Institute of Clinical Psychology

Introduction

Director: Dr. Riaz Ahmad

ICP, The Institute of Excellence

Institute of Clinical Psychology is a reputable institute and has a distinguished status in the field of clinical psychology and research since it has been established. The Institute’s high quality training, research and congenial environment ensures its position as the institute of choice for Pakistan’s high-caliber postmasters students. The students of ICP are highly competitive and are working effectively in wide-ranging fields of employment. It is this reason that students of ICP are in high demand in various organizations. This has been made possible due to:

Educational Excellence

The Institute has a dexterous faculty working to maintain a standard in academics, research and clinical practices. Regular class schedule in morning session and supervised clinical practice in evening session makes a comprehensive training schedule to gain knowledge in the field of Clinical Psychology.

Intensive Clinical Supervision

Interns have to under go a rigorous training for clinical internship, including training in conducting psychotherapy, individually supervised therapy sessions and learning standardized patterns of administration, scoring, interpretation of psychological assessment tools and report writing. Further interns are also trained regarding diagnostic issues. The major aim is to make interns meet international standards required for working as a Clinical Psychologist. Moreover, there are weekly case conferences in which interns are encouraged to present their cases before the panel of clinical experts in order to receive guidance and exchange ideas amongst themselves.

Multidisciplinary Approach

The Institute focuses on a multidisciplinary approach in clinical practice. The interns are trained for conducting psychotherapeutic sessions using different approaches like Psychoanalysis, CBT, REBT, Multimodal Approach, etc. However depending on the needs of the patient, occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Rehabilitation Services are also available within the premises of the Institute for the convenience of the patients. A Medical Officer is also available in order to examine the progress of the patients who are on medication.
During their extensive internship the interns are also required to assess and diagnose the patients by administering standardized psychoneurological, intelligence, achievement, aptitude, objective and projective personality tests.

Research and Development of Psychological Instruments

Institute facilitates research in multiple disciplines that includes clinical psychology, child and educational psychology, social psychology, consumer behavior and marketing research. In its vision to promote research, the institute facilitates its faculty to participate in research projects, and interns to conduct supervised researches. The Institute has been successful in conducting researches of international standards, and funds are raised every year to purchase psychological test material from international sources. There is also focus on translation of tests/scales in local language and then conducting normative studies in order to have statistics of psychological problems prevalent in Pakistan.

Cost Effective

ICP charges very reasonable fee for all available courses of Clinical Psychology to provide an equal opportunity for all deserving candidates. 

Objectives

Mission Statement
To develop an optimum standard of clinical practice, research and professional training in clinical psychology and broadening its scope by grafting its application in other related disciplines.

Objectives
The Institute of Clinical Psychology is already being recognized as one of the premier institutions in Pakistan, where Professional training and services of international standard in the field of clinical psychology are offered. The Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. To expand the growth and strengthen the status of Clinical Psychology as a profession in Pakistan and to impart specialized training in this field.
2. To promote research suited to our own social cultural milieu in psychotherapy, psychological assessment, diagnostic testing, speech therapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation and other related areas.
3. 
   To bridge the highly disproportionate gap between "demand" (needs of psychologically treatable patients) and "supply" (availability of qualified clinical psychologists).
   
4. To help patients who are mentally disturbed or have behavior problems to function at higher levels, live fuller and richer lives and be able to give more of themselves to their society.
   
5. To stop the draining out of talent; it is expected that students aspiring to be clinical psychologists will avail these training facilities provided within the country in an environment which teaches them to do clinical practice in a culturally appropriate way 

     

   Background

   
   

   The Institute of Clinical Psychology was created under a directive of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, President, Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Prof. Dr. Farrukh Z. Ahmad, who originally conceptualized the idea of establishing an Institute, was appointed as its first director. The Institute has its own Board of Governors, a Selection Board, and an Academic Committee in accordance with its Statues which have been passed by the Senate of the University of Karachi and the Governor of Sindh in his capacity as the Chancellor of the University.
   
   The Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi was established in response to the dire need for mental health professional and the acute dearth of professional psychological services in Pakistan. Till 1983, when the Institute came into being, no professional training facilities existed for Clinical Psychologists in Pakistan. Courses in Clinical Psychology offered at the Master's level by the department of Psychology of various universities were merely aimed at familiarizing students with the subject matter, scope and some methods used in this area, without providing them opportunities to develop skills necessary to the practice of and research in clinical psychology. Students desirous of becoming clinical psychologists have been going abroad for the necessary specialized training, and rarely, if ever, return to Pakistan, thereby adding to the problem of "brain drain". Moreover, with the increasing incidence of mental health problems, psychologically disturbed persons are grossly underserved in terms of professional help, which can only be given by qualified clinical psychologists. The above-mentioned factors, as well as the fact that indigenously trained professionals would be better able to deal with problems specific to our own culture made the creation of an institution devoted to the education and training of qualified clinical psychologists an absolute necessity and of vital importance to our social and national development.
   The Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi has a total land endowment of 25.5 acres out of which 3 acres have been donated by the Government of Sindh in the heart of the city of Karachi and a plot measuring 22.5 acres of land has been allocated by the University of Karachi in its own campus.
   A Psychological Clinic, a Library and some of the academic and administration facilities of the Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi have been built on the 3-acre plot of land. The address of its site is: 118, Block 20, Abul-Asar Hafeez Jalindhri Road, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi-75290, Pakistan. The proximity of this plot to the city centre and its consequent accessibility for the patients to Psychological Clinic of the Institute of Clinical Psychology was the prime reason why a location was selected outside the campus of the University of Karachi which is inaccessible to the majority of patients and technically unsuitable for the profession of Clinical Psychology.

   
   List of Previous Directors of ICP:
   

   Order	Name
   1	Prof. Dr. Miss Farrukh Z. Ahmad
   2	Prof. Dr. Kaleemur Rehman
   3	Prof. Dr. Afzal Imam
   4	Prof. Dr. Miss Farrukh Z. Ahmad
   5	Prof. Dr. Afzal Imam
   6	Prof. Dr. Tahira Siddiqui
   7	Prof. Muhammad Shamim Hashmi
   8	Prof. Dr. Tahira Siddiqui
   9	Prof. Dr. Arifa Fareed
   10	Prof. Dr. Nisar Ahmad
   11	Prof. Dr. Seema Munaf
   12	Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsuddin