Topic 5: Clinical psychology
Topic overview
Students must show understanding that clinical psychology
is about explaining and treating mental health issues, and
of the different ways of treating them, including counselling
and drug treatments.
Individual differences and developmental psychology must
be considered when learning about links between
personality factors and mental disorders and genetic
influences (nature) or environmental influences (nurture)
within different explanations for mental health disorders.
Subject content What students need to learn:
5.1 Content 5.1.1 Diagnosis of mental disorders, including deviance,
dysfunction, distress, and danger.
5.1.2 Classification systems (DSM IVR or DSM V, and ICD)
for mental health, including reliability and validity of
diagnoses.
5.1.3 Schizophrenia and one other disorder from anorexia
nervosa, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and
unipolar depression.
For schizophrenia
● Description of symptoms and features, including thought
insertion, hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking.
● The function of neurotransmitters as a
theory/explanation.
● One other biological theory/explanation.
● One non-biological theory/explanation.
For the other disorder
● Description of symptoms and features.
● Two explanations/theories: one biological
theory/explanation and one non-biological
theory/explanation.
5.1.4 For schizophrenia and the other disorder, students
should be familiar with two treatments for each
disorder: one from biological and one from
psychological.
Two treatments for each disorder. The two for schizophrenia
must come from different topic areas. The two for the other
chosen disorder must come from different topic areas (these
may be from the same topic areas as those used for
schizophrenia).
24 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Psychology
Specification – Issue 2 – November 2016 © Pearson Education Limited 2016
, Subject content What students need to learn:
5.1 Content 5.1.5 Individual differences
(continued) ● Cultural effects can lead to individual differences
in mental health disorders, e.g. non-biological
explanation for schizophrenia.
● Cultural effects can lead to different diagnoses of
mental health disorders affecting reliablity and
validity.
5.1.6 Developmental psychology
● Issues around genes and mental health, such as
a genetic or biochemical explanation for
schizophrenia, can affect development.
5.2 Methods 5.2.1 Awareness of Health and Care Professions Council
(HCPC) guidelines for clinical practitioners.
5.2.2 Researching mental health
The use of longitudinal, cross-sectional, cross-
cultural methods, meta-analysis, and the use of
primary and secondary data.
5.2.3 The use of case studies, to include an example
study:
e.g. Lavarenne et al. (2013) Containing psychotic
patients with fragile boundaries: a single group case
study.
5.2.4 The use of interviews in clinical psychology, to
include an example study:
e.g. Vallentine et al. (2010) Psycho-educational
group for detained offender patients: understanding
mental illness.
5.2.5. Within the methods mentioned here:
Analysis of quantitative data using both descriptive
and inferential statistics (chi-squared, Spearman's,
Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U as appropriate).
Analysis of qualitative data using thematic analysis
and grounded theory.
Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Psychology 25
Specification – Issue 2 – November 2016 © Pearson Education Limited 2016
Topic overview
Students must show understanding that clinical psychology
is about explaining and treating mental health issues, and
of the different ways of treating them, including counselling
and drug treatments.
Individual differences and developmental psychology must
be considered when learning about links between
personality factors and mental disorders and genetic
influences (nature) or environmental influences (nurture)
within different explanations for mental health disorders.
Subject content What students need to learn:
5.1 Content 5.1.1 Diagnosis of mental disorders, including deviance,
dysfunction, distress, and danger.
5.1.2 Classification systems (DSM IVR or DSM V, and ICD)
for mental health, including reliability and validity of
diagnoses.
5.1.3 Schizophrenia and one other disorder from anorexia
nervosa, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and
unipolar depression.
For schizophrenia
● Description of symptoms and features, including thought
insertion, hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking.
● The function of neurotransmitters as a
theory/explanation.
● One other biological theory/explanation.
● One non-biological theory/explanation.
For the other disorder
● Description of symptoms and features.
● Two explanations/theories: one biological
theory/explanation and one non-biological
theory/explanation.
5.1.4 For schizophrenia and the other disorder, students
should be familiar with two treatments for each
disorder: one from biological and one from
psychological.
Two treatments for each disorder. The two for schizophrenia
must come from different topic areas. The two for the other
chosen disorder must come from different topic areas (these
may be from the same topic areas as those used for
schizophrenia).
24 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Psychology
Specification – Issue 2 – November 2016 © Pearson Education Limited 2016
, Subject content What students need to learn:
5.1 Content 5.1.5 Individual differences
(continued) ● Cultural effects can lead to individual differences
in mental health disorders, e.g. non-biological
explanation for schizophrenia.
● Cultural effects can lead to different diagnoses of
mental health disorders affecting reliablity and
validity.
5.1.6 Developmental psychology
● Issues around genes and mental health, such as
a genetic or biochemical explanation for
schizophrenia, can affect development.
5.2 Methods 5.2.1 Awareness of Health and Care Professions Council
(HCPC) guidelines for clinical practitioners.
5.2.2 Researching mental health
The use of longitudinal, cross-sectional, cross-
cultural methods, meta-analysis, and the use of
primary and secondary data.
5.2.3 The use of case studies, to include an example
study:
e.g. Lavarenne et al. (2013) Containing psychotic
patients with fragile boundaries: a single group case
study.
5.2.4 The use of interviews in clinical psychology, to
include an example study:
e.g. Vallentine et al. (2010) Psycho-educational
group for detained offender patients: understanding
mental illness.
5.2.5. Within the methods mentioned here:
Analysis of quantitative data using both descriptive
and inferential statistics (chi-squared, Spearman's,
Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U as appropriate).
Analysis of qualitative data using thematic analysis
and grounded theory.
Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Psychology 25
Specification – Issue 2 – November 2016 © Pearson Education Limited 2016
