Assignment: Clinical psychologists are uniquely trained in the use of psychological assessment techniques. These procedures allow for detailed conceptualizations of individuals. Discuss the different types of assessment categories detailed in your text and discuss what settings and situations you would use these. Next, how might advances in technology influence the future of psychological assessment?

Assignment: Being able to assign diagnoses is important, but being able to conceptualize psychopathology is very important to working with individuals. Clinical psychologists go through extensive training  to be able to assign diagnoses, describe case conceptualizations, and recommend and apply treatments. In the beginning, you must first recognize what is and isn’t psychopathology. Discuss the concepts of normalcy and abnormality, pathology, impairment, and the role of culture in manifestations of psychopathology.

Assignment: Competency with research skills is an essential part of being a clinical psychologist. Some undergraduate students base their decision to pursue a career in clinical psychology because they want to work with patients only and not conduct research. Sometimes research is seen as being less important than the clinical training. This is an opportunity for you to begin understanding the importance of research. To begin, many of you will be applying to PhD programs. A PhD is a research degree and you are expected to be proficient at research methodology if you obtain such a degree regardless of your specialty. You will be trained in research methodology and complete research activities while pursuing your degree. In this exercise, I want you to think about how you will use research methodology in your everyday practice when working with patients. The focus here is not on you conducting clinical research, but merely applying your clinical skills with patients that are not involved in an active study.

Assignment: Ethical issues are at the very core of clinical psychology as this allows for the protection of the people we serve and ourselves. The American Psychological Association (APA) sets guidelines for the ethical practices of clinical psychologists. Identify 5 of the APA’s ethical principles and write a summary of an issue you may encounter with each of the 5 principles you choose. Next, explain how you would resolve each and defend your decision.