Saleem Akbar Asks: How to Identify a Professional Clinical Psychologist?
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The writer is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist.
In Pakistan, amongst general medical conditions, around 4% of the total are actually individuals suffering from one or the other mental condition, and the majority among them are women. Furthermore, it is estimated that 24 million people in Pakistan are in need of some form of psychological assistance, like counselling, psychotherapy, family counselling, supportive intervention or rehabilitation services. However, the required resources like qualified professionals, proper psychological clinics, customised services and long-term support seem to be unavailable to a common person. If some resources are available, they are unaffordable or inaccessible, even in advanced cities of Pakistan. Most people may visit general physicians or medical specialists who refer them further for psychiatric or psychological consultation, while some others may end up finding unauthentic faith healers or non-credible practitioners.
People are generally unaware of the difference between a psychiatrist and a Clinical Psychologist. A Psychiatrist is a medical practitioner specialised in psychiatry, just like some others may be in paediatrics or pulmonology. A Clinical Psychologist, on the other hand, has a degree in clinical psychology with specialised training and practice in dealing with mental conditions, usually after supervised training in some psychiatric or psychological facility. A psychiatrist takes the respective of some medical/neurological malfunction in brain functioning referring to an imbalance of neurotransmitters for which the medicine is prescribed. A clinical psychologist takes the perspective of the possibility of developmental processes and cognitive functioning, considering a person’s life experiences and personality type, which is helped out through talk therapy and supportive interventions. Both perspectives complement each other if someone needs psychological support in addition to medication, a psychiatrist may refer them to a psychologist and vice versa.
The search for an authentic and qualified clinical psychologist is crucial these days, especially after the recent wave of COVID-19 and the stressful challenges of daily life for almost everyone. There are two important criteria to make sure of while looking for a clinical psychologist, first is the academic qualification and background for which a professional should have a PhD in Clinical Psychology or at least Masters in the same field. There are some fields of psychology like counselling, educational, organisational, forensic and others; however, they may provide services relevant to their fields very effectively but cannot be referred to as Clinical psychologists. The second criterion is a professional’s background of practice, and one should have an association or practising experience in Clinical setups with the job description of handling mental health conditions through psychological therapies and intervention modalities.
