Clinical psychologists commonly work with people who present because they have difficulty adapting to irreversible and life-changing adverse circumstances (for example, physical disability, physical illness, or a major bereavement - and so on). Psychological intervention is aimed at helping the individual to find more adaptive ways of coping with their adversity. Clinical psychologists should be able to draw on knowledge of factors (such as risk and resilience) that can help them to understand the different ways in which individuals react to adverse events, and the form of presentation that results. As such it is important for trainees to gain experience which allows them to demonstrate an ability to draw on knowledge of the impact of adverse circumstances on mental health, and especially the factors which underlie the different ways in which individuals react to these events, when undertaking assessments, deriving formulations and planning interventions.
Close