ABSTRACT
When seeing a new clients, whether for assessment, therapy, or consultation, one of the first things clinical psychologists do is take a history. Clients are asked about the history of their presenting problem as well as their general psychological and social development (see Chapter 6). In order to develop a thorough understanding of their clients, psychologists need to know how the clients got to where they are today. What interpersonal relationships, social pressures, educational experiences, upheavals, traumas, successes, and failures influenced their clients? In much the same way, we believe that for students to understand contemporary clinical psychology, they must understand its history. Just as clinical psychologists understand their clients by examining the development, growth, and maturation of their lives, students can understand the discipline by exploring its development, growth, and maturation.
