The beginnings of clinical psychology in the Republic of Croatia are linked to the employment of the first psychologist in the healthcare system and the establishment of the first Clinical Psychology Department in 1949 at what is now Clinical Hospital Centre Sestre Milosrdnice (KBC Sestre Milosrdnice). The first psychologist was Jelena Šimunec-Muhek Turdiu, who worked at KBC Sestre Milosrdnice from 1949 to 1963. After her, psychologists were employed at KBC Zagreb, Vrapče Psychiatric Clinic, community health centers, and psychiatric hospitals on Ugljan and in Popovača. The practical application of clinical psychology began significantly before it was introduced as a subject in psychology studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The independent Department of Clinical Psychology at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, was established in 1972 (from 1956 to 1960, the Department of Social and Clinical Psychology was active). The development of clinical psychology was influenced by numerous events and social circumstances, both in Croatia and in other environments. Alongside psychodiagnostics and research, clinical psychologists began to train in various psychotherapy approaches. The current level of clinical psychology in the Republic of Croatia reflects an education that includes several mandatory and elective courses in psychology studies and practical experience in institutions where clinical psychologists work, a specialist study in clinical psychology, numerous available literature and psychological measurement instruments standardized on the Croatian population, opportunities to train in various psychotherapy approaches, the work of sections within the Croatian Psychological Society and the Croatian Chamber of Psychologists, numerous conferences, and opportunities for learning and exchanging experiences.

history of psychology, clinical psychology, University Hospital Center Sestre milosrdnice