The job and what it involves
There is a wide variety of psychologists, primarily they can be divided into two main categories: Clinical and Counselling. Clinical psychologists often have a medical background and work to help those with mental and physical disabilities. Typically they conduct tests on patients to assess their problems; this may involve diagnosing patients with disorders such as schizophrenia or depression. They also work alongside doctors, families and social workers and will be involved in suggesting treatments. This may be in the form of occupational therapy, counselling or medication. Counselling psychologists may have an educational background and work with less severe cases, including those with eating disorders and Asperger’s syndrome. There are also research and teaching psychologists who study and explore the field of psychology often in a university setting. There are a number of written studies and books which have been produced by psychologists.
The main areas of work
Psychologists work in both the public and private sectors, they may be employed by a council authority or an individual school or hospital and some psychologists are self-employed working privately. Educational psychologists often visit schools and conduct home visits to families. Clinical psychologists may work in ordinary hospitals or psychiatric ones; they may also work in prisons or write legal reports and serve as expert witnesses. On a day-to-day basis psychologists work in a variety of settings as they will also work in offices, typing up reports. Psychologists will have to deal with many different situations they may have to work with the social services and police in cases of domestic violence and substance abuse.
Qualities required
Expert skills of communication will be needed for the vast interaction with a variety of different people. Skills of accuracy, practicality and attention to detail will be vital when working with patients in order to assess the source of their problems. Computer skills would also be useful for the writing of reports. The quality of adaptability or thinking on your feet would be desirable as a psychologist may find themselves as a witness in court or in situations where unforeseen events can impact on the well-being of a patient.
Qualifications
There are a variety of routes into psychology. There are psychology degrees on offer at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels at many universities in the UK. However some psychologists may have studied medicine before specialising in clinical psychology and educational psychologists may have trained as teachers beforehand.
Route to success
A desire to care for and help other people is the best starting point for a career in psychology. You must choose which aspect of psychology you wish to work in, be it clinical, counselling or research. Look for work experience with psychologists or in an appropriate setting to get an insight into the career. Explore the options for a degree in psychology.
Salary
Due to the variety of work there is a great variety in the salaries on offer. Clinical psychologists can start on a salary of £27,000 and can reach in excess of £80,000 for the most experienced and senior psychologists. Educational Psychologists can start at around £21,000 and reach about £55,000 in their career. Salaries can range within the private field of psychology and in general they increase with experience.
Star player
Marion Milner, more commonly known as Joanna Fields is a well known author and psychoanalyst. Born and brought up in Kensington in London she studied an undergraduate degree in psychology at University College London in 1928. She is a pioneer of introspective journaling, her book A Life of One’s Own (1934) is a journal. It draws on analysis of daily anxieties in an attempt to discover what happiness is. In 1940 she began training as a psychoanalyst. In total she has published five books which cover research and insight into both her own life and particular cases she worked on. She is known for her writing on the benefits of painting as therapy.
Useful links
http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/ a useful website with a selection of articles about research and current events concerning psychology.
http://www.bps.org.uk/ there is a student section on the website with more detailed information about careers in psychology and topics of interest.
Tags: careers, job profile, psychologist, Students, Women in Science Engineering and Technology
This post has been commented once
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August 24th, 2010 at 2:23 pmDr. Denise Honeyborne (CPsychol.) says:
An interesting and informative post. Educational psychology is another (amongst numerous described on the BPS website) category of psychology that is worth a mention. Educational psychologists work with individual (and groups of) children and families and schools and are involved in assessment, intervention (including therapuetic approaches), consultation, research, and training. They may be employed by local authorities and/or privately and also undertake work in a variety of settings, including , for example, schools, early years centres, young offenders institutions and childrens homes . The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) website has further information which may be of interest to those condidering this particular field of applied psychology.