Uni Reading List
Index / 001 EN
Clinical Psychology: Science, Practice, and Diversity cover

Psychology

Psychology

Clinical Psychology: Science, Practice, and Diversity

Andrew M. Pomerantz

An undergraduate introduction to clinical psychology as a profession: what clinical psychologists do, how they are trained, how they assess clients and which forms of psychotherapy they practise. Cultural competence and diversity are built into every part of the book rather than treated in a single chapter, and current controversies in the field are discussed throughout.

Prerequisites: An introductory psychology course; a prior course in abnormal psychology is helpful but not required.

Difficulty Level
Intermediate
Academic Level
Undergraduate
clinical psychologyassessmentpsychotherapyprofessional ethicscultural competenceTextbook

01 / Reading Guide

Reading Guide

Citation

Pomerantz, A. M. (2023). Clinical Psychology: Science, Practice, and Diversity (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Chapter Summary

The sixth edition has 19 chapters in four parts, plus a glossary and references, and runs to 752 pages. SAGE describes it as giving students an inclusive and culturally competent view of clinical psychology, covering clinical assessment, psychotherapy, and ethical and professional issues, together with current controversies and specialised topics. The sample chapters published by SAGE show that each chapter opens with numbered learning objectives and ends with key terms with page references and critical thinking questions.

Part 1, Chapters 1–2: Clinical Psychology; Evolution of Clinical Psychology

Chapter 1 asks what clinical psychology is, then covers education and training, how graduate programs choose students and how licensure works, the professional activities and settings of clinical psychologists, and how they differ from related professions. Chapter 2 traces the history of the field, from its origins and early pioneers through Lightner Witmer's creation of clinical psychology, with sections on racism and prejudice in that history, on the history of assessment and psychotherapy, and on the development of the profession.

Part 1, Chapters 3–6: Current Controversies and Directions; Diversity and Cultural Issues; Ethical and Professional Issues; Conducting Research

Chapter 3 treats live disputes: technology before and after COVID and telepsychology, prescription privileges, evidence-based practice and manualised therapy, the overexpansion of mental disorders, and third-party versus self-payment. Chapter 4 covers the rise of multiculturalism, cultural competence, what constitutes a culture, and training in diversity. Chapter 5 works through the American Psychological Association code of ethics, including confidentiality, informed consent, boundaries and multiple relationships, competence, and ethics in assessment and research. Chapter 6 explains why and how clinical psychologists do research, including the use of technology and research ethics.

Part 2, Chapters 7–10: Diagnosis and Classification; The Clinical Interview; Intellectual and Neuropsychological Assessment; Personality and Behavioral Assessment

Chapter 7 defines psychopathology, gives a brief history of diagnosis, discusses criticisms of the DSM, and presents alternative directions in the form of dimensions, HiTOP and RDoC. Chapter 8 deals with the interviewer, the components and types of interview, and cultural components. Chapter 9 covers intelligence, achievement and neuropsychological testing. Chapter 10 covers personality assessment, with attention to multimethod, evidence-based and culturally competent practice, objective and performance-based personality tests, and behavioural assessment.

Part 3, Chapters 11–16: Psychotherapy

Chapter 11 opens the part with general questions: whether psychotherapy works, efficacy versus effectiveness, which type is best, and which types clinical psychologists practise. It introduces a fictional client, Denise, to be considered from several perspectives. Chapters 12 to 15 then present psychodynamic, humanistic, behaviour and cognitive therapies, the last together with mindfulness-based therapies. Chapter 16 covers group therapy and family therapy, including practical and ethical issues.

Part 4, Chapters 17–19: Special Topics

Three chapters on specialised areas: clinical child and adolescent psychology (including assessment and psychotherapy with young people), health psychology (including the difference from behavioural medicine, stress, social support and diversity factors), and forensic psychology (its definition and history, assessment, and treatment and other forensic activities).

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–6: The Profession

  • Training models: the scientist-practitioner (Boulder), practitioner-scholar (Vail) and clinical scientist models of graduate training.
  • Cultural competence: the skills and awareness needed to work across cultures.
  • Evidence-based practice and manualised therapy: one of the controversies in the field.
  • The APA code of ethics: confidentiality, informed consent, boundaries and competence.

Chapters 7–10: Assessment

  • DSM classification and its alternatives: dimensional approaches, HiTOP and RDoC.
  • The clinical interview: its components and types.
  • Intellectual, neuropsychological and personality testing: objective and performance-based tests.
  • Behavioural assessment: observing behaviour directly.

Chapters 11–19: Therapy and Special Topics

  • Efficacy versus effectiveness: whether therapy works under research conditions and in practice.
  • Therapy approaches: psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioural, cognitive and mindfulness-based, group and family.
  • Specialist fields: child and adolescent, health and forensic psychology.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

  • A complete map of the profession. The four parts follow what a clinical psychologist does: understand the field, assess, treat and specialise. The structure lets a student see how each chapter relates to practice.
  • Diversity in several places. Cultural issues have a dedicated chapter, and the contents also name cultural components in the interview, culturally competent personality assessment, racism and prejudice in the history of the field, and diversity factors in health psychology.
  • Attention to disputes. A full chapter on current controversies, plus sections such as the criticisms of the DSM, gives students material for argument rather than only for memorisation.
  • Support for career planning. The sample Chapter 1 explains how graduate programs select students and how internships and licensure work, and it ends with a section on looking toward graduate programs that points to a standard directory of doctoral programs. SAGE describes a career-focused feature in the new edition.

Limitations

  • No chapters on individual disorders. The assessment part covers diagnosis and classification in general, but no chapter treats specific disorders, so a student will probably want an abnormal psychology text alongside it.
  • A mainly American frame. The contents refer to the APA code of ethics, the DSM and licensure and training routes of the United States. A separate International Student Edition exists for other markets, but the contents listed are the same.
  • Length. At 752 pages and 19 chapters, a single course will need to select parts.

Where It Fits in the Course

Pomerantz is the textbook-length introduction to clinical psychology as a profession. Clinical Psychology: A Very Short Introduction by Llewelyn and Aafjes-van Doorn is a compact treatment of the same subject, useful as a first overview or a quick refresher; it also addresses how the profession differs between countries. Burns's Psychiatry: A Very Short Introduction gives the medical counterpart and helps with Chapter 1's question of how clinical psychologists differ from psychiatrists.

For the disorders themselves, Comer and Comer's Psychopathology: Science and Practice surveys the major disorder categories and treatment evidence, and pairs with Pomerantz's assessment and therapy parts. Maddux and Winstead's Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding is a graduate-level edited text with a strong critical emphasis on diagnosis. Barlow's Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders is a treatment manual that follows cases through assessment and intervention, and is a natural step after Pomerantz's psychotherapy chapters for advanced students.

How to Use This Book

The book is aimed at undergraduates in a first course on clinical psychology, and at students considering graduate study in clinical or counselling psychology. The publisher does not state prerequisites.

Read Part 1 first, since it defines the field and the ethical and cultural framework that the later parts refer back to. Part 2 can be read in order or alongside an abnormal psychology course, with Chapter 7 on diagnosis as the hinge. Part 3 can be taken one therapy at a time; Chapter 11's client Denise offers a way to compare approaches on the same case. Part 4 can be selected according to interest.

Use the learning objectives to check understanding after each chapter, the key terms for review, and the critical thinking questions for discussion or short essays. If graduate study is a goal, work carefully through Chapter 1's material on admission, internships and licensure.