Abstract
This article delineates the historical background specifying the academic conditions within which my clinical experience evolved. Three main themes guided this development: (a) creating the academic context deemed necessary for acknowledging and supporting clinical psychology as a discipline in Egypt, (b) shaping with care the ensuing relationship with psychiatrists, (c) carefully figuring out an adequate orientation to guide decisions concerning the administration of available techniques of assessment and treatment to Egyptian clients. Such an orientation had to be based on an insightful balance and compromise between considerations of proper methodology and pressures of practicality. Some provisional solutions are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Abd-el-Quader, M. (1971). Standardization of the General Aptitude Test Battery in Egypt. Cairo: Publications of the National Center for Social and Criminological Research (in Arabic).
American Psychological Association (1953). Ethical standards of psychologists. Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association (1954). Technical recommendations for psychological tests and diagnostic techniques. Supplement to the Psychological Bulletin, Washington, DC: Author.
Ashour, A.M. (1967). Clinical and encephalographic validation of psychometric tests of organicity in Egyptian psychiatric patients. Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of M.D. (Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, Ain-Shams University, Cairo.
Beck, J.S. (1995). Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: The Guilford Press.
Benton, A. (1963). The Revised Visual Retention Test. New York: The Psychological Corporation.
Berger, D., Everson, R., Rutledge, L., & Koskoff, Y.D. (1958). The spiral aftereffect in neurological setting. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 22, 249-255.
Blau, T.H., & Shaffer, R.E. (1960). The spiral aftereffect test (SAET) as a predictor of normal and abnormal electroencephalographic records in children. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 35-42.
Brown, E.C., Casey, A., Fisch, R.I., & Neuringer, C. (1958). Trail Making Test as a screening device for detection of brain damage. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 22, 469-474.
Chambwe, A. (1982). Psychological and psychiatric services in Zimbabwe. Bulletin of the British Psychological Association, 35, 271-272.
Cherry, C., & Sayers, B. McA. (1960). Experiments upon the total inhibition of stammering by external control and some clinical results. In H.J. Eysenck (Ed.), Behavior therapy and the neuroses (pp. 441-456). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Clark, D.F. (1980). Clinical psychology in Sri Lanka. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 33, 123-125.
Collins, S. (1993). Clinician heal thyself? A role for clinical psychology in Malawi. Clinical Psychology Forum, 52, 25-26.
Craske, M.G., & Barlow, D.H. (1993). Panic disorder and agoraphobia. In D.H. Barlow (Ed.), Clinical handbook of psychological disorders (2nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
Cucco, W.F. (1990). Clinical psychology training in Italy. In Clinical psychology: Europe. (pp. 15-16). Clinical Psychology Division, British Psychological Society.
Doll, E.A. (1947). Vineland Social Maturity Scale. Minneapolis: Educational Test Bureau.
Eisenson, J. (1954). Examining for aphasia (rev. ed.). New York: The Psychological Corporation.
Eysenck, H.J. (1952). The effects of psychotherapy: An evaluation, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 16, 319-324.
Eysenck, H.J. (1959). Learning theory and behavior therapy. Journal of Mental Science, 105, 61-75.
Eysenck, H.J. (Ed.). (1960). Behaviour therapy and the neuroses. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Fisher, C. (1990). Clinical psychology in Romania. In Clinical psychology: Europe (pp. 25-27). Clinical Psychology Division, British Psychological Society.
Franks, C., Soueif, M.I., & Maxwell, A.P. (1960). A factorial study of certain scales from the MMPI and the STDCR. Acta Psychologica, 17, 407-416.
Giel, R., Knox, R., & Carstairs, G. (1964). A five year follow-up of 100 neurotic outpatients. British Medical Journal, 2, 160-163.
Goodenough, F.L. (1954). Measurement of intelligence by drawings. New York: World Book.
Guergis, S. (1948). Psychological clinics for children and adolescents. Egyptian Journal of Psychology, 4, 53-60.
Hetherington, R. (1981). The changing role of the clinical psychologist. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 34, 12-14.
Holland, H.C. (1957). The Archimedes spiral. Nature, 79, 432-433.
Matsumoto, D., Kudoh, T., & Takouchi. S. (1996). Changing patterns of individualism and collectivism in the United States and Japan. Culture & Psychology, 2 (1), 77-108.
Oerter, R., Oerter, R., Agostiani, H., Kim, H., & Wibowo, S. (1996). The concept of human nature in East Asia: Etic and emic characteristics. Culture and Psychology, 2 (1), 9-52.
Ovretveit, J., Brunning, H., & Huffington, C. (1992). Adapt or decay: Why clinical psychologists must develop the consulting role. Clinical Psychology Forum, 46, 27-29.
Paul, G.L. (1969). Outcome of systematic desensitization II: Controlled investigations of individual treatment, technique variations, and current status. In C.M. Franks (Ed.), Behavior therapy: Appraisal and status. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Paul, G.L., & Bernstein, D. (1973). Anxiety and clinical problem: Systematic desensitization and related techniques. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
Porteus, S.D. (1952). The Porteus Maze Test Manual. London: George C. Harrap.
Rachman, S. (1971). The effects of psychotherapy. Oxford: Pergamon.
Reitan, R.M. (1955). The relation of the Trail Making Test to organic brain damage. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 19, 393-394.
Seligman, M.E.P. (1981). A learned helplessness point of view. In I.P. Rehm (Ed.), Behavior therapy for depression (pp. 123-141). New York: Academic Press.
Shapiro, M.B., Field, J., & Post, F. (1957). An enquiry into the determinants of differentiation between elderly “organic” and “non-organic” psychiatric patients on the Bender Gestalt Test. Journal of Mental Science, 103, 364-374.
Soueif, M.I. (1962). Neuroticism and Extraversion-Introversion: A cross-cultural study. National Review of Criminal Science, 5 (1), 1-50 (in Arabic).
Soueif, M.I. (1991). Mental health: Towards a culture-fair definition. National Review of Social Sciences, 28 (2), 228-238.
Soueif, M.I. (1998). Clinical psychology. In R.A. Ahmed & U.P. Gielen (Eds.), Psychology in the Arab countries (pp. 425-446). Menoufia, Egypt: Menoufia University Press.
Soueif, M.I., Abd-el-Naby, S., & Helmy, A. (1964). Objective assessment of psychiatric changes produced by reserpine in Egyptian schizophrenics. Acta Psychologica, 22, 85-99.
Soueif, M.I., & Eysenck, H.J., (1971). Cultural differences in aesthetic preferences. International Journal of Psychology, 6, 293-298.
Soueif, M.I., & Metwally, A. (1961). Testing for organicity in Egyptian psychiatric patients. Acta Psychologica, 18, 285-296.
Wallace, H., & Whyte, M. (1959). Natural history of the psychoneuroses. British Medical Journal, 1, 144-148.
Ward, C. (1983). The role and status of psychology in developing nations: A Malaysian case study. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 36, 73-76.
Wechsler, D. (1949). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. New York: The Psychological Corporation.
Wolpe, J. (1958). Psychotherapy by reciprocal inhibition. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Young, J.E., Beck, A.T., & Weinberger, A. (1993). Depression. In D.H. Barlow (Ed.), Clinical handbook of psychological disorders (2nd ed., pp. 240-277). New York: The Guilford Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Soueif, M.I. Practicing Clinical Psychology in the Egyptian Cultural Context: Some Personal Experiences. International Journal of Group Tensions 30, 241–266 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011652515027
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011652515027