Abstract
Clinical psychology is one of the main specialties in the area of psychological health. Clinical counseling psychology is one of the main areas of applied psychology. Counseling clinical psychology has got a rich history associated with it. This paper through qualitative analysis of peer reviewed journals will describe the history and evolving nature of clinical counseling psychology in addition to explaining the role of research and statistics in clinical counseling psychology.
Introduction
The practice based arm of psychological studies in addition to findings and the treatment of other people in accordance with the psychological theory is referred to as clinical psychology. Clinical psychology usually involves giving therapy and other forms of treatment to the people. This is one of the reasons as to why many people refer to it as psychotherapy. A clinical psychologist may specialize in a specific area or attend to patients suffering from a wide variety of ailments. Counseling psychology is one of the main areas of applied psychology, besides clinical psychology that an individual may specialize in (Kopala, Keitel, Suzuki, Alexander, Ponterotto, Reynolds and Hennessy, 1995). Those who provide services in accordance with the theory of counseling psychology are referred to as counseling psychologists. This arm of psychology involves testing and evaluations on people presenting with adjustment problems instead of simply focusing on people suffering from severe psychological disorders (Kopala, Keitel, Suzuki, Alexander, Ponterotto, Reynolds and Hennessy, 1995).
The major aim of counseling psychology is to get rid of distress, and in addition, it promotes as well as enhances psychological health through the systematic application knowledge and skills obtained from psychological research, theory, and data (Craighead and Nemeroff, 2002). Clinical counseling psychology also aims at enabling individuals to achieve the skills and abilities necessary to deal with their psychological needs and daily lives so as to make maximum use of psychological and physical health; to develop and make use of their capability to come up with informed decisions so as to promote and maximize sovereignty; to develop a sense of self comprehension, respect and self worth; to enjoy the benefits of good social and interpersonal relationships; as well as to share environmental facilities that are highly valued in society (Weiner, Freedheim, Stricker and Widiger, 2003). The philosophy behind counseling psychology is based on the primary acknowledgement that each and every person has the same human value in addition to the right to be treated in a manner similar to other people (Craighead and Nemeroff, 2002). Counseling psychologists attend to all people with respect and dignity, and work collaboratively with other professionals in order to achieve mutually agreed objectives. In their services, counseling psychologists adhere to and are guided by clear and public statements of the ethics that underlie their work.
Clinical Psychology
Clinical counseling profession in the United States has a long and distinguished history which evolves from the nineteenth century vocational guidance movement to a well established twenty first century counseling psychology specialty in the discipline of psychology (Blocher, 2000). Counseling psychology specialty involves offering training to individuals through education programs that have been accredited, leads to development of knowledge from research, and provides a justification for members to operate as professionals, and its regulation is conducted by organizations that were established more than fifty years ago. Several attempts have been made to internationalize the profession. After the Second World War, for example, counseling psychologists in the United States consulted with those from Japan with intent of establishing strong counseling services. Blocher (2000) states that in the 1960s, more systematic approaches to enhance cross-cultural communication in the profession were initiated, resulting in creation of the International journal of the Advancement in Counseling. Quite a number of counseling psychologists were given Fulbright professorships in the 1980s (Blocher, 2000). In 1981, counseling psychology consisted of approximately 2,595 members. The counseling psychology was reorganized to its current structure in the 1980s. Before its reorganization, a merger had been effected between the American association for applied psychology and the American Psychological Association (Blocher, 2000). This merger resulted in the division of counseling psychology becoming a charter. Tightening employment markets in addition to demand for higher credentials were some of the counseling psychology policies affected in the 1980s. Since then, numerous policies which aim at improving the mode of working of counseling psychologists and provision of better services to clients have been implemented. These include: increment in government funding, higher representation in the American Psychological Association governing bodies, and reduction in discrimination in matters of accreditation (Blocher, 2000).
Counseling psychologists are involved in research, development and evaluation of programs, professional practice, public policy, and consultation in addition to other services aimed at promoting mental health in individuals, families, groups and organizations. Counseling psychologists assume the role of scientist practitioner as a result of their high level skills which help in adding to the evidence base of practice in various healthcare settings. Empirical base of counseling psychology is established through critical studies of the theory and practice of psychology (Thomas and Hersen, 2003). Assessment in counseling psychology comprise of the determination of the nature, the extent, the causes, as well as the potential consequences of individual distress, social and occupational dysfunctions (Craighead and Nemeroff, 2002). It also involves the evaluation of psychological factors linked to physical, emotional, behavioral, psychological and nervous disorders. Research and statistics in counseling psychology provides a base on which professionals are educated and trained in order to generate as well as integrate professional and scientific understanding, skills and knowledge to further psychological science, welfare of human beings and the professional practice of psychology (Thomas and Hersen, 2003). A counseling psychologist, for example, may offer training, supervise doctoral candidates in addition to working as a psychotherapist. Brems and Johnson (1996), state that due to the fact that counseling psychology includes a great deal of activities as compared to psychotherapy and clinical psychology, it calls for critical research as well as application of statistics obtained from research. Counseling psychology incorporates research, statistics, science, practice and theory so as to make it easy for counseling psychologists to gain an understanding, predict in addition to get rid of maladjustment, discomfort and disability as well as promote adaptation of human beings, adjustment, and personal development (Thomas and Hersen, 2003). This branch of psychology focuses on the social, psychological, emotional, biological, behavioral and intellectual aspects of the functioning of human beings across the life span in different cultures and at all social-economic levels. During psychotherapy practice, not everybody in counseling psychology carries out his/her role based on the same theoretical finding or attends to the same patient. Research and statistics provides evidence based on which counseling psychologists can draw from on deciding the ways with which to perform therapy (Thomas and Hersen, 2003).
Conclusion
The practice based arm of psychological studies in addition to findings or the treatment of other people in accordance with the psychological theory is referred to as clinical psychology. Counseling psychology is one of the main areas of applied psychology, besides clinical psychology, that an individual may specialize in. Those who provide services in accordance with the theory of counseling psychology are referred to as counseling psychologists. Counseling psychology also aims at enabling individuals to achieve the skills and abilities necessary to deal with their psychological needs and daily lives so as to make maximum use of psychological and physical health. Counseling psychology has a long and distinguished history which evolves from the nineteenth century vocational guidance movement to a well established twenty first century counseling psychology specialty in the discipline of psychology. Empirical base of counseling psychology is established through critical studies of the theory and practice of psychology. Due to the fact that counseling psychology includes a great deal of activities as compared to psychotherapy and clinical psychology, it calls for critical research as well as application of statistics obtained from research. Counseling psychology incorporates research, statistics, science, practice and theory so as to make it easy for counseling psychologists to gain an understanding, and promote adaptation of human beings, adjustment, and personal development
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