Clinical Psychology

Clinical Psychology

Clinical psychology is the largest subfield of psychology.  Clinical psychologists come closest to many people's idea of what a psychologist is. They are "doctors" who diagnose psychological disorders and treat them by means of psychotherapy.

A clinical psychologist normally holds a Ph. D. or M. A. or Psy. D. Degree and has done several years of postgraduate work in a psychology department. Clinical psychologists are trained to apply psychotherapeutic techniques, to diagnose psychological disorders, and to do research on the causes of these disorders. 

Clinical psychology and psychiatry are often confused because practitioners of both disciplines use psychotherapy in the treatment of behavioural problems. However, unlike clinical psychologists, psychologists are trained as physicians and hold M. D. degrees; they become psychiatrists by doing several years of residency in a psychiatry department. Being physicians, psychiatrists can use drugs and other medical means to treat psychological disorders.

The clinical psychologist, who does not have medical training, cannot prescribe drugs to treat behaviour disorders. It means that whenever there is a possibility of a medical disorder, a patient should be examined by a psychiatrist or other physician. Further, in most states, only a psychiatrist can commit a patient to a hospital for care and treatment.

On the other hand, psychologists are usually better trained in doing research; thus, clinical psychologists are somewhat more likely than psychiatrists to be involved in systematically studying better ways of diagnosing, treating, and preventing behaviour disorders. Psychologists are also more likely than psychiatrists to use psychotherapy methods that have grown out of scientific research. Clinical psychologists also tend to rely more heavily than psychiatrists on standardised tests as an aid to diagnose behaviour disorders.

Confusion between the fields of clinical psychology and psychiatry arises because both provide psychotherapy. They both use various techniques to relieve the symptoms of psychological disorders and to help people understand the reasons of their problems. Such psychotherapeutic techniques range from giving support and assurance to someone in a temporary crisis to extensive probing to find the motives behind behaviour. 

Many clinical psychologists practice in state mental hospitals, veterans' hospitals, community mental health centres, and similar agencies. In the institutions and clinics where many clinical psychologists practice, while psychiatrists often are available for prescribing medical treatment when needed, psychologists do a large part of professional work of diagnosis and treatment, as well as holding important administrative jobs and doing much of the research.

The clinical psychologist and the psychiatrist should also be distinguished from the psychoanalyst. A psychoanalyst is a person who uses the particular psychotherapeutic techniques which originated with Sigmund Freud and his followers. Anyone who has had the special training required to use these techniques can be psychoanalyst. Since psychoanalysis originated in Freud's medical and psychiatric practice, it was first adopted by psychiatrists, and thus, today, many psychiatrists are also psychoanalysts. But clinical psychologists who have had psychoanalytic training can also be psychoanalysts, as can people who are neither psychiatrists nor clinical psychologists.