The psychology of Lightner Witmer.

Discusses the work of Lightner Witmer (1867–1956), whose recognition of the need to treat "mentally and morally retarded" children led him to establish the first psychological clinic in the US at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896. The following topics are addressed: background and biographical information, Witmer's 4 areas of practical work (statistical and clinical investigation; establishment of a clinic and school; practical opportunities for those in teaching, medicine, and social work; and training of psychological experts), services offered by the clinic (diagnosis, assessment, and treatment), and Witmer's theories regarding the nature of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lightner Witmer and the first 100 years of clinical psychology.

linical psychology has developed over its first century in certain ways that Lightner Witmer's work anticipated. These include clinicians' emphases on trying to help individuals and on collaboration with physicians and other professionals and at least some continued emphasis on children 's academic problems. In other respects, the field developed along lines Witmer did not anticipate: Clinical psychology as it developed emphasized first the IQ, then other kinds of testing, including projective and neuropsychological assessment, and most recently clinical psychology has emphasized psychotherapy with adults more than children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lightner Witmer: A centennial tribute.

Clinical psychology had its origins 100 years ago when Lightner Witmer, at the University of Pennsylvania, established the first psychological clinic. Witmer was later responsible for a number of other key contributions to clinical psychology, including giving the discipline its name and founding its first journal. Although the field has advanced greatly since Witmer's pioneering period, the basic values that he espoused continue to characterize the profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lightner Witmer: Father and grandfather?

Comments on P. McReynolds' (see record 83-24764) view of L. Witmer's role in establishing clinics for vocational guidance and for the personal problems of college students also meriting acknowledgement as a precursor of counseling psychology. McWhirter and McWhirter ask the question that in addition to his status as the father of clinical psychology, might Witmer be granted status as the grandfather of industrial/organizational and counseling psychology as well? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Witmer on comparative psychology.

Comments on P. McReynolds's (see record 1988-03153-001) discussion of L. Witmer's role in clinical psychology, noting that Witmer (1909, 1910) also made contributions to comparative psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction: Lightner Witmer's Legacy to American psychology.

Presents an overview of the legacy and contribution of Lightner Witmer (1867–1956) to the field of applied psychology. Many psychologists, beyond isolated fact, know little about Witmer or his work as a psychologist. Witmer, who began the world's first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896, is credited for the radical contribution to the course of psychology's development, especially in the fields of clinical and educational psychology. Some contemporary historians have minimized Witmer's role in the history of psychology arguing that his version of clinical psychology failed to anticipate fully psychological practice independent of medicine. Witmer's legacy was to define and enact a social role for psychology and his prescient contributions established him as a signficant pioneer in the history of American psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lightner Witmer's legacy.

Comments on J. Seeman's (se PA, Vol 42:18124) article about L. Witmer, which suggests that the beginnings of clinical psychology are rooted in the behavioral science tradition. Witmer's legacy and different implications of his work and philosophy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

William L. Stern, 1871–1938: A neglected founder of developmental psychology.

William L. Stern was born in 1871 in Berlin, Germany, and died in 1938 in Durham, North Carolina. Educated at Berlin University, he developed very early a theoretical view to overcome the fundamental split in the academic psychology of his time, between elementarism and wholism on the one hand and environmentalism and nativism on the other. Besides inventing such well-known concepts as IQ, differential psychology, and the nomothetic–idiographic approach, Stern put much effort into developing a personalistic psychology that emphasized both the individual's active role and the importance of context in development. This article focuses on Stern's main contributions to developmental psychology: the activity–reactivity tension in the developing individual; the concept of proximal space, Stern's idea of the location of exchange between the person and the environment; and an alternative conception to children's egocentrism. Parallels to today's concepts are drawn. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Military clinical psychology.

"The purpose of this paper is to outline the present role and structure of clinical psychology in the Army." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology and clinical psychology: Some preliminary comparative data.

Comments on L. F. Fitzgerald and S. H. Osipow's (see record 1986-25640-001) occupational analysis and statements regarding the lack of empirical bases to distinguish counseling psychologists from clinical psychologists by presenting findings from the present authors' own comparison of survey data from 716 counseling psychologists and 479 clinical psychologists. These data reveal several similarities and differences regarding counseling and clinical psychologists' theoretical orientations, occupational environments, amount of time devoted to specific professional and psychotherapeutic activities, and identification with a practitioner role. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Career change within psychology: Retraining nonclinical psychologists in clinical psychology.

Collected the 1st reported empirical data concerning opportunities for career changes within psychology. 124 directors of American Psychological Association-approved clinical and counseling programs were asked, via questionnaire, if they would consider for clinical training students with backgrounds in general–experimental psychology. Of the clinical program directors, 13% answered Yes, 37% No, and 42% Under special circumstances. Of the counseling program directors, 48% answered Yes, 9% No, and 26% Under special circumstances. Seven university programs are discussed that provide a 2-yr program of clinical training for persons from nonclinical areas. Recommendations are made concerning future developments in this area of career change. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology in clinical health psychology: The impact of specialty perspective.

