Q1 ) DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY IN INDIA

Clinical Psychology in India has a relatively short history. As

an applied branch of psychology, it is not very old.
The training of clinical psychology was started in 1951 at
Banaras Hindu University, but it really got started with DM and
SP (now M. Phil in Clinical Psychology) at Bangalore in 1956.
The Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists came into
existence in 1968 and the Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology
in 1974.
At present there are over 600 clinical psychologists working in
India.
With clinical psychology developing as an independent
profession, clinical psychologists have been functioning in
various roles, offering a wide range of services in
consultation, training, research, and private practice on
multidisciplinary teams as well as in independent practice.

In the clinical field, advanced training programmes were

introduced at the All India Institute of Mental Health (now
known as the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-
Sciences) in 1955, followed by the Hospital for Mental Diseases
in Ranchi (1962).
In the area of clinical psychology most of the research
activities were confined to diagnosis and prognosis of mental
diseases.
Wig and Akhtar (1974) have reviewed the important psychiatric
research in India conducted during 1947-1972.
Murthy (1980) observed that Western influence was significant in
the use of clinical techniques, such as sensitization, aversion
therapy, feedback therapy, classical and operant conditioning
techniques in treatment of psychogenic illnesses.
Behavioural therapies were quite popular and though
psychoanalysis was still practiced, its popularity was on the
decline.
The Clinical psychology as a branch of applied psychology is
under developing stage and has having very enormous scope in
India.
It is covering largest branch of psychology dealing with
psychological assessment, clinical diagnosis, prognosis,
intervention and prevention of psychological diseases.
The roles of clinical psychologist in present scenario as
teaching and training faculty, research scholar, administrator,
clinician and psychotherapist are challenging and very
responsible.
India regulations: There are very much concern while issuing
certificates, in any kind and dealing with medical - legal
cases. There psychological report is based upon clinical
finding, mental status examination and objective assessment
equipments.
The clinical psychology has travel a long distance since Dr. GS,
Bose a medical practitioner in this field established him and
considered as first Calcutta based clinical psychologist in
India.

Q2 : Clinical psychologist as a profession—

You are trained to study the human mind and behavior, formulate hypotheses, and collect
data to test their validity.

Your research methods will vary, but you learn to gather information through controlled
laboratory experiments or by administering personality, performance, aptitude, or
intelligence tests. Other methods include observation, interviews, questionnaires, clinical
studies, and surveys.

You will often work as part of a team, consulting with other psychologists and professionals
to provide individual, family, or group psychotherapy.

You may design and implement behavior modification programs or collaborate with
physicians and other specialists to develop and implement treatment and intervention
programs that support patient understanding and compliance.

You may also aspire to work in universities and medical schools, training graduate students
to deliver mental health and behavioral sciences services, or you may choose to administer
community mental health programs.
While you may establish a private practice as a clinical psychologist, you will generally work
in counseling centers, independent or group practices, hospitals, or clinics to help mentally
and emotionally distressed people adjust to life.

You may also assist medical and surgical patients who are dealing with illness or injury.

In addition, you may work in physical rehabilitation settings and treat patients with spinal
cord injuries, chronic pain or illness, stroke, arthritis, or neurological conditions.

You may help people deal with personal crisis, such as divorce or the death of a loved one.

Your education as a clinical psychologist includes quantitative research methods, often in

the form of computer-based analysis, as well as coursework in the biological, physical, and
social sciences and in statistics and mathematics. Most programs also require at least a one-
year internship or clinical practicum.

To practice as a clinical psychologist, you must meet certification and licensing

requirements, which vary by state. Most licensing laws require you to limit your practice to
areas in which you have developed professional competence through training and
experience.

Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is the psychological specialty that provides:
a) continuing and comprehensive mental and behavioral health care for individuals
and families;
b) consultation to agencies and communities; training, education and supervision;
and research-based practice.

Parameters to Define Professional Practice

in Clinical Psychology
Populations

Clinical psychology as a specialty provides services to individuals and families across

the lifespan and from all ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as
groups and communities.

