Roles and Functions of Different Types of Psychologists

Educational psychologist Educational psychologists apply knowledge and understanding to help parents, teachers and other adults working with young children. Each school has a link educational psychologist who visits regularly.

Health psychology is a diverse career field; psychologists can be employed anywhere from hospitals to research to influencing health care. “Health psychologists… conduct clinical interviews and behavioral assessments. They may also participate in interventions with individuals or groups — for example, programs to help people reduce stress, quit smoking and avoid sedentary behaviors…They may study the causes of health problems and how to prevent them, or explore why certain groups don’t seek care when they need it. They may also help patients understand and come to terms with a diagnosis, or follow a treatment regimen in order to increase the probability of their full recovery (American Psychology Association). Health psychologists have a broad spectrum of people to treat as they treat people with mental disorders and create treatment plans for people; health psychologists need to understand all parts of psychology to provide effective care for their patients because health psychologists research, test people, and help their patients gain skills so they can better take care of themselves.

Clinical psychology is just one of the many subfields that psychology has to offer. Those who choose to enter clinical psychology aim to help people with addiction, emotional stress, mental illness, or any other type of mental problems. Knowing what a clinical psychologist does in their practice is important in understanding their profession. A clinical psychologist's education is the most prominent part of their career; without it, they cannot be considered a psychologist. The process and requirements of employment for psychologists are scattered, varying from state to state, as well as their salary and where they may be employed. The future and growth of clinical psychology can only be

School Psychology is a general practice and health service provider specialty of professional psychology that is deals with the practice of psychology with children, youth, families; learners of all ages; and the schooling process. The basic education and training of school psychologists prepares them to provide a large range of diagnosis, assessment, intervention, prevention, health promotion, and program development and evaluation services with a special focus on the developmental processes of children and youth within the context of schools, families, and other systems (Ehly, 1986).

Psychologists look for explanations for human behaviour; they reach conclusions through research processes which attempt to explain or even predict said behaviour. Researchers strive to obtain facts

Walter Bowers Pillsbury (1911) described psychology as 'the science of human behaviour '. This indicates a significant similarity between psychology and sociology. However, sociology focuses on group dynamics and the collective behaviour of society, whereas psychology mainly focuses on the behaviour of people as individuals. Psychologists aim to gain understanding of the mind, and the affect the mind has on individual behaviour. Sociologists research topics such as social stratification, hate crimes, addictions, and injustice, always focusing on the issues of society as a whole. Psychologists, on the other hand, research the cognitive processes behind the issues. They explore emotions, dreams and memories, and seek explanations for these in order to improve the mental well-being of an individual.

Psychology is a discipline that involves monitoring mental processes and behaviour scientifically. Psychologists try to delve into the basic functions of a person and animals cerebral activity. This usually involves studying relationships, emotions, personality and many more areas of a person or animals day to day life. Psychology tends to steer towards finding reasons for a person or animals actions in an attempt to resolve them.

This makes a huge point to my argument. Psychologists are people who learn about why human beings think what they think and do what they do. They help to stand up for people who have been put down by society.

In allowing psychologists to handle both the therapy and medication, more progress can be made with the client. This would also help patients stick to their treatment without having to drop out in the middle of it due to transportation or monetary issues. This is important when taking into account that mental health often requires long-term treatment without a defined way or cure to treat someone. The complexities behind mental health make it difficult to have a set date in when a patient will be fully better. Therefore, sticking with the treatment, is ideal when aiming towards a desirable result. If people were able to access the care they need more easily, then most likely they would be more willing to continue on with the treatment. Many argue that in allowing psychologists to handle both the therapy and treatment, it would not only reduce the cost and time needed, but it will also increase the availability of mental health treatment to those in rural areas (Long,

I am interested in being a school psychologist for a variety of reasons. First, I believe that my background in working with children and families, and my B.A. in psychology are essential combinations that will be helpful in my pursuit of the degree. Second, I would like to work with children in a variety of educational situations, such as those in need of special education classes and those in talented and gifted programs. Third, I believe it is essential to work directly with the entire family system, not just the child. The child's progress depends on the home environment and the academic environment equally. This academic environment includes all professions (i.e., teachers,

* Refers to the private thoughts, emotions, feelings, and motives that other people can not directly observe.

There are hundreds of different careers in the medical field ranging from neurosurgeons to nurse practitioners. Psychiatry deals specifically with the diagnosis and treatment of mental, behavioral, and emotional ailments. The main purpose of a psychiatrist is to help people coop with issues and stress in their environment that make it difficult to lead a normal and healthy lifestyle. These issues may arise from abuse, addiction, mental disability, disease, or physical injury. It is the psychiatrist’s job to ensure the patient can maintain a healthy attitude and continue to provide for themselves. A Psychiatrist may choose to specialize in many sub classes of mental health including children and adolescents, geriatric psychiatry, addiction,

Throughout the years, schools have had to take on much more responsibility than just making sure that students are learning the material. Schools are now facing new challenges such as violence in schools, children that may be mentally or emotionally challenged, and basically being a caretaker for hundreds of kids, 365 days out of the year. With the new challenges, comes more responsibility and accountability which means adjusting accordingly. This is where the job of a school psychologist is of upmost importance. In the past, the role of the school psychologist has been solely to work with mentally challenged children. However, with the constantly changing demands that schools are facing, school psychology has broadened the field by transitioning from working with students individually to putting more focus into evidence-based work with families, classrooms, home-school partnerships, consultation and etc. (cite). The role of a school psychologist includes working with students, teachers, and other staff to help students excel academically, maintain healthy social relationships, manage emotions, exhibit healthy behavior and overall, create a supportive learning environment. They may also work with families, community, and school administration to make sure that students are in a safe school climate and explore ways to improve student success (American Psychological Association, 2016). School psychologists have had to broaden their training and expand their reach and

Another type of psychology to choose from is a counseling psychologist. These are important psychologists because they teach people how to deal with their everyday problems. They help their patients determine their problems and help them understand the problems they are facing. Not only do counseling psychologists help their patients with the issues they are experiencing at home but also in their workplace or their community in general. By helping their patients identify their strengths and resources, is how counseling psychologists help them with their problems (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Impacting the lives of children must be approached from a team perspective to address all aspects of the child’s environment and relationships including caregivers, peers, teachers and school. Behavioral Counselors must collaborate with school counselors to understand the impact that school and teachers have on the child’s life. To appreciate School Counseling a review of the specialization’s history is important. School Counselors have evolved from vocational guidance and job-orientated counseling following World War I to educational guidance following World War II due to the passing of the GI bill as veterans were given right to education counseling (Minkoff, 1985). Today School Counselors support a wide variety of needs from a wide variety of student populations including but not limited to depression, college guidance, anxiety, oppositional disorder and developmentally delayed due to change in access to mental health care being more privatized (Lockhart & Keys, 1998). Lockhart states that because of the restructuring in access to care school counselors have been pushed to handle a wider variety of needs within mental health (1998).