Importance of research in clinical psychology

Core research skills (modules RESM 6009, 6010, 6011 and 6012) are provided in joint teaching sessions with other postgraduate research students in the Psychology AU.

Data Analysis: training and facilities

Students have access to computing facilities provided by the Programme and by the Department (including site licences for SPSS, for use at home or on placement).
Research Co-ordination
Research teaching is provided by four members of the Programme team.  The Module Lead for PSY 6022 is responsible for coordinating and supporting  the research activity of students  leading to the submission of the dissertation.  All members of the research team are research active, and members of research groups based within the Department of Psychology .

Ethical Issues in Research

All research projects carried out in the Department of Psychology should meet the BPS requirements for ethical research. No project may be carried out without formal approval from the relevant ethics committee(s); these include the Psychology Ethics’ Committee, Research Governance and, if appropriate, the National Research Ethics Service (NRES).
Ethical issues in research are introduced to students in the first year Applied Research Methods training and can be found in the Code of Ethics and Conduct published by the British Psychological Society. Prior to conducting their research dissertation, students are required to obtain approval from the Psychology Ethics Committee and University’s Research Governance Office. Applications are submitted through the on-line portal, Ethics Research Governance Online (ERGO) at: http://www.ergo2.soton.ac.uk/.  Where necessary, applications to NRES should be submitted through the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) (see https://www.myresearchproject.org.uk/).

Research Governance

Once an ethical application has been approved by the Department of Psychology, it will be automatically sent electronically to the Research Governance office (RGO). The aim of the RGO is to provide researchers with sponsorship and insurance for their research projects. The University of Southampton stipulates that any member of the university should not carry out research without having received confirmation from the RGO of their sponsorship and insurance.  Further details can be found at:http://www.southampton.ac.uk/corporateservices/rgo/index.html

Disclosure and Barring Service check

DBS check documentation should be attached to any ethics’ application that is for a study that will involve vulnerable populations.

Risk assessment

A completed Risk Assessment form should accompany all submissions to the Psychology Ethics Committee. This form should outline potential risks to researchers and participants. British Psychology Society (BPS) Ethical guidelines and support can be found at: www.bps.org.uk

National Research Ethics Service (for NHS ethical approval)

If research involves participants or resources linked to the NHS then in addition to going through internal ethics and research governance procedures a further application to the NRES is needed. An NRES application is typically required if the proposed research participants fall into one of the following categories:

Scientific research in psychology is generally conducted by people with doctoral degrees (usually the doctor of philosophy [Ph.D.]) and master’s degrees in psychology and related fields, often supported by research assistants with bachelor’s degrees or other relevant training. Some of them work for government agencies (e.g., the Mental Health Commission of Canada), national associations (e.g., the American Psychological Association), non-profit organizations (e.g., the Canadian Mental Health Association), or in the private sector (e.g., in product development). However, the majority of them are college and university faculty, who often collaborate with their graduate and undergraduate students. Although some researchers are trained and licensed as clinicians—especially those who conduct research in clinical psychology—the majority are not. Instead, they have expertise in one or more of the many other subfields of psychology: behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, social psychology, and so on. Doctoral-level researchers might be employed to conduct research full-time or, like many college and university faculty members, to conduct research in addition to teaching classes and serving their institution and community in other ways.

Of course, people also conduct research in psychology because they enjoy the intellectual and technical challenges involved and the satisfaction of contributing to scientific knowledge of human behavior. You might find that you enjoy the process too. If so, your college or university might offer opportunities to get involved in ongoing research as either a research assistant or a participant. Of course, you might find that you do not enjoy the process of conducting scientific research in psychology. But at least you will have a better understanding of where scientific knowledge in psychology comes from, an appreciation of its strengths and limitations, and an awareness of how it can be applied to solve practical problems in psychology and everyday life.

Scientific Psychology Blogs

A fun and easy way to follow current scientific research in psychology is to read any of the many excellent blogs devoted to summarizing and commenting on new findings. Among them are the following:
Brain Blogger, http://brainblogger.com/
Mind Hacks, http://mindhacks.com/
Research Digest, http://digest.bps.org.uk/
Talk Psych, http://www.talkpsych.com/
PsyBlog, http://www.spring.org.uk
Social Psychology Eye, http://socialpsychologyeye.wordpress.com
We’re Only Human, http://www.psychologicalscience.org/onlyhuman
You can also browse to http://www.researchblogging.org, select psychology as your topic, and read entries from a wide variety of blogs.

Clinical Psychologists

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. But it is also the application of scientific research to “help people, organizations, and communities function better” (American Psychological Association, 2011). By far the most common and widely known application is the clinical practice of psychology—the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and related problems. Let us use the term clinical practice broadly to refer to the activities of clinical and counseling psychologists, school psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, and others who work with people individually or in small groups to identify and help address their psychological problems. It is important to consider the relationship between scientific research and clinical practice because many students are especially interested in clinical practice, perhaps even as a career.

The main point is that psychological disorders and other behavioral problems are part of the natural world. This means that questions about their nature, causes, and consequences are empirically testable and therefore subject to scientific study. As with other questions about human behavior, we cannot rely on our intuition or common sense for detailed and accurate answers. Consider, for example, that dozens of popular books and thousands of websites claim that adult children of alcoholics have a distinct personality profile, including low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and difficulties with intimacy. Although this sounds plausible, scientific research has demonstrated that adult children of alcoholics are no more likely to have these problems than anybody else (Lilienfeld et al., 2010). Similarly, questions about whether a particular psychotherapy is effective are empirically testable questions that can be answered by scientific research. If a new psychotherapy is an effective treatment for depression, then systematic observation should reveal that depressed people who receive this psychotherapy improve more than a similar group of depressed people who do not receive this psychotherapy (or who receive some alternative treatment). Treatments that have been shown to work in this way are called empirically supported treatments.

Empirically Supported Treatments

An empirically supported treatment is one that has been studied scientifically and shown to result in greater improvement than no treatment, a placebo, or some alternative treatment. These include many forms of psychotherapy, which can be as effective as standard drug therapies. Among the forms of psychotherapy with strong empirical support are the following:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy. For depression, panic disorder, bulimia nervosa, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Exposure therapy. For post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Behavioral therapy. For depression.
• Behavioral couples therapy. For alcoholism and substance abuse.
• Exposure therapy with response prevention. For obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• Family therapy. For schizophrenia.

For a more complete list, see the following website, which is maintained by Division 12 of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Clinical Psychology: http://www.div12.org/psychological-treatments

Many in the clinical psychology community have argued that their field has not paid enough attention to scientific research—for example, by failing to use empirically supported treatments—and have suggested a variety of changes in the way clinicians are trained and treatments are evaluated and put into practice. Others believe that these claims are exaggerated and the suggested changes are unnecessary (Norcross, Beutler, & Levant, 2005). On both sides of the debate, however, there is agreement that a scientific approach to clinical psychology is essential if the goal is to diagnose and treat psychological problems based on detailed and accurate knowledge about those problems and the most effective treatments for them. So not only is it important for scientific research in clinical psychology to continue, but it is also important for clinicians who never conduct a scientific study themselves to be scientifically literate so that they can read and evaluate new research and make treatment decisions based on the best available evidence.

What is research in Clinical Psychology?

Which research method is an important tool in the field of Clinical Psychology?

Why is research and theory important in psychology?

Why is Clinical Psychology most important?