Problems/Issues
 The specialty of clinical psychology addresses behavioral and mental health issues
faced by individuals across the lifespan including:
 Intellectual, emotional, psychological, social and behavioral maladjustment.
 Disability and discomfort.
 Minor adjustment issues as well as severe psychopathology.

Procedures

 Assessment: diagnostic interviewing, behavioral assessment, administration and

interpretation of psychological test measures
 Intervention (primary, secondary and tertiary levels): clinical services to individuals,
families and groups
 Consultation: inter- and intra-professional practice with other health and behavioral
health professionals and organizations
 Research: engagement with specific research and critical review of science, knowledge
and methods pertaining to clinical psychology.

Starting Your Clinical Psychology Career

Learn About Psychology Career Specialties

 Psychology-General
 Forensic Psychology
 Neuropsychology
 Social Work
 Child Psychology
 Health Psychology
 School Psychology
 Sports Psychology
 Counseling
 Industrial Psychology
 Social Psychology
 The exact job duties of a clinical psychologist vary, but the five primary responsibilities
of clinical psychologists are:

 Assess the patient in order to gather information necessary to make a diagnosis.

 Diagnosis the patient with any applicable psychological disorders.

 Identify potential treatments.

 Choose and implement the best treatment plan for the patient.

 Follow up with the patient to ensure the treatment is effective and the goals are being reached.

In order to accomplish these tasks, clinical psychologists:

Conduct and administer tests to diagnose patients and identify disorders.

Analyze and interpret test results in order to assess patient psychological disorders.

Interview patients, friends and family members to obtain additional information

germane to diagnosis and treatment.

Investigate causes of and contributing factors to mental health problems.

Consult with other healthcare professionals, such as psychiatrists, as necessary in order

to coordinate and administer treatment. (Most states do not allow psychologists to
prescribe medications to patients).

Counsel patients on identifying problems and treating them.

Prepare written assessments and reports for patient records.

Conduct and present research or medical findings to colleagues.

Step 1: Assessment
Identifying problems and their causes is the first hurdle. To do so, clinical psychologists
use a variety of methods:

1. Personal interviews.
These are typically done with the patients themselves, and may also include friends,
family members, colleagues or anyone else (with the patient’s permission) who might
have information or insights pertinent to the patient’s mental problems.

2. Observation.
In some cases, the clinical psychologist can observe the patient’s behavior to get
another perspective that is separate from the patient’s direct report.

3. Testing.
Questionnaires or surveys completed by the patient can provide a quantitative method
of assessment. Common tests include those that assess aptitude, achievement,
intelligence (IQ), attitude, personality and behavior.

Step 2: Diagnosis
Based on the results from assessment, the clinical psychologist may identify a specific
problem or condition, and inform the patient of the diagnosis.

Step 3: Treatment
Most of the treatments offered by clinical psychologists involve a form of therapy.
Patients may benefit from individual therapy, group therapy, hypnotherapy or some
combination thereof. Therapies are usually grounded in one of four main schools of
practice: psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral and humanistic.
1. Psychodynamic.
This is the type of therapy many people think of when picturing psychological
treatment: a patient lying on a couch, talking about their problems and answering
questions that probe into their subconscious. Specifically, psychodynamic therapy
examines a patient’s conscious and unconscious drives and motivations as a way of
shedding light on their underlying issues.

2. Cognitive.
Mind over matter is the key to cognitive therapy, which is based on the idea that
negative mental processes cause negative psychological problems. By changing how
they think, patients should be able to change how they act and feel.

3. Behavioral.
Often combined with cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy examines learning processes
and their relation to behavior. Ivan Pavlov made great strides in behavioral therapy with
his famous experiments with dogs and his work in classical conditioning. Today, a type
of behavioral therapy called “systematic desensitization” is used to cure phobias and
overcome anxiety.

4. Humanistic.
This type of therapy focuses on self-awareness and the idea that the patient is inherently
good. The patient is treated in a holistic manner in order to reach her or his full
potential.

Many mental illnesses can also be effectively treated with proper medication; however,
in most states clinical psychologists cannot prescribe medications. If medication is
needed, a clinical psychologist may refer the patient to a psychiatrist licensed to
dispense medication.

