With the ever changing social-economic, mental, political, and the general health status of the society, there is need for practitioners in the clinical psychology field to integrate in their practices measures that will ensure they meet the general needs of the society.
No one can deny that, over the past few years, the field of clinical psychology has undergone many transformations for it to accommodate the ever-changing societal problems. Such transformations are evident in the present modes of training and service delivery, a fact that research studies attribute to changing societal structures and the need to meet all consumer health needs. In addition, for the practice to be at par with the present s technological innovations in societies, the field of clinical psychology presently encompasses many scientific concepts hence, a clear indication of where the field is heading, as psychologists endeavor to improve their professionalism (Kennedy and Llewelyn, 2001, pp. 74-77).
It is important to note that, sometimes predicting the future of this field of psychology is hard. Although this is the case, preparation to meet future health demands depends on the ability of the practitioners in this field to be sensitive to simple clues on the changing trends of individuals’ mental health (p. 75).
The Future Clinical Psychology and Technology
Because of the unpredictability of the future and the fact that global societies are going through a period of rapid technological changes, it is necessary for clinical psychologist to upgrade not only their skills, but also their service delivery methodologies, which is possible through utilization of the available medicinal technological tools. Embracing the use of such technologies is the only ways of ensuring clinical psychologists have the required mix of skills, essential in meeting any emerging mental health problems. To some extent in the present societies, technological innovations and scientific discoveries form the backbone of any societal undertaking; hence, considering the role of clinical psychologist in the society, there is no way clinical psychologists can evade the use of such developments. One primary direction where the future of clinical medicine is headed is the use of the virtual reality in the understanding the nature of the human mind. Because of the promising nature of results from application of this technological innovation as Gaggioli, Mantovani, Castelnuovo, Riva and Wiederhold (2003, pp.
117-119) argue, there is more this technology can achieve in the future, as far as the understanding of the human mental behaviors is concerned. Therefore, this technology will give clinical psychologist a better chance of understanding the human virtual-object interaction process, necessary for predicting the human mental characters, in inhabited virtual surroundings. On the other hand, because this technology encompasses the use of concepts of realism and autonomy in understanding of human behavior, the technology will greatly aid the provision of solutions to patients with anxiety, sexual, neurological, and eating anomalies hence, offer a solution to many human pathological disorders (pp. 115-117) It is important to note that, correct application and maximizing the use of technological tools goes hand in hand with the availability of the required expertise. Therefore, to make the field of clinical; psychology more practical, there are high likelihoods of the field becoming an applied science oriented area. Currently, most clinical psychologists’ diagnostic and therapeutic methodologies have failed to yield the desired outcomes, as far as meeting the patient demands is concerned; hence, the many present endeavors to provide appropriate intervention measures. On the other hand, to achieve this, future psychological trainings are likely to include advanced scientific inquiry methods and technological tools (Baker, McFall, & Shoham, 2010, p. 1).
In addition to application of scientific and technological tools in trainings, with the current emerging technologies, likelihood of the online psychotherapy and clinical work advancing are high. Such improvements are likely to promote the concept of specialization in online clinical psychology; hence, enhance the delivery of quality mental healthcare to patients. The internet is of great importance to this field, because it provides a mode of interaction between different individuals hence, promoting the access of doctor’s services as a patient’s convenience (Suler, 2001, pp. 65-270).
The Future Clinical Psychology: Medical Staff Privileges
Apart from psychology being a life enhancer, to a larger extent psychology is a clinical practice or a health profession, which requires some form of medical attention when dealing with patients’ anomalies. This is the case primarily because, currently, it is rare to miss a clinical psychologist in any health facility. Most clinical psychologists perform a range of duties, depending on the medical condition of their clients. Because of their double role, as research studies show, although there is need for clinical psychologists to be independent medical practitioners, this notion is likely to change in the future as most medical practitioners’ trainings encompass concepts of clinical psychology. It is important to note that, as research studies show, this is a very cost effective method of offering medical services to clients, with varying needs (Rozensky, 2005, p. 1). Because of the nature of competence required in this field, there is need for practitioners in this field to improve their delivery skills, something that is achievable only through improved training. Therefore, one primary benefit that practitioners in this field are likely to enjoy in the future is improved training opportunities, which are not only crucial in professional skill improvement, but also in personal development (Plante, 2005, pp.
9-15). On the other hand, because increasing participation in most health provision, as the nature of the roles clinical psychologists keeps on expanding, as Tovian, Rozensky, and Sweet (1991, pp. 66-69) argue, likelihoods of clinical psychologists’ remuneration packages reducing are high.
This is because; currently, for psychologist to offer their services in government and non-governmental institutions, they have to register themselves with professional bodies, whose control is at the discretion of the government. It is important to note also that, government politics play a central role in determining the nature of benefits that governments and private health institutions offer medical practitioners hence, the increased control on health provision is really likely to affect clinical psychologist, for research shows that their duties are likely to exceed their pay. Although this might be the case, depending on a clinical psychologist’s position in a health institution, for example, an associate, active, consulting, courtesy, emeritus, or an affiliate staff, some positions for example, being a consulting, emeritus, and courtesy staff have added advantages and benefits. Hence, with the many transformation associated with psychology practice in terms of legislation, clinical psychologists are likely to receive more privileges, as their services are always in demand in the society. Historically, clinical psychologists were not entitled to any medical favors, because the law denied them the opportunity of being full members of the members of the medical staff. However, with the adoption of new legislation by the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Health Organization (JCAHO), psychologists are likely to enjoy the full benefits of being members of health institutions. This is because; such laws permitted health institutions to offer employment opportunities to other medical professionals, clinical psychologist included (Tovian, Rozensky, & Sweet, 1991, pp.
68-71)
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to note that, technological and scientific discoveries are primary determinants of the quality of life, because of the nature of solutions they provide to human problems. Therefore, for practitioners in this field to succeed in their endeavors, they have to ensure they conduct researches that are more scientific; it being the only primary method of improving service delivery in their daily endeavors, as new psychological problems emerges. In addition, for quality service delivery there is need for governments to enact good work policies to protect that practice of clinical psychologist, it being of great importance to the well-being of the society.
Reference List
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B., McFall, R. M., &Shoham, Varda. (2010). Current status and future Prospects of clinical psychology: toward a scientifically principled approach To mental and health care. Journal of Psychological Science, 9(2), 67-103.
Retrieved June 4, 2010, from < http://psi. sagepub. com/content/9/2/67. abstract> Gaggioli, M.
S., Mantovani, F., Castelnuovo, M. S.
, Wielderhold, B., Riva, G. (2003). Avatars in clinical psychology: a framework for the clinical use of Virtual humans. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 6(2), 117-125. Retrieved June 4, 2010, from < http://www. vepsy.
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