Psychology
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Putting Thought into Cognition

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Psychologists in Uniform

Fighting Depression on a Cellular Level

On the Doctor's Couch

Science in the Future

On the Doctor’s Couch
Abdul Hamid Saad

DR. KHALIL MUSTAPHA is an accredited physician and clinical psychologist working at the St. George counselling centre, in the Sydney suburb of Bexley. He originally trained as a neurologist and recently completed a Masters degree in clinical psychology. During the meetings with Khalil, I was taken through his daily routine as a Science professional. Although I was not allowed to be a part of his activities, due to patient confidentiality, it was a great opportunity to observe science in practice.

Much of the day of a clinical psychologist is taken up with a variety of tasks. These include clinical assessments of new patients, administering psychotherapy treatments to patients who have previously been diagnosed, and teaching patients with phobias (abnormal fears) relaxation techniques. Khalil’s main priority in his practice is to provide a relaxed yet confidential environment for his patients. He sees this as a crucial part of the patient’s treatment. This doctor-patient relationship is based on humanistic psychology theories.

One of Khalil’s patients, a middle-aged woman suffering from agoraphobia (the abnormal fear of public places), allowed me to watch whilst she was treated. From this observation, I learnt some of the essential procedures in dealing with a patient. Khalil diagnosed her using the DSM-IV (the DSM-IV is a reference book that lists all psychological disorders). The 35-minute session was spent mostly practicing relaxation techniques. These were then used to help the patient in overcoming her anxiety disorder. In this case, the techniques were used to stop her from breaking into a sweat or getting rapid heart palpitations when she imagined stepping into a car and getting ready to head off on a long journey.

Whilst having a private chat with Khalil, I was shown some of the journals that he subscribes to. The articles in the journals allow him to keep in touch with current research in his and associated psychological fields. The scientific findings of experimental psychologists help clinicians who are working with patients by providing them with better treatments.

During the interview, I informed him that during my first year as a science student, majoring in psychology, there were over 900 students enrolled in first year Psychology courses. This came as no surprise to Khalil as he believes that psychology, and especially clinical psychology, has a big future in Australia. He noted that scientific and community initiatives such as “Beyond Blue” which aim to bring clinical disorders such as severe depression out of the shadows and to help demystify psychology making it better known and understood in our society.

As a scientist who has trained as both a physician and a clinical psychologist, I asked him if there were any parallels between the two fields. He replied, “emotional problems are the basis of the underlying symptoms in both professions, hence they are related”. When the mind is emotionally unbalanced, there are usually corresponding physical side-effects. For instance, acute stress may lead to physical ailments such as fatigue, loss of sleep, and on rare occasions, heart problems.

Khalil points out that public awareness of science and their approach to psychology has broadened extensively in the past few years, not only in Western cultures, but also in the more traditional Eastern cultures. Myths and folklore are still prevalent in many cultures in the world. Some include breaking mirrors, walking under ladders, and spells relating to luck and welfare. All of these are still very common. However, the public perception regarding such beliefs is continually changing. People are no longer as reluctant as they once were in seeking help from a psychologist or a clinician.


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