Clinical Psych - 327

Question 1

APA definition of Clinical Psychology. (L1)

Answer 1

An integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge. For the purposes of understanding, preventing and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction to promote subjective and behavioural well being.

Question 2

What is the purpose of the assessment stage as part of the clinical psychologists job? (L1)

Answer 2

To measure and gain insight into the nature of the psychologically or behavioural problems. To establish a cause and assist in planning treatment.

Question 3

What is a clinical interview and what does it involve? (L1)

Answer 3

The first form of contact with the clinician to gain insight into their problems.
Involves questions on symptoms, history, living and working.
Questions vary depending on the theoretical orientation of the clinician.

Question 4

What are some of the limitations of the clinical interview? (L1)

Answer 4

Low reliability and interviewer bias.
Different psychologists ask different questions and have different interpretations.
Can be biased by irrelevant factors.

Question 5

What are psychological tests used for in clinical psychology? (L1)

Answer 5

Quantitative assessments used to assess the client on one or more specific characteristics e.g. anxiety, depression, paranoia.
Rigid response requirements allowing for the application of a standardized system.

Question 6

What is validity? (L1)

Answer 6

Whether something measures what it is claiming to measure.

Question 7

What is reliability? (L1)

Answer 7

Whether something is consistent over time and shows changes.

Question 8

What are personality inventories and what do they involve? (L1)

Answer 8

A psychological test that describes patterns of behaviour, thoughts and feelings.
Detailed and broad, measuring mood, physical concerns, attitudes, well-being etc.
Can gauge whether a client is telling the truth.
E.g. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

Question 9

What are specific trait inventories and what do they involve? (L1)

Answer 9

Psychological tests that measures functioning in one specific area or one specific psychopathology.
E.g. The Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire - assesses beliefs and appraisals that lead to the acquisition and maintenance of obsessions.

Question 10

What are projective tests and what do they involve? (L1)

Answer 10

Psychological tests where a set of ambiguous stimuli are presented for the client to interpret in their own way.
Aims to reveal unconscious psychological dynamics.
E.g. The Rorschach Inkblot Test

Question 11

What are sentence completion tests and what do they involve? (L1)

Answer 11

Projective psychological tests that involve the clinician providing the client with the first part of a sentence that they must then complete in their own words.
E.g. war veterans with PTSD may are more likely to complete with war and battle themes (Kimble et al., 2002)

Question 12

What are intelligence tests and what do they involve? (L1)

Answer 12

Tests that measure a clients IQ in comparison to a population of people with similar characteristics.
Used for a number of purposes, such as, diagnosing learning disabilities, identifying areas of need and research.
E.g. the Leiter R intelligence test - used for children with speech difficulties.

Question 13

What are neurological impairment tests and what do they involve? (L1)

Answer 13

Psychological tests used to identify psychopathologies caused by damage to the structure and functioning of the brain or CNS.
Tests can include EEG, PET, fMRI and blood tests.

Question 14

What are clinical observations and what do they involve? (L1)

Answer 14

Tests used in addition to psychological tests to assess behaviour in its natural context. Involves recording behaviour frequencies and allows for the identification of events that trigger or reinforce behaviours.

Question 15

What is the purpose of the formulation stage of a psychologists job? (L1)

Answer 15

To generate an understanding of the clients difficulties and develop a treatment plan using the information gained during the assessment stage.

Question 16

What is the medical approach to establishing a diagnosis? (L1)

Answer 16

To establish a diagnosis using the ‘International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Healthy Problems’ (ICD-10) or the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ (DSM-V)

Question 17

What are Pearson’s six formulation components for diagnosis? (L1)

Answer 17

1) Create a list of clients problems
2) Identify and describe the underlying psychological mechanisms that might be mediating the problems
3) Understand the way that these psychological mechanisms generate the clients problems
4) Identify the events that may have precipitated the clients problems
5) Identify how these precipitating events may have caused the current problems through the proposed psychological mechanisms
6) Develop a treatment plan based on these explanations and predict any obstacles

