Psychology is the science of human experience and behavior and human development. A subfield of applied psychology is clinical psychology, which deals with the study and treatment of mental disorders.
What is psychology?
A subfield of applied psychology is clinical psychology, which deals with the study and therapy of mental disorders. Basic fields of psychology include general psychology, which provides generally applicable theories on topics such as learning, emotions, and cognitions; biological psychology, which deals with processes in the brain and their effects; personality psychology, which examines personality traits; developmental psychology, which explores a person’s development from conception to death; and social psychology, which targets communication, interpersonal attraction, and group processes, among others. Important fields of applied psychology are clinical psychology, industrial and organizational psychology and educational psychology. In addition, there is psychological methodology, which deals with methods of empirical research, the diagnosis of psychological disorders, and the evaluation of psychological interventions.
Treatments and therapies
Clinical psychology is concerned with the cognitive, emotional, biological, and social bases of mental disorders and with the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of mental illness. A subfield of clinical psychology that is becoming increasingly important is behavioral medicine, also called psychosomatics. Behavioral medicine studies the psychological factors that play a role in the development, maintenance, and management of physical illness. In applied psychology, in addition to clinical psychology, health psychology has become established and is concerned with the prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of health. Important disorders that clinical psychology deals with are depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia. Mental disorders are one of the most common causes of long-term incapacity to work in Germany and are therefore increasingly seen as an important social problem. The risk of suffering from a mental illness in the course of one’s life is about 50%. The prevalence of mental disorders seems to be increasing – however, this may also be due to the fact that society is now more aware of these types of disorders and psychotherapies are also gaining more social acceptance. Important therapeutic methods in clinical psychology are behavioral therapy, conversational psychotherapy and depth psychology-based psychotherapy. Treatments with these three forms of therapy and – with restrictions – psychoanalysis are covered by health insurance. In addition, there are a variety of other therapeutic methods such as systemic therapy, Gestalt therapy, hypnotherapy, and music therapy, which, however, must be financed by the patients themselves – insofar as they are performed in private practices and not in an inpatient clinical setting.
Diagnosis and examination methods
Clinical psychology uses the World Health Organization (WHO) ICD-10 and the DSM to diagnose and classify mental disorders. The ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) is the most important classification system in medicine recognized worldwide. Chapter V classifies mental and behavioral disorders. The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is the classification system of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The current edition is the DSM-V, which was published in May 2013 – but only the DSM-IV-TR from 2000 is currently available in Germany. The DSM is used as a replacement for or a supplement to the ICD-10. In clinical psychology, the diagnosis is usually made during the initial therapeutic interview. With the help of the ICD-10 or the DSM, the psychotherapist or psychiatrist determines which mental disorder is present in the patient based on the information he or she receives from the patient.For example, a diagnosis of major depression is made when at least five of the nine symptoms listed in the DSM are present and have lasted for at least two weeks. For a diagnosis of major depression to be made, these symptoms must not be explainable by other mental or physical conditions or illnesses. The DSM is the most important classification and diagnostic manual in clinical psychology and, despite some criticisms, has stood the test of time in research and psychotherapeutic practice.
