Assignment

Clinical Psychology

Topic: Historical Background of Clinical Psychology

Submitted To: Miss Naveed Anjum

Submitted By: Hira Fakher

Roll No: 17221010 – 15

Ancient Era

2100.B.C:

Although mental disorders were recognized as early as this era they were often related to

demonology and religious causes and as such were thought to require treatments like prayers,

wearing of certain religious ornaments, exorcisms and other religious practices.

500 – 300.B.C:

In the Greek period, Hippocrates influenced by both Plato and Aristotle, proposed that

the cause of these mental disorders was due to abnormalities in the body, according to him an

imbalance in the bodily fluids: blood, black bile, yellow bile or phlegm was the root of

psychopathology in an individual.

200 – 101.B.C:

During this era the ancient Chinese were also studying mental illnesses and proposed that

they were the result of an imbalance of the “yin” and “yang” forces which represented good and

evil in an individual.

The ancient Chinese can also be credited in developing mental tests for assessments and

categorizations of individuals which they used to recruit and classify civil servants.

Renaissance Era

The renaissance era can also be referred to as the period of enlightment in which the

focus of mental disorder shifted from demonic possessions and spirituality towards a more

scientific approach
1500s:

Paracelsus was a physician who attempted to explain the biological aspect of mental

disorders arguing that dysfunctional behavior can be understood as a function of biological

processes and could be treated by what is referred to as homeopathy.

Similarly, Johann Weyer also rejected spiritual causes of psychopathological behavior

and developed a sophisticated and detailed classification system for several disorders including

hysteria, delusions, paranoia, depression, and epilepsy.

18th and 19th century

The 18th and 19th century can be defined as the scientific period which introduced clinical

psychology as a separate branch of psychology. The term was first used by American

psychologist Lightner Witmer in a paper in 1907, Witmer is also credited with opening the first

ever psychological clinic in 1896 for helping children with learning disabilities. By 1914, 26

other clinics devoted to the practice of clinical psychology had been established in the United

States.

The 18th century was also when the four foundations for clinical psychology as a

discipline were laid:

 Understanding of mental disorders

 Measurement of individual differences

 Emergence of scientific psychiatry

 Psychological determinism
Understanding of mental disorders:

This included acceptance of the fact that mental disorders fall under the medical model

and that they should be treated likewise.

French physician Phillipe Pinel along with William Tuke were responsible for the moral

treatment movement for the mentally ill. They suggested treating patients in asylums more

humanely by providing them cleaner and spacious rooms, better food, considerate treatments and

exercise.

This movement further initiated a change in society’s perception of the mentally ill as

they were now viewed as curable and deserving of compassionate treatment rather than those

that should be shunned and excluded from society as a whole.

Measurement of individual differences:

The interest towards individual differences was developed by Sir Francis Galton (1822

1911) regarding how a population seems to vary in terms of characteristics, that is individuals in

a society all have different strengths and weaknesses.

Inspired by Galton American psychologist James Cattel (1860 – 1944) who studied

under Wundt focused on individual differences in reaction time, he was also the first to use the

term “mental tests” at that time however, the term was used to refer to basic tests of abilities such

as reaction time, memory, and sensation/perception. Soon, though, the term encompassed a

wider range of measures, including not only the intelligence tests described above but also tests

of personality characteristics
Emergence of scientific psychiatry:

Scientific psychiatry a foundation of clinical psychology emerged due to the rapid growth

of the scientific and medical approach towards psychopathology. As such it focused to develop a

well detailed classification system for psychiatric disorders.

Emil Kraepelin (1855–1926), considered the “father of descriptive psychiatry” offered a

two-category system of mental illness. Kraepelin differentiated exogenous disorders (caused by

external factors) from endogenous disorders (caused by internal factors) and suggested that

exogenous disorders were the far more treatable type. Later, he also proposed terms such as

paranoia, manic depressive psychosis, involutional melancholia, cyclothymic personality, and

autistic personality, he set a precedent for the creation of diagnostic terms that eventually led to

the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Dominance of psychological determinism:

Psychological determinism believed that an individual’s behavior could be determined or

predicted as it is influenced and determined by previous events and causes. A significant figure

in psychology, Freud (1856–1939) is known for his contributions to the field by developing a

nonbiological yet non spiritual approach towards psychopathology.

Freud’s concept of past experiences, especially those in early childhood and the

unconscious paved the way for psychological determinism and helped develop projective testing

techniques.

Other notable figures in psychological determinism are Jean Martin Charcot (1825–

1893) and his pupil Piere Janet (1859–1947) who studied hysteria in patients under hypnosis

and found that many had experienced trauma that they had no conscious memories of, thus Janet

hypothesized that the traumatic events had been pushed back into the patient’s unconscious.
 Establishment of the field and Modern Era

With the establishment of the first psychological clinic in 1896, Witmer can also be

credited for finding the first journal of clinical psychology in 1907, around this time in France

the first version of the Simon-Binet intelligence test was also made in 1906.

1915 – 1945:

The field of clinical psychology advanced rapidly during World War I and II (1915-

1945) when the Army Alpha and Beta were developed to screen and classify recruits, along with

these several other intelligence tests were also being developed. In 1917 the American

Association of Clinical Psychologists (AACP) was found which was later incorporated in the

APA forming the section of clinical psychology in 1919.

The Boulder Conference:

In 1949, the historic Boulder conference took place, at which training directors from

around the country agreed that both practice and research were essential facets of PhD clinical

psychology training. It was decided with the following principles that a clinical psychologist

should be both a scientist and practitioner thus following the scientist-practitioner model:

I. Clinical psychologists were to be trained at university psychology departments

II. they were to be trained as scientists first and clinicians second

III. they should be required to complete a one-year internship of full-time clinical work

IV. they should be trained in diagnosis, research, and therapy; and

V. they should be required to complete original research making a contribution to the field and

culminating in the PhD.

By the 1980s, clinical psychologists enjoyed increased respect from the medical

establishment as they gained hospital admitting privileges. Larger numbers of graduate training

institutions continued to train larger numbers of new clinical psychologists, and the number of

American Psychological Association members who were clinicians increased. Psychotherapy

increased rapidly especially in private practice settings, but the use of intelligence and

personality testing decreased.

The growth of the profession continued through the 1990s and 2000s, as did the trend

toward diversity in gender and ethnicity of individuals within the profession.

References

Hecker, H.J., & Thorpe, L.G. (2005). Introduction to clinical psychology: science, practice and

ethics. Taylor & Francis.

Hunsley, J., & Lee, M.C. (2014). Introduction to clinical psychology: An evidence-based

approach (3rd ed.). Wiley.

Pomerantz, M.A. (2017). Clinical psychology: science, practice, and culture (4th ed). SAGE.