When conducting research in the field of clinical psychology, you could choose a research topic from a list of mental health diagnosis. Some common areas of study are various types of addiction, depression, traumatic responses to sexual or physical abuse and eating disorders. There is also a category of diagnosis that has an impact on a person’s learning capabilities such as mental retardation or autism. Some clinical psychologists focus their research on particular symptoms or behaviors associated with such disorders. For example, it is common for people with some mental health disorders to become suicidal.
Clinical psychologists also research treatment methods. Some study the benefits and drawbacks of psychotherapy, which focuses on counseling and is considered a non-medical treatment. Marriage counseling, support for drug and alcohol addiction and grief counseling have all improved through research. Clinical psychologists might also research the side effects and benefits of different medications in the treatment of illnesses, or the combination of medication and therapy.
Clinical psychology research topics can focus on the work of important or popular psychology theorists who laid the framework of the field. For example, a research topic could examine how Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson’s work focused on child development, or on studies of behaviorism by John Watson, Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner.