19th century, great strides in the areas of psychological testing and a rigorous scientific approach to mental health followed.
So, how can clinical psychology be practically applied to your life? You may see that you’ve been applying the methods of clinical psychology without even realizing it.
How Clinical Psychology Works
At its core, clinical psychology is a form of treatment that can help people of all ages address a wide range of mental health disorders —depression,anxiety,eating disorders, andlearning disabilitiesamong many others.
As Cynthia Catchings puts it, “Clinical psychology has several key aspects associated with the practical application of research methodologies and findings in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.” The steps of clinical psychology treatment may include:
“A clinical psychologist can work with an individual or a family or a group,” Catchings details. “However, they specialize in the person and his/her/their behaviors.”
Catchings also says that, in clinical psychology, the psychologist can utilize different treatment perspectives when working with clients. She shares that these major theoretical perspectives within clinical psychology include:
What Sets Clinical Psychology Apart
Clinical psychology is often considered one of the broadest forms of mental health treatments. Instead of being highly specialized, it can address myriad psychological hurdles.
“The clinical psychologist may provide counselling and psychotherapy but will also draw from rigorous scientific research to ensure that treatments are effective and well-matched to what the client wants,” Catchings said.
Another difference between clinical psychology and other methodologies is that, unlike apsychiatrist, a clinical psychologist can’t prescribe medication, “but understands and knows about most of the medications prescribed for mental health purposes,” Catchings adds.
Clinical psychologists can also administerpsychological testsand interpret their results.
Why It Helps
You might be wondering, who can benefit from clinical psychology? Well, many people can. If you’ve never seen a clinical psychologist, their form of treatment might be a good fit specifically if you haven’t seen a licensed practitioner to address your mental health or if you’re seeking adiagnosis. Or, perhaps you’ve participated in talk therapy or a support group for a period and you’d like to dig deeper when it comes to your mental health.
“Clinical psychology can be helpful to people in several ways,” Catchings explains. She outlined the following benefits of clinical psychology treatment:
Speaking of research, according to theAmerican Psychological Association, “evidence shows that psychotherapy is an effective treatment, with most clients/patients who are experiencing such conditions as depression and anxiety disorders attaining or returning to a level of functioning, after a relatively short course of treatment, that is typical of well-functioning individuals in the general population.”
In other words — if you have mental health issues you’d like to work through using a combination of talk therapy and other clinically proven methods, clinical psychology could be exactly the treatment you’re looking for.
How to Benefit from Clinical Psychology
If you feel that clinical psychology may be a valuable tool for your mental health, you can speak to a mental health professional to learn coping mechanisms and receive helpful tips via a licensedonline therapist.
Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.
Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.
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