developmental levels, including infants, toddlers,
school-aged youth, and adolescents. Clinical
child/adolescent psychologists may work as practi-
tioners, in academia as professors, or in a variety of
settings (e.g., universities, medical centers, counsel-
ing centers) in which research, teaching, and/or
clinical work is possible.
Examples of Clinical Child/Adolescent Psychology
Research and Clinical Work. Much of the work
done by clinical child/adolescent psychologists can
be organized into general themes of psychological
symptoms:
Externalizing disorders (e.g., conduct disorder,
oppositional defiant disorder, ADHD)
Internalizing disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression)
Mental retardation and pervasive developmental
disorders (e.g., autism)
Serious mental illness (e.g., childhood schizo-
phrenia, bipolar disorder)
For each disorder, there are bodies of literature
that examine:
a. Causes and consequences of symptoms, including
(1) the study of individual biological, cognitive,
and social factors that may be associated with
symptoms; and (2) the study of family, peer,
school, community, or cultural factors that may
affect the onset, presentation, maintenance, or
reduction of symptoms
b. Efficacious and effective modes of treatment
(i.e., different theoretical orientations), includ-
ing factors that may modify treatment efficacy
or specific therapist and client behaviors that
affect the outcome of therapy
c. Prevention strategies
d. Comorbidity
e. Increasingly, research in this area has integrated
findings on biological, neurological, and
genetic factors that may interact with psycho-
social factors in the course of each disorder.
A good idea is to visit the Web site for the
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
(www.jccap.net) or theJournal of Abnormal Child
Psychology(http://www.springerlink.com/content/
104756/), or to examine these journals using the
PsycInfo tool at your university’s Web site. Read
over the titles and abstracts of some recent issues,
and you will get a good sense for the kind of work
that clinical child/adolescent psychologists do.
Clinical Adult Psychology. Much like clinical
child/adolescent psychology, clinical adult psychol-
ogy also generally is concerned with psychopathol-
ogy; however, the population of interest typically is
above 18 years of age. Psychologists interested in
working with the elderly specifically may focus on
geropsychology. Clinical adult psychologists represent
the majority of all clinical psychologists, although
interest in the three subfields of clinical psychology
has been becoming more evenly distributed in
recent years. Like clinical child/adolescent psychol-
ogists, clinical adult psychologists may work in a
variety of settings (e.g., universities, medical centers,
counseling centers) in which research, teaching,
and/or clinical work is possible.
Examples of Clinical Adult Psychology Research
and Clinical Work. Clinical adult psychologists’
work also is often divided by disorder and diagnosis.
Perhaps the most common themes of research and
clinical work in clinical adult psychology include:
Mood and anxiety disorders (e.g., OCD, pho-
bias, depression)
Axis II (personality) disorders (e.g., borderline,
narcissism, antisocial)
Substance use disorders—sometimes included
in clinical health psychology
Eating disorders—sometimes included in clin-
ical health psychology
Serious mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder)
For each disorder, there are bodies of literature
that examine:
a. Causes and consequences of symptoms, including
(1) the study of individual biological, cognitive,
and social factors that may be associated
with symptoms; and (2) the study of family,
community, or cultural factors that may affectA PRIMER FOR APPLYING TO GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 569