Clinical Psychology

Professions and Titles Not Regulated by the Government

Most of the professionals and paraprofessionals listed
above have fulfilled specific educational requirements
and licensing requirements regulated by state and pro-
vincial governments. In other words, these mental
health workers must (1) document that they have
obtained appropriate professional training; (2) pass a
licensing exam indicating familiarity with current
practice parameters, ethical regulations, and state
laws; (3) and maintain their current knowledge of
the field through ongoing educational requirements
(i.e., continuing professional education). However,
some titles are not regulated by the government
(e.g.,“therapist,”“psychotherapist”), and virtually
anyone can offer services using this title. Unfortu-
nately, some members of the public are not aware
of this distinction and may confuse the services offered
by a professional with other unregulated services.
Now that we have briefly examined some of
the other helping professions, let us turn to the
work of the clinical psychologist.

The Clinical Psychologist

It is extraordinarily difficult to list comprehensively
all of the issues and symptoms that are relevant to
the field of clinical psychology. The number and

kinds of problems are so extensive as to boggle

the mind: depression, anxiety, psychosis, personality

disorders, mental retardation, addictions, learning

disabilities, conduct disorder, attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder, pervasive developmental dis-

orders, suicide, vocational problems, and sexual dif-

ficulties—to name but a few. Further, this list does

not cover those individuals who seek out psycho-

therapy not because of current dysfunctional symp-

toms, but as a way to better understand themselves.

Instead of defining clinical psychology in terms

of problems or issues clinical psychologists are asked

to address, we will try to give a picture of the field by

reviewing the activities engaged in by clinical

psychologists.

Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Much of our information about clinical activities

comes from a series of studies conducted between

1973 and 2003. Each study involved a random sam-

ple of members of Division 12 (Division of Clinical

Psychology) of the American Psychological Associ-

ation (APA). Garfield and Kurtz (1976) examined

more than 800 questionnaires collected in 1973;

Norcross and Prochaska (1982) analyzed nearly

500 surveys gathered in 1981; Norcross, Prochaska,

and Gallagher (1989b) were able to analyze 579

questionnaires from 1986; Norcross, Karg, and

Prochaska (1997a, 1997b) surveyed 546 clinical

T A B L E 1-1 Clinicians’Activities

Percentage involved in Mean percentage of time

Activity 1995 2003 1973 1981 1986 1995 2003

Psychotherapy 84 80 31 35 35 37 34

Diagnosis/Assessment 74 64 10 13 16 15 15

Teaching 50 49 14 12 14 09 10

Clinical Supervision 62 50 08 08 11 07 06

Research/Writing 47 51 07 08 15 10 14

Consultation 54 47 05 a 07 11 07 07

Administration 52 53 13 13 16 11 13
aGarfield and Kurtz percentage is for“community consultation.”
SOURCE: Adapted from Norcross, J. C., Karpiak, C. P., & Santoro, S. O. (2005). Clinical psychologists across the years: The Division of Clinical Psychology from
1960 to 2003.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61 , 1467–1483.

12 CHAPTER 1