Psychology is a science that has emerged with the need to know and understand the human being, over time several specialties have been developed, which have been developed according to the field of study in which they concentrate, it is in this context that we talk about the difference between clinical psychology and neuropsychology.
With the emergence of different approaches, the specialization and number of problems we face has also increased, so this article will try to show the difference between clinical psychology and neuropsychology.
- Many consider that clinical psychology was born in 1896 by Lightner Witmer.
- When he founded the first psychology clinic; this new branch was consolidated with the founding of the American Psychological Association.
- Now known as APA.
Initially, the goal of clinical psychology was to investigate the internal traits or factors that would lead people to develop a psychopathological state. She did so by studying not only her own condition, but also the factors that control and intervene in this type of behavior.
Following this line, this approach to psychology has emerged as a study of the “abnormal” and therefore its field of action has developed from the explanation and treatment of what is affected.
Over time, recovery has not only begun to take centre stage, but also the prevention of the development of mental illness, so work has begun on techniques to prevent the development of pathologies by transmitting healthy mental habits.
In addition, so-called “counselling therapy” has begun to be implemented, in which people learn to solve their problems effectively, highlighting the situations that may arise in their daily lives. As a result, emotional support begins.
Neuropsychology officially emerged in the early twentieth century from the hand of AR Luria, who in his research has developed techniques to study the behavior of people with a certain type of central nervous system injury.
These studies provided neurologists with sufficient data to locate the location and extent of the injury, finding the best procedure for intervention.
With this principle, his work focuses on people who have brain damage, resulting in a change in cognitive functions, so this approach aims to evaluate and rehabilitate cognitive and behavioral functions, currently working not only with people who have suffered harm, but also with children who have neural developmental difficulties.
Basically, clinical psychology works for the diagnosis and treatment of emotional, personality and behavioral disorders, so it is responsible for working on problems such as depression, anxiety, among others, and can provide tools for managing behavioral disorders, such as hyperactivity.
In the field of prevention, clinical psychology is responsible for teaching:
All this is done so that the person knows himself and adequately develops the social and cognitive spheres, as a result, a better quality of life can be developed.
The difference between clinical psychology and neuropsychology lies in the role they play in the clinical context, the latter is responsible for evaluating the cognitive and emotional functioning associated with brain changes, in the same way develops rehabilitation processes of superior functions, so that the person can develop their autonomy and maintain their quality of life.
Therefore, the neuropsychologist often focuses on people with memory problems, attention, practice, gnosia, language and executive functions, as well as working on cognitive aspects related to mental illness, such as schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The objectives of rehabilitation include both the recovery of the injured and the stimulation of functions to develop properly, so strategies must be found to compensate for functions that cannot be recovered.
Currently, one of the areas of research in clinical psychology focuses on deepening and understanding psychopathological disorders, and does so to find the differences between people who behave according to what society asks for and those who do not.
Similarly, he tries to understand and more deeply theorize the personal development of individuals, so his study focuses on the factors that may predispose the person to develop an emotional disorder.
Another research approach is psychotherapy, in this case they want to find tools to improve the way they diagnose and treat emotional disorders, so they want to develop tools that are more accurate and adapted to each disorder.
On the other hand, neuropsychology focuses its research on different aspects, on the one hand, they are beginning to work side by side with cognitive neuroscience, to understand the role of superior cognitive functions in the development of psychiatric and psychological pathologies. it also aims to help develop strategies for a more effective cure for these disorders.
In addition, scans have focused on understanding the consequences of people with neuro developmental issues, so the study focuses on pathologies that have been found associated with brain developmental issues, such as autism and ADHD.
Finally, neuropsychological rehabilitation is also a focus, here they want to integrate more and more technological tools to better adapt therapies to reality, with this it is planned to improve the results, since the activities can be developed much closer to the daily life of children. the patient.
It is important to note that these two specialties, although distinct, are complementary in both clinical practice and research, so the diagnosis and proper treatment of any type of psychological or neuropsychological disease should include the perspective of both specialties, that is, they complement each other to achieve the objective of granting autonomy and quality of life to the person.
Still, there are differences between clinical psychology and neuropsychology, it is important to understand that each of them specializes in different clinical contexts, that is, one is responsible for emotional and behavioral disorders and the other focuses on cognitive deficits and brain damage.
Finally, research follows different paths, focusing on aspects relevant to each; However, advances in both areas will help find better tools or explanations for various aspects of mental health.