Careers in Mental Health

Opportunities in Psychology, Counseling, and Social Work

Kim Metz

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781118767924
• eBook ISBN: 9781118768440
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Clinical Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Accessible and unbiased, Careers in Mental Health introduces upper-level high school students and beginning undergraduates to the different aspects of various mental health professions.

• Contains essential career advice for anyone considering an advanced degree in one of the "helping" professions within mental health
• Covers clinical psychology, counseling psychology, social work, counseling, marriage and family therapy, substance abuse counseling, and school psychology
• Clarifies the distinctions between professions by discussing the history and philosophy of each field, requirements for advanced education, licensing, available jobs, salary potential, and more
• Includes a section with practical information applicable to all the professions, such as characteristics for success, ethical issues, the importance of critical thinking, applying to graduate school, and current issues affecting the field of mental health

Unit 1
Career Essentials

1
Ph.D. or Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology

Overall History and Philosophy of the Profession

There are several intersecting areas to discuss when trying to get an accurate taste of the history of psychology. In the following section I will note important and significant aspects of the early history of psychology, expand on the schools of thought that have emerged throughout the last century, discuss how the role of assessment in psychology developed, note significant history related to treatment issues, and relate a brief background regarding the development of the American Psychological Association (APA), psychology's national professional organization.

Early History

The role that most people are likely to associate with a mental health career is a psychologist. Indeed, psychology is one of the oldest mental health professions. As we begin to examine the history of psychology, understand first that there are theories and ideas of mental illness, and its treatment that can be traced back many centuries. For example, in medieval times, beliefs that evil spirits inhabited those who suffered from what may have been depression or psychosis were prominent, and many espoused the belief that hysteria in women was due to her uterus “wandering” throughout her body. These rather misguided ideas may represent some early understanding that people's experiences and thoughts have an influence on their behavior. However, it is widely accepted that the general discipline of psychology began in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt started the first experimental laboratory in psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany. Four years later, in 1883, G. Stanley Hall established a similar laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. These laboratories enabled the observation and manipulation of human mental processes using scientific methods. And they represent the beginning of the general discipline of psychology.

In 1896 Lightner Witmer founded the first psychology clinic at the University of Pennsylvania. This is considered the beginning of the branch of psychology referred to as clinical psychology. It should be noted that the general field of psychology has many branches. In fact, the APA identifies 54 divisions of psychology (http://www.apa.org/about/division/index.aspx). Examples include experimental psychology, cognitive psychology, forensic psychology, and industrial/organization psychology, to name just a few. This text will not expand on these branches of the psychology profession as, while they all involve “helping people,” it is not through face-to-face therapy or counseling, in which most readers of this text likely have the most interest. There are very good texts available that examine the various branches of psychology and the educational track that one would follow to pursue them. You are urged to check those out if you want to research other ways that psychology helps people. The branches of psychology in which you likely are most interested are clinical psychology, counseling psychology (discussed further in Chapter 2), and school psychology (discussed further in Chapter 7).

Schools of Thought

As already stated, the opening of Witmer’s psychology clinic represents the beginning of clinical psychology. However, Sigmund Freud’s contributions in the area of psychoanalysis and the psychodynamic theory probably shone the brightest spotlight on the field. He believed that people were motivated by unconscious motives and drives and that their childhood experiences and crises were vital to understanding their adult personality. He also suggested that personality development occurred due to children passing through his proposed stages of psychosexual development. Freud’s theories were (and are) quite controversial, and many people minimize the validity of his theory. However, what is important for clinical psychologists and other mental health providers is that, regardless of one’s view of Freud’s ideas, he was instrumental in proposing that not all mental problems have physiological causes. Prior to Freud and Witmer, the prevailing belief represented a more biological view (or medical model view) of mental processes. That is, all behavior had its origin in something biological versus environmental. While it is now quite accepted that biology plays a substantial role in one's mental health, it is also known that the environment and personal characteristics play a role too.

Freud also used psychoanalysis to treat his patients. Psychoanalysis could be viewed as the beginning of “talk therapy.” In psychoanalysis the therapist or psychoanalyst explores the patient's view of his/her past or childhood and uses hypnosis and dream interpretation to uncover unconscious drives or explanations for present behavior. While some of his techniques might be considered extreme by many therapists today, it is an unavoidable conclusion that Freud's ideas have influenced modern-day talk therapy.

Before we delve any deeper into the important historical events that shaped psychology, let us examine the schools of thought that developed after Freud’s psychoanalytical or psychodynamic approach. Briefly, the other main theories that would emerge in the next half century were behaviorism, cognitive psychology, and humanist psychology. Ultimately, these schools of thought influenced not only psychologists but also each of the mental health professions. So, to continue, let us examine the development of these schools of thought.

