INTRODUCTION TO CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY,

THIRD EDITION
by John Hunsley and Catherine M. Lee

Chapter 1
Outline
• Introduction to the course
• Chapter 1 material
Goal for course

Learn about clinical psychology, not how

to practice clinical psychology
Goals: Specific course objectives
• Understand need
– For psychological services that
• are offered over lifespan
• are tailored to diverse clients
– For psychological assessment that will help in
• diagnosis
• case formulation
• treatment planning & monitoring
– For prevention and treatment that is efficacious, effective & cost effective
– For ethical service delivery
Chapter 1: The Evolution of Clinical Psychology
• Introduction
• Defining clinical psychology
• Evidence-based practice in psychology
• Mental health professions
• Availability of mental health service providers
• Brief history of clinical psychology
Definitions of clinical psychology
• Application of psychological knowledge to alleviate distress & promote well-being
• Range of activities: assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, program evaluation,
administration, research
• Guided by principles of:
– Respect for dignity of persons
– Responsible caring
– Integrity in relationships
– Responsibility to society
Evidence-based Practice in Psychology
• To what extent should clinical practice be guided by scientific evidence?
• McFall’s Manifesto for a science of clinical psychology (1991)

– Essential to describe nature of service

– Benefits must have been validated scientifically
– Benefits must outweigh possible negative side effects
National Institute of Health and Care Excellence
(NICE)
• Psychological treatments are helpful in treatment of anxiety and depression

• Psychological treatment at least as effective as medication

• Fund access to psychological treatments delivered by trained mental health professionals

Why do we need mental health professionals?
• More than 450,000,000 worldwide have mental disorders
• Life style factors associated with risk of mental health and physical health problems
• Cost of mental disorder in Canada: $63 billion a year (2013 estimate)
– Absenteeism
– Unemployment and underemployment
– Disability costs
– Health service costs
– Premature death
Mental health professions
• Psychology (approximately 16,000 in • Medicine
Canada) – Psychiatry (approximately 4,100 in
– Counselling psychology Canada)
– School psychology • Nursing
– Clinical psychology – Psychiatric nurse (approximately 5,200 in
– Health psychology Canada)
– Forensic psychology
• Social Work
– Clinical neuropsychology
– Clinical social work (approximately
35,000 in Canada)

• Counselling (numbers unknown as not

consistently regulated across jurisdictions)
Availability of psychologists
• World Health Organization
– Canada is second only to Germany in numbers of psychologists per 100,000 of population

• Disparities in rural versus urban areas

• Variability in coverage of fees

History of Clinical Psychology
• Hippocrates:
– Origins of biopsychosocial view

• Enlightenment period: Pinel, Tuke, Rush

• European psychiatry: Charcot, Janet, Freud
History of Assessment
• First major activity in clinical psychology
– Intelligence
– Mental disorders and diagnostic systems
– Personality
History of intervention
• Development of various theoretical orientations
• Importance of research in evaluating therapy outcomes
• Evidence-based treatments
History of prevention
• To date, only a limited focus on prevention
• Growing number of evidence-based programs focusing on disorders in children
The future…
• Role of science in clinical psychology
• Use of technology to increase the reach of services
• Biopsychosocial model
• Attention to cost effectiveness
For next class:
 Copyright Notice

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