ABSTRACT
The rapid growth of psychiatry in Israel since the establishment of statehood in 1948 was accompanied, from its very beginning, by a growing awareness of the actual and potential contribution of clinical psychology. About one third of approximately 170 members of the Israel Psychological Association are clinical psychologists, organized in the section of Clinical Psychology. By and large clinical psychologists in Israel are employed in salaried positions. While some of them are involved in part-time private practice of diagnostic testing, consulting, and psychotherapy, only a negligibly small number are in full time private practice. Some of the work of clinical psychologists has been published in Israel medical and educational journals. Topics deal mostly with psychopathology, diagnostic testing, case studies and problems of psychotherapy. The question of the relative weight of cultural and social factors in the development and manifestations of psychopathology is another area for which the Israel society may well serve as a natural laboratory.
