Ethical assessment of the role of a clinical psychologist in a medical setting in Russia (focus group materials)

The number of clinical psychologists working in medical settings in Russia is very small although most medical settings must have at least one psychologist on staff. This situation needs to be changed because a clinical psychologist is trained not only to provide psychological support for patients during the treatment process, but also to help create a favorable psychological environment in the medical setting. To seek out the opinions of patients and the experts about the practice of clinical psychology in Russia, a focus group was organized and held by the Volgograd Medical Research Centre. All experts showed positive attitudes towards: a) employing clinical psychologists by medical settings, b) getting patients to adhere to their treatments and ensuring a trusting relationship between doctor and patient, c) improving the efficiency of the medical staff through promoting positive medical practice environment by clinical psychologists.

psychosomatics, doctor-patient relationship, patient, clinical psychology, innovation, morale, ethics of the doctor-patient relationship