Examination of Clinical Psychology

Examination of Clinical Psychology

Introduction

Clinical psychology's is the application of the psychological studies on the mankind in wider aspects. Its foundation dates back to Greeks. Instead of having a variety of differences between clinical and other psychological discipline, the main purpose of all these disciplines are to serve mankind with a better quality of life.

Discussion

The History of Clinical Psychology

Greeks were the first to discover the connection of the mind and body and their effect on illness. Hippocrates was first to proposed the absolute physiological justification of disease and dysfunction (Plante, 2005). He proposed that several psychological maladjustment and emotions, such as anger irritability and sadness are the result of disequilibrium in the mixture and quantity of four basic body fluids i.e. Yellow bile, Phelgam, Black bile and Blood.

During the middle ages, the work of Thomas Aquinas, Paracelsus, and Weyer shifted the discussion of psychology away from the metaphysical and towards physical explanations of mental illness, such as bodily causes, movements of the stars, and behavior. Furthermore, at the dawn of the Renaissance and into the nineteenth century the veil of shadow and secrecy behind the inner workings of the mind, body, and cell were ripped from their places and the mediums of scientific examination and laboratory exploration were instituted in the place of religion and spirituality as the sole explanation of illness. The works of Rush, Bernard, and Pinel during this period of history paved the way for more humane approaches to the abnormal and deviant—approaches that sought to lessen psychological dysfunction rather than simply separate and hold back the dysfunctional.

The psychology came into birth, in Germany 1879 after the foundation of the first laboratory by Wilhelm Wundt. The rise of psychology was in 1980 when William James' Principles of Psychology published. The term clinical psychology was first used by Lightner Witmer in 1986, to provide a venue for applying psychological ethics to human sickness. Since then there is a notable development in the field due to pioneering medical and scientific explorations (Plante, 2011). In spite of the early nervousness between clinical psychology and mainstream psychology, the first official classes in clinical psychology began in 1904 at the University of Pennsylvania and the first edition of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology published in 1907.

The Evolving Nature of Clinical Psychology

In spite of the opposition of the APA to embrace an applied approach to psychology, clinical psychology grew rapidly in the beginning of the twentieth century (Plante, 2005). Going back to Plato's argument of the metaphysical effecting the physical, Sigmund Freud postulated that unconscious conflict and strife could have a direct result on mental and physical illness. The work of Freud twisted the direction of clinical psychology for many decades after his death. Even though, it was not until the Boulder Conference of 1949 that the training guidelines for clinical psychology were adapted and carved in on the rock. One of the main tenets of these guidelines was that clinical psychologists should have a firm understanding of both ...