Working in Clinical Psychology: Skills

At a basic level, clinical psychologists should show facility in the following areas:
Communication
Active listening
Social perception
Critical thinking
High-order analysis
Teaching
Advocacy
Good judgment
Scientific skills

What are the Careers in Clinical Psychology?

Behavioral Health Psychologist
As a behavioral health psychologist, you typically work with clients in individual and group settings to help
them overcome behavioral difficulties like addiction.

Child Psychologist
One of the most popular fields of psychology is child psychology
From infancy through the teen years, children have specific psychological needs.

Child psychologists focus on applying scientific methods designed to understand the

cognitive functions and emotional needs of children, especially how they learn and
develop.
Your main responsibilities will include: teaching children and adolescents healthy coping and
communication skills, helping children work through emotional distress, improving the learning experience
for students, counseling mentally ill children and adolescents, providing academic guidance to students,
altering unhealthy, destructive and dangerous thinking patterns and behaviors and providing support.
Clinical Case Manager
With a background in clinical psychology, you might work as a clinical case manager. In this position, you
would most likely be responsible for managing a caseload of clients with very diverse needs, though, in
some employment settings, clinical case managers might specialize with a certain population (i.e., clients
with eating disorders).

Clinical Psychology College Professor

If you enjoy psychology as well as teaching others, a career as a clinical psychology college professor
might be a good fit.

Clinical Social Worker

As a clinical social worker, your tasks might be to assist clients in two primary areas: procuring needed
resources to live (i.e., job assistance, rent assistance) and helping them work through personal problems
that are causing difficulties in their lives (i.e., depression, anxiety).

Counseling Psychologist
If you pursue a career as a counseling psychologist, you may work with clients to improve their well being
by addressing behavioral, emotional, and mental difficulties that have negatively impacted their lives.

Medical Psychologist
As a medical psychologist, you work with patients whose physiological functioning is negatively impacted
by their behavior.

Neuropsychologist
This field focuses on brain processes and behaviors.
Neuropsychologists apply the principles of psychology to the functions of the brain and
central nervous system. Much of their work relates to studying and treating brain
injuries as well as developmental disorders.

Private Psychologist
As a private psychologist, you may work primarily with children, people with anxiety, or specialize in mood
disorders

Psychotherapist
If you work as a psychotherapist, you meet with clients, usually in a one-on-one clinical setting, to assist
them in bringing about personal change that helps them overcome problems or obstacles in their lives.

Rehabilitation Psychologist
As a rehabilitation psychologist, you would rely on the principles of clinical psychology to assist your
clients in identifying mental illnesses, behavioral disorders, disabilities, and so forth, which have a
negative impact on their ability to function normally. For example, you might treat a client for depression
as it relates to the recent loss of a limb, such as their leg.
In the context of counseling, you might help the client build skills that help them minimize the impact of
their disability or provide exercises that help them focus on the positive aspects of their life to help them
overcome their depression.

School Psychologist
As a school psychologist, you typically use psychological principles to assist students in improving their
ability to learn, improve their behavior, and address their mental health concerns.

Special Education Teacher

With a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology, you may be able to enter the field of education as a
special education teacher. Your educational background may help you provide services to students with
mental, physical and emotional developmental delays and learning disabilities.

Substance Abuse Counselor

With this degree, you will be able to counsel clients addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling and/or food. You
may also develop community outreach programs, and/or educate the public about the dangers of
substance abuse.

Health Psychologists

Health psychologists examine how the overall health of individuals is related their
psychological characteristics.

Q3

Psychiatry
Psychiatry is a medical specialty dealing with the prevention,
assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of mental
illness.
Its primary goal is the relief of mental disorder and improvement of
mental well-being.
This may be based in hospitals or in the community and patients may be
voluntary or involuntary.
Psychiatry adopts a medical approach but may take in to account
biological, psychological, and social/cultural perspectives.
Treatment by medication or, less often, various forms of psychotherapy
may be undertaken.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors and are certified in treating mental
illness using the biomedical approach to mental disorders including
the use of medications.
 Psychiatrists may also go through significant training to conduct
psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and/or cognitive behavioral therapy,
but it is their medical training that differentiates them from
clinical psychologists and other psychotherapists.

