Historical Events and Early Pioneers in the Field of Clinical Psychology
Topic: Historical Events and Early Pioneers
The term clinical psychology was first used in print in 1907 by Lightner Witmer, who also founded the first psychological clinic in 1896. This was a shift in focus from studying psychology to practicing psychology (applying it to people's problems). Prior to this new focus, a movement toward better and more humane treatment of those with psychological problems was underway. In this discussion, you will describe the contributions of these early pioneers that paved the way for the development of the field or that contributed to the early beginnings of the field.
For this discussion, choose one of the early pioneers discussed in Chapter 2 of the Pomerantz (2019) text (William Tuke, Phillipe Pinel, Eli Todd, Dorothea Dix, Lightner Witmer, Emil Kraepelin, Edward Thorndike, Alfred Binet, or Hermann Rorschach). Review the information about the individual you choose in the text. Then find one other scholarly source that gives additional detail about their work and contributions to the field. Based on information from both the text and your additional source, please discuss the following:
Describe the contributions of this individual to the field of clinical psychology.
Discuss any conflicts, social forces, or historical trends during the time of the individual's life and work that influenced their contributions to the field.
Based on what you have learned, discuss how the work of this individual influenced the development of the field of clinical psychology.
References:
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
(5th ed.), (DSM-5-TR). https://dsm-psychiatryonline-org(dot)libauth(dot)purdueglobal(dot)edu/
Chau, H. S., Chong, W. S., Wong, J. G. W. S., Hung, G. B. K., Lui, S. S. Y., Chan, S. K. W.,
Chang, W. C., Hui, C. L. M., Lee, E. H. M., McGorry, P. D., Jones, P. B., & Chen, E. Y.
H. (2018). Early intervention for incipient insanity: Early notions from the 19th century
English literature. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 12(4), 708–714.
https://doi(dot)org/10.1111/eip.12355
Cooper, R., & Blashfield, R. K. (2016). Re-evaluating DSM-I. Psychological Medicine, 46(3),
449–456. https://www-proquestcom.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/docview/1750378860?accountid=34544
Pomerantz, A. M. (2019). Clinical psychology: Science, practice, and diversity (5th ed.). Sage.
Unit 2 Discussion: Historical Events and Early Pioneers
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The contemporary field of clinical psychology is attributed to early pioneers who played a central role in its development. Lighter Witmer (1867-1956) was a pioneering American Psychological Association (APA) member, where he played a significant role in its founding. He laid the earliest foundation of clinical psychology by establishing the first clinical in 1896 in Pennsylvania. Witmer and his colleagues worked in this clinic with children whose psychological issues developed in school environments and were associated with behavior or learning difficulties. Witmer emphasized the need to apply clinical psychology to adults and children, or rather to problems that were not related to schooling. He also established the first academic journal with the term “clinical psychology” and created a corresponding definition and explanation, contributing to its growth and existence (Pomerantz, 2019).
During Witmer’s era, clinical psychologists never engaged in preventive social action to augment community mental health outcomes. As the American clinical psychology founder, Witmer prompted a paradi...
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