As explained earlier, Freud’s psychodynamic perspective was one of the initial ways that psychologists tried to explain clients’ behavior and psychological difficulties. However, soon another theory would challenge Freud’s ideas. In 1913 John B. Watson began work that would eventually be categorized as the school of thought referred to as behaviorism. He and his followers rejected the emphasis Freud and his colleagues put on unconscious (and therefore, unobservable) forces and drives. They felt strongly that a person’s behavior – not a person’s unconscious or childhood traumas – was the key to understanding that person. Since the unconscious was not measurable or observable, the behaviorists felt there was no place for it in psychological theory. Instead, researchers such as B.F. Skinner concentrated on operant conditioning, which emphasized the effect that consequences and reinforcements had on a person’s behavior. Behaviorism had a major impact on the field of psychology for quite some time. Many concepts from it can be seen in use today (e.g., token economies, behavior modification). The behaviorist idea that consequences and reinforcements can change behavior is still a powerful idea in psychology as well as other mental health professions.

Cognitive psychology emerged in the mid-1950s. It is part of a larger field termed cognitive science that is interdisciplinary in nature and can include the fields of linguistics, anthropology, neuroscience, philosophy, and education as well as psychology. Proponents of cognitive psychology, partially in response to the emphasis on behaviorism, believe that internal processes (thoughts, ideas, values, memories) could mediate behavior. That is, behavior is maintained not only by consequences and reinforcement but also by individuals' thoughts and expectations. For example, even if rewarded handsomely for a task some people will turn down the task because it violates a value that they strongly hold. One of the more influential theories from this school of thought was Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in which he delineates stages of cognitive development that children pass through en route to attaining their adult level of cognition and thought. If you haven’t had a course in human development involving Piaget and his theory, do a quick Internet search and briefly examine his stages of development.

Also in the mid-1950s another school of thought was emerging. Psychologists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow felt that psychoanalysis and behaviorism assumed more negative about people than positive. They felt that people were not simply slaves to their unconscious drives nor were they puppets that could be controlled by rewards and consequences. Instead, humanists propose that individuals are able to exercise free choice and that each person has a potential they strive to realize. The basic belief of those who reside in the humanist camp is that humans are innately good and that they are capable of expressing free will and striving for self-actualization. Therapists who operate from a humanist perspective believe that if they treat clients with unconditional positive regard and allow the client – rather than the therapist – be the authority on their own inner experience, the client will achieve effective change. This type of therapy is often termed client-centered therapy.

Now that we have summarized the basic schools of thought that have shaped and continue to shape the mental health professions, let’s go back and note some other important occurrences in the growth of psychology.

Psychological Assessment

The scope of clinical psychology was broadened in 1905 to include the conducting of psychological assessments. There are various types of assessments utilized by psychologists; for example, intelligence tests, aptitude tests, and personality tests. A more detailed explanation of the history of intelligence testing can be found in the history section of Chapter 7 (School Psychologist). Briefly, know that first, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon developed what is now (after several refinements by others) the intelligence test or IQ test, which is purported to measure general intelligence. An IQ test is administered individually and the results are reported as a numerical score. An average score is 100 and the standard deviation of these tests is 15. On the other hand, aptitude tests (such as the ACT and SAT or the military ASVAB exam) measure one’s likely future ability to be proficient in a particular area or at a particular skill. These tests (while not without their flaws) began to get widespread use in the military during World War I and later in World War II. They were utilized to assist in the placement of soldiers into the most appropriate job duty.

Later, in 1921, Hermann Rorschach developed his personality test, the Rorschach inkblot test. His test and other personality inventories and tests that followed were designed to measure a person’s traits or characteristics that are stable across various situations. As stated, the advent of this type of measurement of human potential and personality opened many more doors for psychologists. Moreover, assessment and testing – intelligence, aptitude, and personality testing, among others – are one of the skills in the purview of clinical psychologists as well as school psychologists (Chapter 7). They continue to be one of the niches that make psychology different from some of the other mental health careers. That is, while other mental health professions may be trained in the use of a limited number of assessment measures, only psychologists are trained and licensed to conduct and interpret the results of all psychological assessment measures.

Treatment Issues

Another important thing that helped shaped psychology (as well as other mental health professions) was that in 1900 Clifford Beers, a Yale graduate who was employed in the insurance industry, made a suicide attempt, was hospitalized and diagnosed with manic depression. He found the conditions inside the mental institution in which he was housed deplorable. He wrote letters while in the hospital to state officials and then, in 1903 after he had been released, he wrote a book titled A Mind That Found Itself, which detailed the problems he saw inside the institution. The book was widely read and led to reforms in the way ment...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Unit 1: Career Essentials
• Unit 2: Strategies and Skills
• Conclusion
• Index
• End User License Agreement