Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is a popular sub-discipline of psychology that includes mental health and psychopathology, but it is often broader than students realize. Scholars in this area study topics including depression, anxiety, health, pain management, stress, family functioning, memory, neuropsychology, sport psychology, and workplace wellness.
Indeed, this list is not even close to exhaustive! There are many interesting and important questions tied to mental health, and many of these questions are context dependent. For example, what facilitates mental health in toddlers may be quite different from what facilitates mental health for an elite athlete.
Because of their extensive training, Clinical Psychologists are well positioned to assess, diagnose, and treat mental illness. Clinical Psychologists are also well-equipped to do work in program evaluation, research, and policy work. In Canada, the term “Clinical Psychologist” is restricted to those who are formally licensed to practice as a Clinical Psychologist. Clinical Psychologists are licensed at the provincial level, and licensing requirements can vary by province. You can learn more about provincial regulators here: https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/regulatorybodies/.
You may be thinking, “but you don’t need to be licensed to do policy work!” This is correct! Some people have training in clinical psychology but are not working in therapeutic contexts and are not licensed to practice as Clinical Psychologists. For more information on clinical psychology, visit: https://cpa.ca/sections/clinicalpsychology/.
Students often wonder about the differences between clinical psychology and psychiatry. Clinical Psychologists are not medical doctors and do not go to medical school. Instead, they have graduate training from an approved program in clinical psychology and are licensed by a governing body in psychology. In contrast, Psychiatrists attend medical school, and they are licensed as medical doctors. Both Psychologists and Psychiatrists can diagnose and treat psychopathology; however, Psychiatrists have the ability to prescribe medication whereas Clinical Psychologists do not. For more information on psychiatry, visit https://www.cpa-apc.org/.
Students also often wonder about whether they have to be a Clinical Psychologist or Psychiatrist to provide psychotherapy. Based on the Regulated Health Professions Act (1991), the controlled act of psychotherapy is defined as “treating, by means of psychotherapy technique, delivered through a therapeutic relationship, an individual’s serious disorder of thought, cognition, mood, emotional regulation, perception or memory that may seriously impair the individual’s judgement, insight, behaviour, communication or social functioning.” In Canada, the ability to provide psychotherapy is restricted to certain professions, and like other professions, licensure requirements vary by province. Professions commonly associated with licensure to provide psychotherapy, in addition to clinical psychology and medicine, include nursing, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, and social work. For more information on counselling and psychotherapy, please see https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/.
The Canadian Psychological Association has recently published a comparison of scopes of practice of Psychologists, Physicians, Social Workers, Counsellors, and Psychotherapists. Below we provide their table as a helpful overview of professional duties.
Figure 1
Table summarizing the scope of practice Physicians, Psychologists, Counsellors, Psychotherapists, and Social Workers. Retrieved from https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Advocacy/CPA%20Policy%20Primer%20Final%20December%202024.pdf
- Psychiatrists, Physicians, and other service providers can all administer basic screenings for psychological symptoms and feelings; however, Psychologists typically administer and interpret psychological testing for more complex symptoms.
- According to Kurdyak and colleagues (2020), only 3% of non-psychiatry physicians and 27% of psychiatrists provide psychotherapy.
- In Ontario and Quebec, Psychotherapy is a restricted and regulated practice, permitted only for members of certain professions.
*Social Workers are usually licensed at the provincial level through Colleges of Social Work. Psychotherapists are licensed in Ontario and Quebec. Counsellors are generally certified through the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.
