- B.F. Skinner
- Alfred Kinsey
- Martha Bernal
- Madeline Levine
- Carl Rogers
When new students in the field are asked to list famous clinical psychologists, nearly all of them know Carl Jung or Sigmund Freud. However, there are many significant contributors to the discipline, past and present, of whom every practitioner should be aware of. The article below provides five of the most renowned individuals in the field as a means of introduction to the complexities and benefits their contributions represent.
1. B.F. Skinner
Perhaps as celebrated as he is vilified, Skinner remains a seminal figure in psychology circles. His chief contribution to the field of clinical psychology is that of operant conditioning. His work focused on the use of stimuli and exploration of responses, and he is credited with founding experimental research psychology. While some of his experiments might be deemed to have questionable ethical underpinnings in today’s scientific community, there is no doubt that they shaped the course of the discipline in novel and vital ways. The core contribution that is most easily identifiable is his exploration of how to alter an individual’s behavior based on different types of therapeutic approaches.
2. Alfred Kinsey
While he originally delved into mating habits of non-human animals, his most notable contribution to psychology centers on human sexuality. During the 1940s and 50s, his controversial exploration of human sex practices garnered considerable, if often negative, attention from the broader realms of society. Within psychological circles, his work is seen as visionary. Many therapists who focus on sexual function and psychological concepts related to sexuality base their findings on his initial theories. Today, a prominent research institution bears his name. It continues to provide insight into human sexuality as it relates to culture and physiology.
3. Martha Bernal
Bernal is an especially crucial figure in clinical psychology for several reasons. Firstly, her rise in prominence occurred during a time when both women and non-white populations were excluded from the practice of psychology and psychology education. After earning her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Indiana in 1962, she was refused for employment consideration on the basis of her sex alone. According to the American Psychological Association, while many today cringe at such sexism, it may have proven fortuitous. As a result, she explored other fields. She was a pioneer in studies related to how psychologists work with multi-cultural communities and non-white patients.
4. Madeline Levine
As a current practitioner, Levine is not afraid to make waves. Her research focuses on western culture and its distinct, but often-unacknowledged socioeconomic stratification. Privilege and its consequences have very real impacts on mental health, just as poverty does. The rise of the overt trend of over-parenting created some extraordinary issues for an entire generation and class of young individuals. In 2006, she published work related to this phenomenon,. She noted the extraordinary pressure to perform that is often placed on the young of certain communities and the consequences of parental intrusion. Affluent parents went to extraordinary lengths to shield their offspring from failure, resulting in individuals who were handicapped once they reached adulthood.
Related Resource: 10 Best Deals: Master’s in Clinical Psychology Online
5. Carl Rogers
Rogers is most noted as a clinical psychologist for his elaboration of Maslow’s theories about human psycho-social needs. The hierarchy is used to describe the basic requirements for human survival. It also includes self-actualization and other features of the community that do not directly relate to base-level survival. Rogers went on to note that in order to grow or elaborate their psychological personhood, an individual needs from his or her community:
- empathy
- acceptance
- genuineness
As noted by SimplyPsychology, his theoretical perspective advanced the humanistic interpretation of the field by discerning the critical necessities for the development of healthy personalities.
The clinical aspect of psychology is especially vital in terms of research and applicability of theoretical perspectives. This broad scale transferability of work and ideas conducted by individuals in the field is part of what makes individual contributions so vital. In the end, no matter how students plan to apply what they learn during their education, the perspectives and ideas of these famous clinical psychologists will always benefit them.