Week 1 Topic 2 Flashcards
What is clinical psychology?
The application of psychological theories to understand, prevent and alleviate distress
Why must you meet criteria to call yourself a clinical psychologist?
Because it is a protected title, and HCPC registration is required
Name 3 types of people that CP’s work with?
1) Working age adults
2) Children and families
3) People in forensic settings
Name 3 kinds of activities that clinical psychologists may carry out?
1) Psychological therapy
2) Team working
3) Psychological research
Name 3 places they could work?
1) Cafes
2) Hospitals
3) Prisons
Clinical psychologists often work in multidisciplinary teams, give 2 examples?
1) Psychiatrists
2) Mental health nurses
What are CP’s 4 key tasks?
Assessment (gathering info to answer q)
Formulation (use psych theory to understand why)
Intervention (use psych methods to help someone improve) Evaluation (determine how helpful these methods are)
What are the differences between a Scientist Practitioner and a Reflective Practitioner?
A Scientist Practitioner is an applied scientist, who is trained in empirical research skills and has scientific knowledge, whereas a Reflective Practitioner has a general reflection on their work and a self-reflection on themselves
What are the 4 methods of assessment?`
Clinical interview, Psychometrics e.g. questionnaires, Self-Monitoring e.g. diary, Observation
What do Formulations draw on? And what would be a good example of this?
The individuals history and characteristics, and Psychological theory and research e.g. Ken is anxious about his exams because his parents were very critical of him and we know that critical parenting is a risk factor for childhood anxiety
What are Formulations based on?
Biopsychosocial Model
What are the 5 factors within a Transtheoretical Formulation?
Predisposing factors, Precipitant events, Presenting Problems, Protective Factors, Perpetuating Factors
What does CBT highlight the importance of?
Cognitions e.g. thoughts and beliefs, and how these influence and are influenced by mood, bodily sensations and behaviour
How does CBT understand a problem in terms of behaviours?
e.g. learned responses and reinforcement strategies, including voluntary coping strategies
Give an example of how thoughts lead to mood, lead to behaviour, to physical reactions?
I’m going to fail…. Anxiety…. Avoid studying… Racing heart
What are interventions, and what drives them?
They are acts intended to help someone to get better e.g. relaxation exercises, re-living a trauma, reducing avoidance; they are driven by the formulation
Name 2 different ways that clinical work can be evaluated?
Either by feedback from patients, for example verbal or in the form of a questionnaire, or by how well they reduce symptoms of mental health problems
Why is evaluating a therapy based on how well it reduces symptoms of mental health problems a problem for some approaches?
Because for approaches that do not focus on symptom reduction, this wouldn’t be a true measure of evaluation
What does evaluation drive?
Funding
Other than CBT, what other 2 approaches are Clinical Psychologists trained in?
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Systemic Family Therapy
What did Freud say about different motivational forces within the mind?
How these can conflict, and how unconscious thoughts and feelings can cause mental health problems in some people
What is the Systemic Family Therapy based on?
The idea that people can only be understood within their ecological context, people do not exist in vacuums, and all behaviour has meaning in terms of relationships (with applied communication and systems theories, as well as mathematical and cybernetic models to families
