Clinical psychology is not a unified 'school' of psychology. A clinical psychologist might be a non-directive, Rogerian psychologist, emphasizing that the client must find out what is bothering him or her and interfering with self-actualization. A behaviorist might suggest a complex system of rewards and punishments to a parent when helping a child with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) cope with the rigors of the classroom. But while a clinical psychologist may help a client better to adjust to society, the psychologist is not treating a larger 'system' as a whole, and his or her ultimate duty is to the client -- including confidentiality obligations, unless the client is a danger to him or herself or others (Clinical psychology, 2010).
This is not to say that forensic psychologists are callous or do not have individual client's needs at heart: they play an invaluable role, for example, in helping family courts determine what is the best course of action in determining custody of a child (Franklin 2006). Within the context of civil and criminal courts, expert forensic psychologists may act as de facto 'advocates' for plaintiffs or defendants, testifying to the
Or an expert defense witness might describe the mitigating post-traumatic stress a defendant experienced as in the case of a battered woman who murdered her husband, or the lack of full rational capacity of a developmentally disabled adult facing the death penalty for murder. But even in these contexts, however partisan the forensic psychologist might be in his or her convictions, the psychologist always operates within the legal system. The fascination of forensic psychology -- and its challenge -- is that the psychologist must obey the rules and constraints that govern that system, as well as his or her own professional ethics, guidelines, and personal convictions.
References
Clinical psychology. (2010). The American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary. Retrieved July 03, 2010, from Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/clinical-psychology-2
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (2010) All
Psych. Retrieved July 03, 2010,
http://allpsych.com/disorders/dsm.html
Franklin, Donald. (2006). Forensic psychology. Psychology Info. Retrieved July 03, 2010,
http://www.psychologyinfo.com/forensic/
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