Allen Esterson wrote: > Clinical psychology at least has its roots in experimentation,
Hmm. I wonder what you mean by that. There are many "roots" to what has become clinical psychology, but the "tap root" (if I may extend the metaphor) was a group of Boston physicians and neurologists working with the Emmanuel Movement, a group of Boston clergy (one of whom had been a student in Wundt's Leipzig lab) holding private "spiritual" sessions (some talk, some prayer, probably some lingering Mesmerism) with some of their congregation (see, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Movement). The movement quickly spread to several other eastern US cities, but eventually drew so much "professional" criticism that the physicians and neurologists were forced to drop out and denounce it. Still, the idea of talk therapy had been ignited. A few years later, in 1909, Freud made his famous visit to Clark U. The best historical account of these events is probably given in Eric Caplan's book _Mind Games_ (U. Cal, 1998). Eugene Taylor has written about them as well (most accessibly in 2000, "Psychotherapeutics and the Problematic Origins of Clinical Psychology in America," /American Psychologist/, /55/ (9), 1029-1033). The traditional story of Lightner Witmer having founded "clinical psychology" is based on a misunderstanding of what he meant by that phrase. What he invented in Philadelphia in the mid-1890s was much more the basis of school psychology than of modern clinical psychology. Regards, Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