Not all clinical health psychologists are trained as clinical psychologists. A significant minority is trained and identifies as counseling psychologists. As a field, it is important to understand how the specialty-specific values, training context, scholarship, and parameters of practice of counseling psychology contribute to clinical health psychology. In this article, we (a) identify the core values and training context of counseling psychology, (b) review the scholarly history of clinical health psychology by counseling psychologists, (c) present the parameters of practice of clinical health psychology as identified from the extant counseling psychology literature, and (d) examine American Psychological Association membership status to investigate joint membership in the Division of Health Psychology and the Society of Counseling Psychology. Conclusions indicate that (a) an identifiable set of core values guides the training of counseling psychologists, (b) scholarly literature by counseling psychologists has contributed to the growth and development of clinical health psychology, and (c) parameters of practice reflect the specialty-specific perspective of counseling psychology. As professional psychology continues to grow as a health care profession, clinical health psychology will benefit from the knowledge, values, attitudes, competencies, and practice parameters of counseling psychology, and counseling psychology will benefit from recognizing what it brings to the practice of clinical health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A clinical psychology minor.

Survey results from 80 directors of clinical psychology (CLP) programs show that 17 Ss permitted graduate students majoring in other areas to take a minor in CLP. Five programs did not meet the definition of a minor in CLP, but the other 12 programs admitted nonclinical students into a CLP minor complete with practica. Such minor programs may warrant attention during review for accreditation from the American Psychological Association. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward professional clinical psychology.

"The immediate task confronting clinical psychology is to obtain recognition for its competence. The important thing for clinical psychologists to keep in mind is that we must determine now whether we shall serve a prime or an ancillary role… . If we vigorously and realistically pursue recognition for our competence, our role will be a prime one. Competence, therefore, is our concern, and it is associated with professional status. Many tests of professionalism confront us. The past 2 decades have produced a fantastic increase in the numbers of clinical psychologists who provide psychotherapy and psychodiagnosis in both institutional and private settings." Postdoctoral training institutes, preventive procedures, and brief treatment techniques are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Automaticity in clinical psychology.

The authors provide an overview of the literature on the ability of response expectancies to elicit automatic responses in the form of self-fulfilling prophecies and link it to the broader psychological investigation of automatic processes. The authors review 3 areas of research in which response expectancies have been shown to affect experience, behavior, and physiology: placebo effects, the effects of false biofeedback on sexual arousal, and the alteration of perceptual and cognitive functions by hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestion. Also reviewed are data suggesting that all behavior, including novel and intentional behavior, is initiated automatically. Following this review, the authors summarize some of the ways in which knowledge of response expectancy effects and other automatic processes that influence experience and behavior can enhance clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Respecialization in clinical psychology.

Surveyed 371 departments that offer graduate programs in psychology to determine their current respecialization efforts. Program directors from 43 departments indicated that they are currently involved in respecialization efforts, 26 of these in clinical psychology. A 2nd questionnaire was sent to the 149 students identified as having been involved in clinical respecialization, and responses were received from 65. Results show that students and program directors agreed about the feasibility and success of respecialization efforts. Students felt that they performed significantly better in coursework than did regular clinical students on internships and significantly better in their jobs. It is important for the profession that additional opportunities for such training be made available. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal clinical psychology: An immodest reply.

Supplements the remarks of D. S. Tuber, D. Hothersall and V. L. Voith (see record 1975-06899-001) on the emerging field of animal clinical psychology. Specifically noted are the clients involved, the client as a change agent, supply and demand, and protection of the public. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal clinical psychology: A modest proposal.

Describes initial experiences in the development of a field of applied animal psychology dealing with the behavioral problems of pet animals. A team approach is suggested where (a) the pet's problem is analyzed; (b) a remedial training program based on classical and operant conditioning is used; (c) the owner is instructed in the implementation of the program; and (d) a follow-up assessment of the procedure's effectiveness is proposed. The case histories of 3 dogs with behavioral problems are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antiprofessionalism in clinical psychology.

Comments on how the lack of formal academic training and supervised experience being offered in graduate training in psychology may discredit the professionalism of the field. The skills learned by graduate students in clinical psychology, because they lack hard-core content, may even be performed by lay people without any college education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An asocial psychology and a misdirected clinical psychology.

Discusses psychology's emphasis on the individual organism, an emphasis that ill prepared psychology in the post-World War II period for the public arena. One of the consequences for clinical psychology was that it became embroiled in the traditions of American medicine. The adverse effects of this are explored and discussed. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)