Archival Description of Clinical Child Psychology

Clinical Child Psychology is a specialty of professional psychology which brings together the basic tenets of clinical psychology with a thorough background in child, adolescent and family development and developmental psychopathology. Clinical child and adolescent psychologists conduct scientific research and provide psychological services to infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents. The research and practices of Clinical Child Psychology are focused on understanding, preventing, diagnosing, and treating psychological, cognitive, emotional, developmental, behavioral, and family problems of children. Of particular importance to clinical child and adolescent psychologists is a scientific understanding of the basic psychological needs of children and adolescents and how the family and other social contexts influence socio-emotional adjustment, cognitive development, behavioral adaptation, and health status of children and adolescents. There is an essential emphasis on a strong empirical research base recognizing the need for the documentation and further development of evidence-based assessments and treatments in clinical child and adolescent psychology.

Advanced Scientific and Theoretical Knowledge Germane to the Specialty

• Knowledge of normal developmental processes as a prerequisite for distinguishing between normal and abnormal behavior and development, and for understanding developmental factors as they relate to assessment and intervention.
• Relating normal family processes to the child and adolescent's development including the impact of family dynamics, normal family functioning, and childrearing practices on normal child and adolescent development and on the development of problems.
• Attention to child and adolescent psychopathology, including epidemiology and etiological models of child and adolescent psychopathology; treatment options and treatment effectiveness for specific problems and children/adolescents of different ages; knowledge of family and other problems requiring treatment.
• The integration of developmental psychology and clinical child and adolescent psychology   reflected in developmental psychopathology:
• Knowledge of the methods of assessment covering development, cognition, personality, emotion, and achievement.
• Theories and research evidence bases for the treatment of infant, child, adolescent, and family problems
• Prevention of child, adolescent, and family disorders drawing upon knowledge of normal and deviant developmental pathways as well as developmentally-informed knowledge of clinical problem.
• Special ethical and legal issues in research and practice with children, adolescents, and their families.
• An appropriate appreciation for and understanding of principles of diversity and cultural context as they related to professional behavior and clinical practice.

Parameters to Define Professional Practice in Clinical Child Psychology

The specialty of Clinical Child Psychology has evolved with a core foundation in basic psychology, clinical psychology, developmental processes, and the integration of research and practice. A defining feature of Clinical Child Psychology is the emphasis on understanding children from the perspective of both normal development and of psychopathology. Particular attention is given to specialty-specific skills for working with such diverse populations and an appreciation for those cultural, ethnic, and other diversity-related factors that must be considered in clinical practice.

Populations

Clinical child psychology involves research and services for infants, children, adolescents, and their families displaying a variety of psychological, behavioral, developmental, academic, health-related, and family difficulties in a wide variety of settings include private practice settings, mental health clinics and centers, schools, physicians’ offices, pediatric hospitals, community and public health agencies, juvenile justice and service agencies, and advocacy organizations.

Problems

Clinical child and adolescent psychologists study, assess, and treat a wide range of biopsychosocial problems confronted by children and their families.   These include, but are not limited to the following:

• high risk children compromised by biological vulnerabilities and/or psychosocial adversity (e.g., preterm, medically ill, or drug-addicted newborns) and their families;
• children and adolescents with emotional and developmental problems, including psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, pervasive developmental disorder, autism, retardation);
• children and adolescents with significant mental disorders as reflected in behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and/or developmental problems in family, school, childcare, juvenile justice system, and/or peer group contexts;
• adolescents with problems including delinquency, substance abuse/dependency, and high risk sexual behaviors;
• children and adolescents with signs of cognitive deficits or uneven development requiring an assessment of cognitive functioning and/or school readiness;
• children, adolescents, and their families coping with injury, trauma and loss as a result of natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes and hurricanes) and human-made disasters (e.g., bombings and attacks; wars and mobilization; terrorist alerts; kidnapping; automobile collisions);
• children, adolescents, and their families in the pediatric system coping with a variety of health-related problems, including: chronic, serious, and/or life-threatening physical illnesses; adherence to medical regimens; pediatric patients with chronic pain; and amelioration symptoms of various pediatric conditions;
• children and adolescents with physical illnesses whose symptoms may be exacerbated by psychosocial factors;
• children and adolescents with parents who have chronic physical or mental health conditions;
• children, adolescents, and families coping with developmental milestones or with the upset of divorce, single-parenting, and custody arrangements, or adjusting to remarriage and step-parenting.

Procedures and Techniques

Clinical child and adolescent psychologists employ a wide range of procedures and techniques in their work.

• Assessment : Assessments conducted by clinical child and adolescent psychologists may include open-ended and structured interview techniques (used with parents and children/adolescents), behavioral observational methods, achievement testing, assessment of intelligence and cognitive functioning, assessment of adaptive behavior, the use of objective and projective personality assessment methods, and the use of family assessment methods of various types.
• Intervention : Clinical child and adolescent psychologists provide treatments including behavior management in home, school, community, and health care settings; cognitive behavioral approaches geared to self-regulatory deficits, peer problems, and mood disorders; individual psychotherapy with older children and adolescents; family therapy and family counseling; parent training and parent education programs; collaboration with pediatricians and/or child psychiatrists; psychoeducation; and consultation and collaboration with school personnel for affective-behavioral interventions. These interventions may involve such interventions as parent management training and behavioral intervention at home; cognitive behavior therapy for children and adolescents; behavioral intervention in the classroom; parent counseling around child and adolescent development; individual psychotherapy with children and adolescents with the full range of psychological problems; multimodal treatments for children and adolescents with complex problems.
• Prevention : Clinical child and adolescent psychologists are involved in the development of programs to prevent the onset of problems and disorders in infants, children, adolescents, and families. For example, these include programs aimed at preventing, for example, antisocial behavior and delinquency; cognitive and language delay; teenage pregnancy; and substance abuse; psychoeducation; health promotion and the prevention of injury and problems such as abuse and neglect.
• Consultation : Clinical child and adolescent psychologists consult with professionals representing a variety of disciplines, including pediatricians, child psychiatrists and child neurologists, child protection workers, teachers, nurses, childcare providers, social workers, lawyers, and others concerned with the prevention and alleviation of children and adolescents’ problems or their placement in appropriate caregiving and educational environments.

Updated 12.05.05