The Future of Clinical Psychology
In this chapter, we speculate on near to immediate future trends in clinical psychology and make ten predictions in the broad areas of training, diagnosis and assessment, and treatment. These include: (1) an increased focus on competencies in training; (2) the implications of evidence-based practice as a new major focus of training; (3) changes in the accreditation of training programs; (4) a move to dimensional conceptions of diagnosis; (5) clinical outcomes assessment as an integral part of practice, as well as a more individual focus in clinical research; (6) the increasing recognition and dissemination of psychological treatments; (7) the end of single-diagnosis psychological treatment manuals; (8) the development of drugs that specifically enhance the mechanisms of action of psychological treatments; (9) an expanded role for technology in service delivery; and (10) a clearer delineation of the terms “psychological treatments,” referring to interventions directed at psychopathology and pathophysiology in the context of our health-care delivery system, and, “psychotherapy,” increasingly based on data from positive psychology, but directed at enhancing personal adjustment and growth.