1 Introduction GRAHAM DAVEY LEARNING OUTCOMES WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO: 1. Describe the main areas of applied psychology, including some newly developing and emerging areas. 2. Describe and critically evaluate the standards of conduct, performance, ethics and profi ciency required of practitioner psychologists. KEY WORDS Clinical Psychology ● Community Psychology ● Consumer Psychology ● Counselling Psychology ● Educational Psychology ● Environmental Psychology ● Evidence-Based Practice ● Forensic Psychology ● Generic Standards ● Health Professions Council (HPC) ● Health Psychology ● National InstituteCOPYRIGHTED for Health & Clinical Excellence MATERIAL(NICE) ● Neuropsychology ● Occupational Psychology ● Profession-Specifi c Standards ● Protected Titles ● Sport & Exercise Psychology ● Standards of Profi ciency CHAPTER OUTLINE 1.1 WHAT IS APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY? 2 1.3.2 Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics 5 1.3.3 Standards of Profi ciency 6 1.2 RESEARCH AND APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY 4 1.4 EMERGING AREAS OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY 9 1.3 REGULATION AND STANDARDS OF CONDUCT 5 1.3.1 The Health Professions Council (HPC) 5 CCH001.inddH001.indd 1 110/03/110/03/11 66:23:23 AAMM 2 APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY ROUTE MAP OF THE CHAPTER This is an introductory chapter that will describe in basic terms what applied psychology is, its integral relationship with research and how the different applied psychology professions are regulated. The chapter will continue by discussing standards of conduct, performance, ethics and profi ciency for practitioner psychologists, and will describe some of the knowledge, understanding and skills required by individual practitioner psychologist professions. At the end of the chapter we also describe some newly emerging areas of applied psychology that are not covered in detail in this volume. 1.1 WHAT IS APPLIED with specialised knowledge of interventions for these problems, the profession of clini- clinical psychology the PSYCHOLOGY? cal psychology is defi ned by all branch of psychology three of the above characteris- responsible for under- standing and treating tics. Similarly, Sports & Exercise mental health problems. It is not easy to come up with a simple defi nition of Psychology has evolved as a pro- applied psychology that covers all of the circumstances fession that addresses issues to occupational in which psychological knowledge is applied and also psychology the profes- do with sport and physical per- sional application of encompasses the professional nature of much applied formance, deals with sportsmen, psychological knowl- psychology. However, just as psychology is the scientifi c sportswomen and associated pro- edge to organisations to study of human behaviour, applied psychology is the pro- fessionals, and requires knowl- make them better places in which to work. fessional application of psychological knowledge to the solution edge of factors that can facilitate of problems associated with human behaviour. These prob- and enhance sporting perform- educational lems may be at the level of the individual, in the case of psychology psychology ance. These unique combinations as applied to educational clinical psychology and the treatment of individual men- of problems, client groups and practice and related tal health problems; at the level of an organisation, such competencies have given rise to research. as occupational psychology and its role in making organi- a number of infl uential applied forensic sations better places in which to work; or at the level of psychology professions, and some psychology the appli- society in general, such as health psychology and its role examples of the types of prob- cation of psychological in changing the health behaviours of the nation. While knowledge within the lems faced by different groups of criminal justice system. most applied psychology involves the application of exist- applied psychologists are provided ing psychological knowledge to practical problems (and in Activity Box 1.1. You might like health psychology the you will fi nd many examples of this in our ‘Theory to professional application to read through these examples to of psychological knowl- Application Boxes’ throughout the text), many of these get a fl avour of the main types edge to the solution of problems are so politically and socially urgent that the of problems faced by different problems associated practitioners dealing with these issues have to develop with human health applied psychology professionals. behaviour. theory and practice almost on the hoof. You will fi nd In the United Kingdom, the many examples in this text where the urgency of provid- main fi elds of applied psychol- sport & exercise ing services and solutions has actually led to the develop- psychology a profes- ogy are refl ected in the different sion dealing with sport ment of psychological theory rather than vice versa. professional Divisions currently and physical perform- The main areas of applied psychology can be defi ned represented