Clinical psychologist

Diagnosis is where the role begins and it is a formal process. The psychologist diagnoses psychiatric symptoms and works from the diagnosis of mental illness. A diagnosis in this field also carries consequences outside the clinic, in work, in care and sometimes in law.

Treatment follows. The psychologist applies counselling methods and the interventions suited to a particular person and a particular condition, including interventions for people living with a chronic illness, where the psychological work runs alongside a medical condition that will not resolve.

The clinical frame governs everything. The psychologist works to the healthcare regulations and to the quality standards healthcare practice requires, and interacts with the people using the service.