Ch 1: Evolution of Clinical Psych

Question 1

Why should one care about clinical psychology? -

Answer 1

• as a future clinical psychologist
• as a future colleague or manager of clinical psychologists
• as a tax-payer
• as a consumer of services

Question 2

What is mental health? -

Answer 2

• state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community

Question 3

What is clinical psychology? -

Answer 3

• application of psychological knowledge to alleviate distress and promote well-being

Question 4

What are the three factors of mental health according to WHO?

Answer 4

• agency: the ability to act
• resilience: the ability to quickly recover from difficulties
• functionality: the ability to function as an individual and within society

Question 5

What types of activities do clinical psychologists do?

Answer 5

• started with primarily assessment and diagnosis

- now, intervention, consultation, program evaluation and program development, research, supervision and administration

Question 6

What are the four statements of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists?

Answer 6

• respect for dignity of persons and peoples
• responsible caring
• integrity in relationships
• responsibility to society

Question 7

What is evidence-based practice (EBP)?

Answer 7

• decision-making process that synthesizes information from research, client data, the clinician’s professional experience and the client’s preferences/consent when considering healthcare options

Question 8

Why is EBP good?

Answer 8

• overreliance on psychologist’s professional experience is risky if not balanced with scientific based knowledge (clinician bias)

Question 9

What are the criticisms of EBP?

Answer 9

• group-based data cannot be applied to an individual
• research lags behind or is nonexistent in certain cases
• client diversity limits generalizability

Question 10

Why do we need mental health professionals?

Answer 10

• lifetime incidence: 1 in 3 Canadians over 15 have met criteria for a mental health disorder in their lives
• many people suffer and the cost is very high

Question 11

What are the different types of mental health professions?

Answer 11

• Psychology: counselling, school, clinical, health, forensic, clinical neuropsychology
• medicine: psychiatry
• nursing: psychiatric nurse
• social work
• counselling

Question 12

How did counselling psychology and clinical psychology differ?

Answer 12

• counselling: used to be more everyday problems, school-based, less severe psychopathology
• now, very similar but still different streams of schooling

Question 13

What distinguishes clinical psychology?

Answer 13

• scientifically supported psychological theories guide assessment and treatment
• focus in application of psychological knowledge
• research tradition
• licensing requirements
• cannot prescribe
• not covered by public health plans

Question 14

How did Hippocrates contribute to clinical psychology?

Answer 14

• origins of biopsychosocial view that takes into account biological, psychological and social influences on health and illness

Question 15

Prior to the 1700s, what treatment was the norm?

Answer 15

• asylum treatment

Question 16

What is the Enlightenment period?

Answer 16

• realized that we must treat people with mental disorders rather than lock them away
• humane approaches emerged

Question 17

In general, how did assessment begin?

Answer 17

• needed in schools and military to measure intelligence

Question 18

How did Kraepelin contribute to clinical psychology?

Answer 18

• first diagnostic system and clustering of symptoms into syndromes

Question 19

How did Wechsler contribute to clinical psychology?

Answer 19

• most widely adopted ability tests (“gold standard”)

Question 20

How did Achenbach contribute to clinical psychology?

Answer 20

• first and most widely adopted behavior rating scales

- looking at behaviours and what they might mean

Question 21

What are the current trends in assessment?

Answer 21

• obtain data from multiple methods/informants
• informs diagnosis and treatment
• measures focus on specific problems, brief and can be repeatedly administered (rather than broad psychological profile)

Question 22

What are two predominant issues in assessment?

Answer 22

• clinical utility: usefulness of assessment data to provide info that leads to clinical outcome
• service evaluation: demonstrating that assessment services work

Question 23

What are the different theoretical orientations over time?

Answer 23

• psychoanalytic/dynamic
• behaviourist
• humanistic (Rogers!)
• Cognitive/cogntive behavioural
• process-experiential

Question 24

Why is there an importance of research in evaluating therapy outcomes?

Answer 24

• Hans Eysenck wrote a paper in the 50s about how treatment does not work
• this spurred other psychologists in 70s and 80s to conduct research and they found that treatment/therapy is beneficial

Question 25

What is the history of prevention for clinical psychologists?

Answer 25

• only a limited focus on prevention

- mostly focusing on children