When choosing a therapy provider, you have many choices, including clinical psychologists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists. All these professions are solid choices, with high training, education, and expertise standards. A clinical psychologist specializes in diagnosing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. We use a variety of therapeutic techniques to help individuals cope with issues such as anxiety, depression, stress, and other psychological challenges. We use many approaches, and I will go over what a humanistic psychologist, a cognitive psychologist, and a Gestalt psychologist do since these are the approaches I commonly use.
I am a clinical psychologist, and this post is designed to help you understand what that means regarding my professional and educational background.
Clinical Psychologist Overview
Here is a general overview of what it means to be a clinical psychologist:
Clinical Psychologist Education and Training
Clinical psychologists hold a doctoral degree in psychology (Ph.D. or Psy.D.), which they earn after three years of formal study, around 1600 hours of pre-degree supervised training, and 2000 hours of post-degree clinical training. A clinical psychologist who wants to practice independently, as I do, must also get an additional 2000 hours of supervised training and pass a rigorous licensing exam. This ensures we have appropriate assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and delivery expertise.
Even after getting their license, a clinical psychologist must get continuing education hours to stay up-to-date on the latest treatment methods, ethical considerations, and practice standards. The number of hours varies by state. I usually get 10-20 hours of new educational experiences per year.
Clinical Psychologist Key Roles
Key roles and responsibilities of a clinical psychologist include:
1. Assessment and Diagnosis: Evaluating patients through interviews, psychological tests, and observations to diagnose mental health conditions.
2. Therapy and Treatment: Providing individual, group, or family therapy using evidence-based therapeutic approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, and others. I cover three major categories of these approaches in the sections that follow
3. Research: Conducting scientific research to understand mental health conditions and improve therapeutic techniques. While I do not participate in clinical research much, I do benefit from the great work of others as I design my practice methods.
4. Consultation: We provide expert advice on psychological issues to other healthcare professionals, organizations, or institutions. I have done a substantial amount of this type of work in my career, including supervising other therapists.
5. Education and Training: I have also done a significant amount of this work in the past, teaching and supervising students and trainees in psychology.
We do not prescribe medication; instead, we collaborate with psychiatrists and other medical professionals who can provide pharmacological treatment if necessary.
As a clinical psychologist, I have worked in various settings, including hospitals, academic institutions, and community health centers. Currently, I work in my private practice, and I also founded and run a psychological testing practice.
A Humanistic Psychologist
A humanistic psychologist is a professional who practices an approach that emphasizes people’s inherent goodness, the importance of free will, and the human potential for personal growth and self-actualization. Humanistic psychology arose in the mid-20th century as a reaction to the limitations of psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Those approaches were seen as too deterministic and reductionist. Key figures in the development of humanistic psychology include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. I am a humanistic psychologist since this approach encompasses my integrated practice.
Humanistic Theory
The following are the principles that a humanistic psychologist adheres to
- Self-Actualization: Realizing and fulfilling one’s potential and capabilities is a cornerstone of humanism. Abraham Maslow described it as the highest level of psychological development where personal growth and peak experiences are achieved.
- Holistic Approach: A humanistic psychologist views the individual as a whole person rather than just a collection of behaviors or a repository of unconscious drives. This approach considers a person’s physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions.
- Free Will and Personal Responsibility: This concept emphasizes that individuals have the power to make choices and are responsible for their actions and the direction of their lives.
- Positive Regard: Carl Rogers introduced the concept of unconditional positive regard, in which a humanistic psychologist provides a nonjudgmental, accepting environment that fosters client growth and self-discovery.
- Authenticity: A humanistic psychologist encourages individuals to be true to themselves and live according to their values and beliefs.
Humanistic Psychologist Therapeutic Approaches
A humanistic psychologist focuses on the individual’s subjective experience and personal growth. Key therapeutic approaches include:
- Client-Centered Therapy: Developed by Carl Rogers, this approach involves creating a supportive and empathetic environment where clients feel accepted and understood, allowing them to explore and resolve their issues.
- Existential Therapy: Focuses on exploring the human condition, including themes such as meaning, freedom, isolation, and mortality. This approach helps individuals confront and embrace the realities of existence.
