title: A study of patients who go to a psychology clinic seeking treatment.
abstract: In order to characterize a typical clinical context, as opposed to an academic or research context, this article will analyze the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients who turn to a psychology clinic in need of professional help. This study was conducted using an initial sample of 1,305 patients at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) Clínica Universitaria de Psicología. Of the sociodemographic characteristics studied, it is noteworthy that the majority of patients were women (65%) and relatively young (the average age is 29.7 years-old). The disorders for which psychological help was most often needed were anxiety and mood disorders and relationship problems, which together made up 50% of cases. In 17.70% of cases, patients had at least one comorbid disorder in addition to the one that brought them to the clinic. The generalizability and implications of the results are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Complutense, Spain. fjepuig@pas.ucm.es
authors.forename: Francisco José
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Estupiñá
authors.forename: Francisco Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Labrador
authors.forename: María Paz
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: García-Vera
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011586:Psychology, Clinical; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain