British Clinical Psychology in Historical Perspective:The Genesis of a Profession.Mark Burton and Carolyn KaganManchester Metropolitan University

Foreword 2007

This article, written in 1982-3 was submitted to several journals at thetime but despite 3 attempts we could not get it published. Nevertheless, it hascontinued to generate interest over the years and is therefore offered here asa resource.

Referees' criticisms at the time focussed on a number of points, ofwhich the following are representative:• The article focussed too much on the controversy over the BPS 'Medical

Section' of the British Psychological Society.• We omitted critical elements in the development of clinical psychology

(Shapiro, behaviour therapy, child guidance, the Tavistock).• We didn't discuss training of clinical psychologists.• We were biased in our analysis.• The referencing was not sufficient.

These points are all fair, but none of the referees questioned either ouraccount or our analysis of the 'Medical Section controversy'. It was clear thatat least some did not understand our approach, which was innovative at thetime. Some of the 'elder statesmen' of British clinical psychology who wouldappear to have been some of the reviewers found our contextualist history atodds with their expectation of a ('Whig') history of human progress (onecomplained about 'jargon' - presumably vocabulary from other social andhuman sciences). Our intention was to analyse an episode that took placeduring the emergence of the profession of clinical psychology, in order toilluminate some of the reasons for its growth and development. The articlewas never intended to be a comprehensive history of clinical psychology, butperhaps we could have been clearer in explaining and justifying ourilluminative case history approach. We believe that the Medical Sectioncontroversy does indeed tell us something about the emergence of clinicalpsychology, about what it is and is not, and about its place in theadministration of mental distress - in terms of the management of people andthe management of ideology.

We might rephrase our thesis now as follows:Clinical psychology emerged as both a new actor and as a tool in the

modernisation of the social administration of mental disorder/difference andthe people affected by it. A dominant actor was the similarly modernisingprofession of psychiatry. But in order to achieve this modernisation ofprocesses, ideologies and practices it was necessary to deal with a groupingthat could claim a hegemonic (or at least confusing) definition of psycho-medical practice and theory. This tendency (dynamic psychotherapy, and itsclub the BPS medcial section) had to be marginalised in order to establish a

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modern, 'scientific' (read reductionist - empiricist) professional hegemony inthe field.

For a broad based yet critical review of the emergence andconsolidation of British clinical psychology we commend John Hall's series ofarticles (Hall, 2007a, 2007b) in History and Philosophy of Psychology (it wasJohn's citation of this article that has prompted us to make it more widelyavailable).

References to ForewordHall, J. (2007a). The emergence of clinical psychology inn Britain from 1943

to 1958 part 1: core tasks and the professionalisation process. Historyand Philosophy of Psychology, 9(1), 29-55.

Hall, J. (2007b). The emergence of clinical psychology inn Britain from 1943to 1958 part 2: practice and research traditions. History and Philosophyof Psychology, 9(2), 1-33.

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