Clinical Psychology the Field of Clinical Psychology

¶ … Clinical Psychology

The field of clinical psychology emerged as a viable method through which the theoretical foundations of cognitive studies could be effectively applied within the clinical setting to prevent and treat psychological syndromes. Derived from the first clinical psychology work conducted by Lightner Witmer in the late 19th century, and expanding throughout the 20th century as diagnostic tools were refined and classification systems for mental disorders were standardized, modern clinical psychology has been adapted to fulfill a niche within a whole host of divergent fields, including criminal justice, the social sciences and gender relations. Clinical psychologists premise their work on the use of empirical analysis to accurately investigate matters of cognitive processing, psychological assessment and mental illness, with the administration of personality tests, neurological scans and clinical interviews the most frequently utilized diagnostic resources. As clinical psychology expanded the base of knowledge pertaining to the human brain's highly refined system of functionality, as well as the dysfunction which so commonly afflicts the elderly and mentally ill, the field expanded into other practical applications such as family therapy, child psychopathology and gerontology. One of the most effective examples of clinical psychology being integrated within another field of study has occurred within the criminal justice system, as criminology, psychopathology and forensic psychology have all developed largely through the dedicated research of specialized clinical psychologists. By examining real world instances of clinical psychology being used in this specialized setting, including the use of research and statistics to inform law enforcement policymaking and criminal justice legislation, it is possible to examine the field within the context of its broader societal implications.

Human civilization has always been defined by the establishment of ethical codes, laws which individuals must obey for the greater good of society, and for every rule that mankind has devised there have been those willing to transgress. Criminal misconduct has remained a pervasive and prevalent issue across all cultures and historical eras, spanning the spectrum of age, gender and socioeconomic status, and the invariable commission of illicit acts demonstrates one of humanity's most enduring social dilemmas. Public officials, police forces and private citizens alike have routinely attempted to mitigate the consequences of crime through preventative measures, by anticipating offenses before they occur and incarcerating those who are most prone to engage in criminal activity. While the predictive power of personality profiles and prior behavior is well documented, other attributes like religious affiliation, ethnic identification and racial background are increasingly being used to extrapolate expected crime rates. The benefits of applying clinical psychology within the realm of criminal justice becoming increasingly clear, however, and in light of the prevailing research which holds that an individuals's personal psychological makeup is one of the primary predictors of both criminal conduct and the potential for treatment and rehabilitation of offenders (Blackburn, 1993), many law enforcement agencies have integrated clinical psychology into their overall departmental structure. When one considers the theoretical and empirical foundations of clinical practice and research on the subject of criminality, which is largely based on extrapolation of tendencies based on crime rate statistics and other forms of empirical data, the psychological approaches used by those who study criminology warrant further examination.

Former federal prosecutor and a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Andrew C. McCarthy encapsulated the pervading philosophy regarding racial background and criminal activity, stating flatly that "statistics have long been kept on crime, breaking it down in various ways, including by race and ethnicity. Some identifiable groups, considered as a group, commit crime at a rate that is higher than the national rate. Blacks are such a group. That is simply a fact" (2005). Considering our nation's regrettable history of inflicting human bondage on imported African slaves, and institutionalizing bigotry on their liberated descendants to deny them true freedom, it is not surprising that this practice of racial profiling by law enforcement agencies on the local, state and federal level has largely targeted African-Americans and other minority groups. A study conducted in 2001 by renowned criminal justice professor John L. Donahue III observed the consequences of this unwarranted police attention on ethnic minorities from the perspective of clinical psychology, noting that "African-Americans, who comprise 12% of the U.S. population, account for 47% of felony convictions and 54% of prison admissions" while referencing the wealth of studies which "suggest that one-third of African-American males aged 20 -- 29 are under the supervision of the criminal justice system on any given day" (Donahue and Levitt 367). The fact that African-Americans and other minority groups are arrested and incarcerated more frequently than Whites cannot be disputed, but astute observers and social activists have long suspected that this trend may actually be due to the intrinsic biases and prejudices of our nation's justice system. Clinical psychologists are capable of administering intricately designed personality tests through which relevant predictive behavioral patterns are identified. If a prospective police officer exhibits racially biased tendencies when responding to an objective clinical examination, their destructive presence can be successfully filtered from the acceptance process utilized by training academies, thus reducing the rate of falsified arrests which obviously inflate and distort minority-sorted crime statistics.