Examination of Clinical Psychologist

Examination of Clinical Psychologist

April Gressett

PSY/480

October 22, 2014

Janice Williams

Examination of Clinical Psychologist

Introduction

Since the Greek philosophers to Sigmund Freud clinical psychology has been a part of history. Scientists have found new clinical interventions by drawing information and philosophical aspects through scientific data. This paper will examine the history of psychology and how it has evolved. The role or research and statistics in clinical psychology will be explained. The differences between clinical psychology and other mental health professions (social work, psychiatry, and school psychology) will be examined.

History of Clinical Psychology

The ancient Greeks developed the early conceptions of psychology. According to Plante (2011; p.33) the way the Greeks were able to understand how disease transported was not controlled by the Gods but because of social, biological, and psychological effects exchanged between the mind and body. Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Plato believed that a person's spirit or soul was in charge of his or her body and that any problems with his or her soul could result in him or her becoming physically ill.

During the middle ages is was the belief that a mental or physical illness was because of a flaw in a person's character, and in order to heal the illness was the spirit needed to be cleansed. During the Renaissance era scientific viewpoints were found to be unscientific because of religious and scientific viewpoints. A person's illness was established by biomedical reductionism and was understood by experimentation and scientific observation compared to the beliefs of the metaphysical (Plante, 2011; p. 32).

During the 19th century Sigmund Freud and his colleagues proposed that a person's unconscious mind and emotional influences were the cause of his or her mental and physical illness. So that health, abnormal behavior, and illness could be understood fully, the holistic view was adopted. According to Plante (2011; p. 41) Freud inspired the idea that a person's individual demands must be met, this is still an integral part of clinical psychology.

Wilhelm Wundt discovered psychology in his laboratory in 1879, and in 1890 William James published "Principles of Psychology". When the American Psychological Association was founded, G. Stanley Hall became the first president. Witmer opened his clinic in 1896 where psychological principles being applied to human illness. With each war as the need for clinical psychology grew, psychometric assessments were