The three main differences between psychiatrists and psychologists

are:
1. Psychiatrists are medical doctors, psychologists are not.
2. Psychiatrists prescribe medication, psychologists can't.
3. Psychiatrists diagnose illness, manage treatment and provide a range
of therapies for complex and serious mental illness. Psychologists
focus on providing psychotherapy (talk therapy) to help patients.

Many people get psychiatrists and psychologists confused with each

other.
Both psychiatrists and psychologists understand how the brain works,
our emotions, feelings and thoughts. Both can treat mental illness
with psychological treatments (talking therapies).
However, psychiatrists attend medical school and become medical
doctors before doing specialist training in mental health. Because
they are doctors, psychiatrists understand the links between mental
and physical problems. They can also prescribe medications.
To go into it in some more detail, the main differences relate to:

 training
 treatments provided
 conditions treated
 getting an appointment.

Training
Psychiatrists are medical doctors with at least 11 years of training – usually more.
They first do a medical degree at university. Next they spend at least 1 or 2 years
training as a general doctor.
They then complete at least 5 years training in the diagnosis and treatment of mental
illness.
Psychologists have at least 6 years of university training and supervised experience.
They may also hold a Masters or Doctorate level qualification in psychology. If they
have a Doctorate (PhD) a psychologist can call themselves ‘Dr’, but they are not
medical doctors.
Clinical psychologists have special training in the diagnosis and treatment of mental
illness.
Treatments provided
Psychiatrists can provide a wide range of treatments, according to the particular
problem and what will work best. These include:
 medication
 general medical care, including checking your physical health and the effects of medication
 psychological treatments
 brain stimulation therapies such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Psychologists focus on providing psychological treatments.

Conditions treated
Psychiatrists tend to treat people who need their medical, psychological and social
needs considered.
These are usually people with complex conditions, for example:

 severe depression
 schizophrenia
 bipolar disorder.

Someone who has attempted suicide or has suicidal thoughts will usually be seen by a
psychiatrist.
Psychologists are more likely to see people with conditions that can be helped
effectively with psychological treatments. This might include behavioural problems,
learning difficulties, depression and anxiety.

Q4: Psychiatric Social Work:

Introduction

The essential purpose of Psychiatric Social Work is to help the people

with problems of the mind and/or with behavior problems

Psychiatric Social Worker understanding the social and/or

environmental factors responsible for the problems
of mind and brain in their management.

Besides they also provide other services to mentally challenged people

like therapeutic treatment, social rehabilitation, crisis intervention
or outreach services in the community.

A psychiatric Social Worker (PSW) works in close association with

psychiatrist, child guidance clinics, social services department as
the team in the psychiatric hospital; and they also extend their work
in families and communities for mentally challenged people.
These professionals often treat comprehensively the psychiatric
illnesses, disorders, conditions and other issues, however, their
scope of practice varies cases to case.

A psychiatric social worker helps the mental health professional-

psychiatrist and families of patients in a similar way as counsellors
and psychologists do.

Their main job is to assess patients and develop patients’ specific

plans of care.

They also provide therapy or counselling services to patients, as well

as help family members to deal with patients with mental illness in
the family.

Another main goal of most psychiatric social workers is to help

patients to live and work in society with the highest degree of self
dependent.

In addition, a psychiatric social worker helps patients and their

families to get services and financial help from non-profit
organizations or other government organizations.

A psychiatric social worker can help with future employment and

housing needs of the patient..

Clinical and Non Clinical Role of Psychiatric Social Worker:

They work in close association with Clinical professionals and Non Clinical and they do
both kind of the work- clinical and non clinical.