- Gestalt Therapy: Although it has its roots in Gestalt psychology, it shares many principles with humanistic psychology, such as focusing on the present moment and personal responsibility. I will cover this approach more in the next section.
A humanistic psychologist might work in various settings, including private practices, counseling centers, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities. Our primary goal is to help individuals achieve greater self-awareness, self-acceptance, and personal fulfillment.
Gestalt Psychologist
A Gestalt psychologist specializes in a school of thought that focuses on understanding the human mind and behavior as a whole. Gestalt psychology emerged in the early 20th century, primarily through the work of psychologists Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka. A Gestalt psychologist emphasizes that the mind perceives objects as part of a greater whole and as elements of more complex systems rather than isolated parts.
Gestalt Theory
A Gestalt psychologist uses the following rules to interpret human thinking and behavior:
- The law of Prägnanz states that people will perceive and interpret ambiguous or complex images in the simplest form(s) possible. This principle is also known as the law of simplicity.
- Figure-ground perception refers to distinguishing an object (the figure) from its background (the ground).
- Proximity refers to objects that are close to each other and tend to be perceived as a group.
- Similarity suggests that objects with similar appearance are often perceived as part of the same group.
- Closure means the mind fills in missing information to create a complete, whole object.
- Continuity refers to the preference for continuous figures rather than disjointed ones.
Gestalt Psychologist Therapeutic Approaches
A Gestalt psychologist applies these principles to understand how people perceive visual stimuli, solve problems, and interpret their experiences. In therapy, A Gestalt psychologist focuses on the individual’s experience in the present moment and the context of their environment.
Gestalt therapy, developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman, emphasizes personal responsibility and encourages clients to experience and become aware of their thoughts, emotions, and actions in the here and now. A Gestalt psychologist uses a therapeutic approach involving experiential techniques such as role-playing, dialogue, and creative expression to help individuals gain self-awareness and insight into their behaviors and relationships.
Cognitive Psychologist
A cognitive psychologist is a professional who studies mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, and language. Cognitive psychology focuses on how people understand, think, and remember information. It emerged as a major field in psychology during the mid-20th century, influenced by computer science, linguistics, and neuroscience developments. Usually, when people seek a cognitive psychologist, they refer to a desire for cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which many of us commonly use.
Cognitive Theory
A cognitive psychologist uses the following framework in understanding human behavior and emotions:
- Perception refers to how people interpret sensory information to understand the environment. This includes visual and auditory processing used to make sense of a situation.
- Memory is the process involved in encoding, storing, and retrieving information. This includes short-term memory, long-term memory, and working memory. All of these processes affect perception.
- Attention is how people focus on specific stimuli while ignoring others. Selective attention affects cognitive processes.
- Language refers to how people understand, produce, and use language. This includes the study of syntax, semantics, and language development and involves what we say aloud and to ourselves.
- Problem-solving and decision-making is how people approach and solve problems, make decisions, and evaluate options.
- Learning involves acquiring new knowledge and skills, including classical and operant conditioning and more complex forms of learning.
A Cognitive Psychologist uses various methods to understand the underlying mechanisms of cognitive processes in the people they serve. Their work has applications in various fields, including education, artificial intelligence, cognitive therapy, and human-computer interaction.
Cognitive Psychologist Therapeutic Approaches
Overall, a cognitive psychologist aims to understand how the mind works and apply this knowledge to improve human functioning in various aspects of life. A cognitive psychologist who does not provide therapy may work to conduct research to advance theoretical knowledge in cognitive psychology, develop and test interventions to improve cognitive functions, such as memory training programs for older adults, or work in applied settings, such as designing user-friendly interfaces or educational programs based on principles of cognitive psychology.
A cognitive psychologist like me who provides therapy uses cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which combines principles of cognitive psychology with behavioral therapy to treat anxiety, depression, and other challenges.
My Integrated Practice
I am a clinical psychologist who uses all three of the above specialties in my integrated practice. I’d be happy to talk to you if you’d like to learn how my approach might work for you, whether you are looking for individual therapy, couples treatment, or family therapy. I also use these techniques in several specialty areas, including my work with college students, executive coaching, and sports psychology. These approaches can be used virtually and in person so that I can deliver services to many states in the U.S. If a different profession might better serve you, I’d be happy to refer you.
Feel free to contact me or schedule a consultation anytime.