Question 18

What are some the advantages of Pearsons formulation components over a standard diagnosis? (L1)

Answer 18

1) Provides a flexible and idiosyncratic understanding of each clients problems irrespective of diagnostic labels
2) Doesn’t treat the client as a label
3) Based on a theoretical understanding of causal psychopathology
4) Can include info about a client’s history and their personal, social and familial circumstances
5) Allows development of treatment strategies moulded to the individuals needs

Question 19

What does the intervention stage of a clinical psychologists job involve? (L1)

Answer 19

Using a psychological model or therapeutic approach to facilitate the relief of problems.
Involves formal relationships between the CP and client.

Question 20

What does the psychodynamic approach assume? (L1)

Answer 20

Based on psychoanalysis work by Freud. Assumes that unconscious conflict develops in early life and psychodynamic intervention can identify these events.

Question 21

How did the behavioural approach emerge and what does it assume? (L1)

Answer 21

Emerged in the 40s and 50s after unsatisfaction with the psychodynamic approach.
Behaviourism was turned to for objective knowledge that could inform conceptualisation and treatment.
Assumes that psychological disorders were a result of ‘faulty learning’ and symptoms were acquired through a simple conditioning process.

Question 22

What are some of the treatment techniques of the behavioural approach? (L1)

Answer 22

Flooding, systematic desensitisation, exposure therapy, aversion therapy and functional analysis.

Question 23

What does the cognitive approach assume? (L1)

Answer 23

Assumes that some psychopathologies are caused by dysfunctional thinking about the self or the world, or dysfunctional processing and interpretation of incoming information.
Tries to target and change dysfunctional processing.

Question 24

What is involved in CBT? (L1)

Answer 24

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
The client keeps a diary noting how events, feelings, moods and thoughts occur.
The CP helps the client to challenge irrational, dysfunctional or biased thinking.
The client is trained to think, behave and react differently in a situation that evokes their psychopathology.

Question 25

What does systematic and family therapy involve? (L1)

Answer 25

Addressing psychopathology resulting from relationship dynamics within the family. It views the family as a social system, identifying the complex relationships and alliances that exist between family members.
Involves ensuring that the primary relationships in the family are strong and functional (Minchin, 1985)

Question 26

What does the evaluation stage of a clinical psychologists job involve? (L1)

Answer 26

A continuous assessment of the effectiveness of an intervention. It is important to assess the treatment plan and assess if it is working, or if it needs changing.

Question 27

Does one type of treatment work better than the others? Why or why not? (L1)

Answer 27

Lots of research has compared the effectiveness of different treatments for different disorders. Several studies have shown that the most common therapies do not differ in their effectiveness but are all more effective than no treatment.
Shown by Gibbons et al., 1993 & Smith et al., 1980.

Question 28

How does research act as part of the clinical psychologists job?

Answer 28

It’s a widely held perspective that CP’s should be scientist-practitioners.
Most clinical training courses involve substantial research components.
The current view is that research methods and findings should be integrated into clinical work.

Question 29

Why do clinical psychologists need to conduct research? (L1)

Answer 29

Mental health services are required to provide evidence that the treatments are effective.
In the UK the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) promotes and recommends treatments that are evidence-based.

Question 30

What sort of research do CP’s conduct? (L1)

Answer 30

Investigations into the aetiology of psychological disorders (basic research to understand the fundamentals).
Development of interventions based on an understanding of aetiology.
Evaluations of treatment efficacy or comparisons between types of interventions.

Question 31

What do correlational designs do?

Answer 31

They determine whether there is a statistically significant relationship between variables. But they do not imply causal relationships.

Question 32

What do longitudinal/prospective designs do?

Answer 32

They measure the same participants on two or more occasions to specify time relationships between variables. This makes it possible to identify concurrent and longitudinal relationships between variables.

Question 33

What do epidemiological designs involve?

Answer 33

Typically a large scale survey which provides descriptive details about the prevalence of psychological disorders. Can identify what factors correlate with a specific disorder. Requires a large sample that is representative of all types of people in the specified population.