Introduction to Clinical Psychology Bridging Science and Practice

This chapter describes basic principles of neuropsychology, patterns of neuropsychological dysfunction, methods of neuropsychological assessment, and neuropsychological approaches to psychopathology. It presents a history of clinical neuropsychology and illustrates the ways in which clinical neuropsychologists perform assessments and help design interventions for patients who experience neurological, cognitive, and/or psychological dysfunction related to conditions stemming from developmental, medical, degenerative, or other kinds of problems. It also highlights their research on both normal and abnormal brain functioning, pointing out that this research has helped shed light on psychological disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, and on neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease or the effects of a concussion. The chapter portrays clinical neuropsychology as a rapidly growing field for which specialized training is required. Its practitioners must understand brain–behavior relationships and develop competence with a variety of assessment and intervention techniques that are unique to the field.