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Clinical psychology is not a unified 'school' of psychology. A clinical psychologist might be a non-directive, Rogerian psychologist, emphasizing that the client must find out what is bothering him or her and interfering with self-actualization. A behaviorist might suggest a complex system of rewards and punishments to a parent when helping a child with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) cope with the rigors of the classroom. But while a clinical psychologist may help a client better to adjust to society, the psychologist is not treating a larger 'system' as a whole, and his or her ultimate duty is to the client -- including confidentiality obligations, unless the client is a danger to him or herself or others (Clinical psychology, 2010). Or an expert defense witness might describe the mitigating post-traumatic stress a defendant experienced as in the case of a battered woman who murdered her husband, or the lack of full rational capacity of a developmentally disabled adult facing the death penalty for murder. But even in these contexts, however partisan the forensic psychologist might be in his or her convictions, the psychologist always operates within the legal system. The fascination of forensic psychology -- and its challenge -- is that the psychologist must obey the rules and constraints that govern that system, as well as his or her own professional ethics, guidelines, and personal convictions.
This is not to say that forensic psychologists are callous or do not have individual client's needs at heart: they play an invaluable role, for example, in helping family courts determine what is the best course of action in determining custody of a child (Franklin 2006). Within the context of civil and criminal courts, expert forensic psychologists may act as de facto 'advocates' for plaintiffs or defendants, testifying to the
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References
Clinical psychology. (2010). The American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary. Retrieved July 03, 2010, from Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/clinical-psychology-2
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (2010) All
Psych. Retrieved July 03, 2010,
http://allpsych.com/disorders/dsm.html
http://www.psychologyinfo.com/forensic/
Profiling or Guessing- the role of criminal profiling is certainly one in the popular press and media. Television shows such as CSI or Bones bring the task of forensics into the mainstream living room, but these shows tend to focus more on the sexier forms of criminology as opposed to the gray area of forensic psychology. A professional forensic psychologist, though, understands that a typical profile is not meant to
Forensic Psychology From the perspective of the forensic psychiatrist, suicide as a cause of death is particularly important in terms of its preventability. In many forensic settings, prior risk assessment for potential suicide victims can assist the psychiatrist in not only saving the lives of potential victims, but also in resolving crimes, preventing future crimes, or at the very least save uncountable grief and heartache to the families involved. The article
This contribution towards the evolution of this field gives more credence and attention to these practices, making this award important for everyone involved. The education system is the starting point for many important subjects such as forensic psychology. The importance of making this particular discipline accepted and official allows the followers and subsidiaries of these streams of information a guide path to elaborate on their own studies on the matter.
Personal Qualities I believe I possess a number of personality traits that are relevant to my career goals of becoming a lead forensics psychologist and earning a PhD in clinical psychology. Foremost among these is the fact that I am hard-working in both the intellectual and physical sense of the term. As a result of my solid work ethic, I am goal oriented and extremely driven to succeed in my aforementioned
Forensic Psychology According to the American Psychological Association (2013), forensic psychology is the application of clinical specialties to the legal arena. Forensic psychology combines the practice of psychology and the practice of law. A professional working in this field will use their psychological expertise and apply it to the judicial system. The interest of the forensic psychologist is to understand why certain behaviors occur and to also assist in minimizing and
" (Linder, 1) By and large, Simpson's history would support the argument which might have been levied by forensics psychologists that, in addition to the circumstantial evidence connecting him to the murders and his suspect behavioral pattern at the inception of the investigation, Simpson did have a behavioral history that suggests mental illness and the psychological makeup to commit the double-homicide. Quite certainly, indications of his temperament, of his tendency toward