The Clinical Psychiatric Social Work may include one or more of the following:

- Intake
- Reception- Accepting the patient
- Diagnosis / Analysis of Patient
- Treatment
- Rehabilitation of Patient
- Pre- convalescent
- Pre-Parole Services
- Follow- Up : after care
- Case History
- Case Work with Patient
- Case Work with Relative
- Orientation of the Staff
- Advocating for care
- Protecting the vulnerable
- Providing forensic practice functions
- Increasing social well-being
- Providing case management for complex and high-risk cases
- Providing clinical supervision or direction of clinical programs
- Providing psychosocial treatment

Whereas the non clinical work may include the following:

- Promotion of Mental Health

- Conducting Workshop
- Case Identification
- Providing Referral Services
- Providing Recreational Therapies
- Program Administration
- Training for Health Volunteer
- Mental Health Awareness Camp
- Program planning and development
- Providing education and resources
- Administration of community services or programs
- Assessment of client needs for macro community programs or services
- Coordination and/or evaluation of service delivery
- Advocacy on behalf of persons or groups with unmet service needs
- Analysis and development of social welfare policy
- Organizational analysis
- Provision of training about community needs and problems
- Human Right of Psychiatric Patients

Psychiatric social work is a specialized type of medical social work that involves
supporting, providing therapy to, and coordinating the care of individuals who are
severely mentally ill and who require hospitalization or other types of intensive
psychiatric help.

Types of Psychiatric Social Workers

Inpatient Psychiatric Social Workers
Psychiatric Emergency Services and Crisis Response Social Workers
Outpatient Psychiatric Social Workers

As mentioned previously, psychiatric social workers’ main goal is to stabilize and

support people experiencing intense psychological distress or behavioral issues
that are threatening their safety and well-being, or the safety and well-being of
others.
Psychiatric social workers accomplish this goal through a combination of
diagnostic assessments (ex. psychosocial assessments and risk assessments),
individual and group therapy, and care coordination/case management services.

Diagnostic Assessments

One of the most important tasks that psychiatric social workers have is
conducting different diagnostic assessments of patients’ mental health in order to
determine their specific psychological issues and needs.

The main assessment that psychiatric social workers conduct is the psychosocial
assessment, which requires that the psychiatric social worker gather the
following information:

 Primary and secondary psychological conditions (ex. depression, severe

anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.)
 Behavioral issues (substance abuse, violence, problems with emotional
regulation, etc.)
 Familial, social, cultural, and occupational background
 Physical health status and medical treatment history
 Mental health status (as measured by tests that measure mood, cognition,
motor skills, perception, etc.)
 Mental health treatment history
  Current medications and treatment support systems

Psychiatric social workers may use information gained from the psychosocial
assessment to also complete risk assessments, which are targeted evaluations
of whether an individual may experience an adverse outcome in their current
state and situation.

Psychiatric social workers use risk assessments to determine the level of care
that a patient needs (ex. hospitalization, an inpatient psychiatric hold, or intensive
outpatient psychotherapy).

Care Coordination (Case Management)

Once they have determined the mental health status and treatment history of
their patients, psychiatric social workers are responsible for ensuring that their
patients receive the mental health support they need. They accomplish this goal
by:

 Developing a patient treatment plan in collaboration with medical and

mental health staff, using information from the psychosocial assessment
 Monitoring a patient’s progress throughout his or her treatment
 Communicating with the treatment team as needed regarding
developments in a patient’s mental health status
 Explaining different treatment options and plans to patients
 Connecting patients to relevant resources within and outside the treatment
facility
 Coordinating safe and effective discharges when the time comes for
patients to transition to a different treatment facility or back home
Psychiatric social workers are also often responsible for keeping medical and
mental health treatment records to ensure continuity of care if/when patients
transition to different psychiatric settings or providers.

Individual and Group Psychotherapy

Depending on their work setting, psychiatric social workers may deliver short-
term or long-term psychotherapy to patients, utilizing different clinical social work
methods according to each patient’s individual psychological situation and needs.
Psychotherapeutic methods that they may use include but are not limited to
cognitive behavioral therapy, harm reduction techniques (for behavioral issues
such as chemical dependency), motivational interviewing, dialectical behavioral
therapy, mindfulness training, and experiential therapy.