CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AS A KEY STRUCTURAL COMPONENT OF UKRAINE’S MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM: A SUBJECT-ORIENTED INTEGRATED MODEL OF CARE IN WARTIME

Abstract

The article provides a theoretical justification and conceptualization of the role of clinical psychology as a key structural component of the modern mental health care system in Ukraine. The relevance of the study is due to the need to bring the system of clinical, psychological and psychosocial care into line with the conditions of war, reform the sphere of mental health care and implement the norms of the Law of Ukraine dated January 15, 2025 No. 4223-IX "On the System of Mental Health Care in Ukraine". The central theoretical and practical issue identified is diagnostic uncertainty, particularly the lack of unified objective criteria for assessing the mental states of personality within the “norm–pathology” model, which complicates the differentiation between psychological phenomena and psychopathological symptoms. The methodological framework of the study is based on a comparative typological analysis of orthodox (nosocentric), phenomenological, and psychodynamic approaches, as well as a systemic structural analysis that made it possible to conceptualize clinical psychology as an integrative component of the mental health care system, combining biological, psychological, and sociocultural dimensions of personality. The necessity of overcoming biomedical reductionism through the integration of phenomenological understanding of lived experience with psychodynamic analysis of intrapersonal dynamics is substantiated. It is demonstrated that the effectiveness of the integrated model of care depends on a clear delineation of professional competencies and areas of responsibility among psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and psychotherapists. Psychodiagnostics is defined as the central functional component of the integrated model, ensuring a multilevel understanding of the state of personality, personalized intervention planning, and the development of individual care pathways. The article outlines the perspectives of integral instrumental psychodynamic diagnostics (IIPD) as an approach that enhances the accuracy of clinical psychological conclusions and enables differentiation between clinical symptoms and stress- and trauma-related reactive mental states, which is particularly important in work with veterans and individuals affected by combat-related trauma.