By the second half of the 1800s, the scientific study of psychology was fetching well established in university laboratories. Although there were a few speckled voices calling for an applied psychology,the general field looked down ahead this idea and insisted on "pure" science as the only upright practice. This changed when Lightener witmer(1867-1956), a past student of Wundt and head of the psychology branch at the University of Pennsylvania, agreed to treat a young boy who had difficulty with spelling. His successful handling was soon to lead to Witmer's opening of the first psychological clinic at Penn in 1896, devoted to helping children with learning disability. Ten years later in 1907, Witmer was to found the first journal of this fresh field, The Psychological Clinic , where he coined the term "clinical psychology," define as "the study of those, by observation or experimentation, with the aim of promoting alteration". The field was slow to follow Witmer's example, but by 1914 there were 26 parallel clinics in the U.S.

Clinical psychology includes the scientific study and appliance of psychology for the purpose of understanding, prevent, and relieving psychologically-based suffering or dysfunction and to promote prejudiced well-being and personal improvement. Central to its practice are psychological evaluation and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists also fit into place in research, teaching, discussion, forensic testimony, and program improvement and administration. In many countries clinical psychology is a synchronized mental health profession.
Clinical psychology may be baffled with psychiatry , which generally has alike goals (e.g. the improvement of mental distress), but is exclusive in that psychiatrists are physicians with medical degrees. As such, they tend to focus on medication -based solutions, even though some also provide psychotherapeutic services as well. In practice, clinical psychologists often work in multidisciplinary teams with other professionals such as psychiatrists, occupational therapists , and social workers to bring a multimodal advance to difficult patient troubles.

Public workers provide a variety of services, generally troubled with social problems, their causes, and their solutions. With specific guidance, clinical social workers may also offer psychological counseling (in the US and Canada), in addition to more habitual social work. The Masters in Social Work in the U.S. is a two-year, sixty credit program that includes at least a one year seminar (two years for clinicians). Unlike the PhD, which is a third level educational degree, the MSW is consider a professional degree (a second level university degree) and is sufficient for essential licensure in most states.

The following represents an (incomplete) listing of significant journals in or related to the field of clinical psychology