within the British ance requiring knowl- by a number of features: edge of factors that can Psychological Society (BPS). facilitate and enhance Figure 1.1 provides a list of the The nature of the problems that require a solution. sporting performance. • major Divisions currently repre- The target populations who normally serve as counselling • sented in the BPS and shows how psychology the appli- clients. membership of these Divisions cation of psychological • The competencies required to develop and evalu- has changed since the year 2000. knowledge generally to ate solutions to problems. You can see from this fi gure that therapeutic practice. • The unique combinations of these factors. the main areas of applied psychol- neuropsychology the ogy are clinical, occupational, study of the structure and function of the For example, while Clinical Psychology addresses mainly educational, forensic, health, brain related to psycho- mental health problems, deals with clients and patients sport & exercise, counselling, logical processes and who exhibit these problems, and consists of practitioners neuropsychology, and teaching behaviours. CCH001.inddH001.indd 2 110/03/110/03/11 66:23:23 AAMM INTRODUCTION 3 ACTIVITY BOX 1.1 Applied psychology is the application of psychological and tests showed that his level of verbal compre- knowledge to the solution of problems associated with hension lay within a high average range for his age. human behaviour. Below are six case histories, each out- (From Frederickson et al., 2008) lining a specifi c behaviour-related problem, which will 4. Jim had recently been made redundant from a give you a fl avour of the types of issues facing applied skilled manufacturing job, was experiencing dif- psychologists. Can you identify which type of applied psy- fi culties in his marriage and had started to drink to chologist would be most likely to be involved in seeking excess. Jim was expressing serious suicidal intent solutions for each of these problems? Choose from Clinical and had taken three life-threatening overdoses in Psychologist, Health Psychologist, Forensic Psychologist, the previous six months. He was spending money Educational Psychologist, Occupational Psychologist and he could not afford on Internet gambling sites and Sports & Exercise Psychologist. was becoming increasingly hostile and aggres- sive to his wife, who he considered did not offer 1. Sandy is a female middle-distance runner who com- him the affection and attention he needed. (From petes at a national level. She had complained of lack Alwin, 2008) of confi dence in her abilities. She recognised that 5. Matt works in a company that sells phone and she was less confi dent and was unable to control Internet services. His company takes communica- her nerves in competitions in which she faced strong tion very seriously and whenever there is an issue, a opposition. This caused her to tighten up during the memo is sent out to keep everyone on top of things. race, particularly in her shoulders, affecting her run- The problem is that Matt feels overwhelmed by ning style. (From Lane, 2008) the amount of communication. He receives over a 2. Despite receiving a good deal of information about dozen e-mail memos every day and cannot remem- condoms and their role in preventing unwanted preg- ber everything that is sent to him in these memos. nancies, only about 1 in 3 teenagers in the classes Matt is a very organised person, but simply doesn’t receiving this information reported actually using con- know how to stay on top of things. (From Rothman & doms. Why do most of them fail to use condoms? Is the Cooper, 2008) information given to them in a form they can under- 6. Consider two child sex offenders. The fi rst is a stand? What will motivate them to use condoms? 35-year-old married man who has been found guilty 3. Michael is a 13-year-old student in a secondary of molesting his daughter for the past 11 years while school whose parents wanted to know whether he she was aged 4-14. The second is a single, 23-year-old might be better placed in a small unit for young man who had ‘consensual’ sexual intercourse with people with dyslexia/specifi c literacy diffi culties. He a 14-year-old boy four hours after meeting him in a had been experiencing diffi culties with reading and local park. Neither man has any prior criminal history spelling throughout his school career, and on transfer for sexual or nonsexual offences. Neither has a his- to secondary school had struggled with homework, tory of substance abuse. Neither man has ever been despite the best efforts of a skilled special needs sup- treated for a mental health problem. What risk does port department. In conversation, it was apparent that each of these two men pose for committing further he was an articulate and thoughtful young person sexual offences? (From Canter, 2008) & researching. Over the past decade the most infl uential To become a member of a professional Division of the Divisions have been the Division of Clinical Psychology BPS, you must have an accredited undergraduate degree (DCP) and the Division of Occupational Psychology in psychology that makes you eligible for the Society’s (DOP).