History and Evolution of Clinical Psychology

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(1) What is the history and evolving nature of clinical psychology?

Clinical Psychology is a science in the field of psychology that is concerned with understanding, evaluating, diagnosing and treating emotional and mental disorders. Historically, efforts were advanced in the literature concerned with individual behavior, and the biological bases of behavior. The approach to studying behavior ensued with research initiatives emphasizing mental states and physical behavior. The first scientific experimental laboratory was founded by Wilhelm Wundt and marked the shift from the interest in philosophy to the field of psychology. Wundt's (1879) study of human thought processes was established to study human thought processes, and is often thought of as the beginning of modern psychology (Martin, 2011).

Sigmund Freud's (1900) psychodynamic perspective was based on intrapsychic (mental processes) that meant looking inward to the individual unconscious conflicts to uncover problems that live in the individual's conscious awareness. Freud's theory on psychoanalysis primarily focused on unconscious feelings, and/or events as they were perceived by the individual. Freud's psychological perspectives were focused on internal processes primarily on children's developmental focus thinking. Thus, his psychodynamic theories also stressed the importance of early and intrapsychic experiences. The psychoanalysis of these experiences initiated the psychological concepts such a (a) defense mechanisms, (b) introspective, and (c) projection that would play a large role in the development of other psychological and behavioral theories.

General psychology is viewed as the scientific study of behaviors and mental processes with the overall goal focused on understanding how and why humans behave as they do. Following Freud's analyses of early childhood experiences, later psychologists ...