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.