INTRODUCING CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
When you tell people you're studying Psychology, they say "Oooh, are you going to diagnose my mental problems?" and you have to explain (sadly) that, no, you're mostly studying memory and obedience and inflatable Bobo Dolls. Well, GOOD NEWS. Clinical Psychology is what everybody thinks of when they hear "psychology": the study of mental abnormality.
"Clinical" comes from the Greek for "bedside" and refers to medical care. A 'clinician' is anyone who provides medical care - a doctor or nurse or a psychiatrist.
"Clinical Psychology" is psychology used for medical treatment - to help with the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Assessment means identifying whether someone's behaviours or cognitions are normal or not. Diagnosis means determining the cause of abnormality - such as a mental disorder. Treatment means helping people with mental disorders to manage their symptoms and have a better quality of life. Another excellent lesson from Crash Course Psychology, focusing on disorders
As part of Unit 1, you will have covered some clinical psychology already:
The Edexcel Specification expects you to be able to (AO1) know and understand, (AO2) apply, (AO3) analyse and evaluate the following:
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