Psychologists at Work

Psychology : Before we go to the main subject matter that where do psychologist work we need to have a clear knowledge about the term psychology. What is Psychology? Psychology is both an applied and academic field that studies the human mind and behavior. Psychology means the scientific study of behavior and mental process. The word psychology is derived from the Greek word psyche, meaning 'soul' or 'mind. Research in psychology seeks to understand and explain thought, emotion, perceptions, reasoning process, memories and other biological activities that can affect human behavior, and all these psychological research works are based on scientific method to find out the suitable answer, thats why it is called a scientific study. Psychologists are those people who try to describe, predict and explain human behavior and mental process. Psychologist use different scientific methods to help people to change and improve their lives. Now a person who is a psychologist can be a clinical professional psychologist who deals with the study, diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorder or that person can be an Academic professional who uses psychological theories and techniques for solving the real world problems. Major fields of Psychology where Psychologist do concentrate: Psychology consist of so many fields that gives a psychologist wide range of working space. Some of the psychological fields are Clinical psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Educational Psychology, Experimental psychology, Forensic Psychology and so on. In this term paper we will concentrate only two of the psychological areas where Psychologist work. These two areas are Industrial Psychological area and Clinical psychology.

Working at Psychology as a psychologist : Industrial Psychology Concern Industrial psychologists are working in how to match the personalities of workers with various jobs. They also have to research many other employment issues, from ensuring workplace justice to balancing roles at work and at home. Helping to improve the working conditions and productivity of employees, help companies to hire, train, and manage employees, advise companies on ways of getting consumers interested in products and

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Psychologists at Work
services are some of the major areas where Industrial psychologist work. There are so many theories of psychology that are used in an organization to improve its employees capability of production. We all know about Sigmund Freud and his famous concepts of the conscious and unconscious, the id and the ego theory. The psychodynamic approach to stand an organization, like Freud's psychoanalytic approach to his patients, considers both the conscious and the unconscious area, how they interact, and how they influence personality and behavior. In this way psychologist understand the nature, personality and the pattern of behavior of the employees and they try to give a psychologically sound solution to problem concerning people and organization. Industrial Psychologist have to take some of the major responsibilities in an organization. Some of the responsibilities are: Staffing : This includes selecting the best candidates for a specific position. This selection is perfectly done on the basis of the candidates personality, personal preferences, perceptions, beliefs and some other things where only a psychologist is specialized. Industrial psychologists use psychometric tests, interviews and assessment to select the best one for the organization. Training: Organizations always want those kind of employees who can successfully complete their given task. In this case, Industrial psychologist can help the new comer employees in the training session to make them more competent for the job. Career improvement: Industrial psychologist can help the people in an organization by counseling them about their careers farther development. Job design and analysis: The design of the job and content of jobs can have an enormous influence on the productivity, motivation and morale of employees. Thus industrial psychologists are tasked to ensure the complete and accurate analysis and design of all jobs within the organization. Ergonomics: To ensure a safe and efficient working environment within an organization for maximum productivity, Industrial psychologist have to take care of the safe and pleasant working environment. Labor relations: The relationship of labors with the organization have a great impact on the overall growth of that organization. Thus, it is the responsibility of industrial psychologists to defuse and prevent labor unrest.

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Psychologists at Work

Required Education for an Industrial Psychologist : There are a number of university programs that offer bachelors degrees in industrialorganizational psychology. People with a bachelor's degree typically work in human resources, although there are some opportunities in other areas. Those looking for greater job opportunities and higher pay may want to consider continuing their education at the master's level which can be earned after 2 or 3 years of the graduation. After masters degree is earned, these people can collect, analyze and conduct research for a business organization. An Industrial psychologist may have PhD degree as most of the psychologist does. This degree take typically four to five years.

Career opportunities for an Industrial psychologist: Employment in industrial psychological sector is changing day by day. Employment of Industrial psychologists is expected to grow 12 percent from 2008 to 2018, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment will grow because of Companies also will use psychologists' expertise in survey design, analysis, and research to develop tools for marketing evaluation and statistical analysis. Some of the positions that are obtain by the Industrial psychologist are Administrative manager, Claims specialist, Human resource coordinator, Employee counselor, Management trainee, Labor relation specialist etc.

Working at Psychology as a psychologist : Clinical Psychology Concern In general, clinical psychology deals with the study, diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and clinical psychologist are the specialist who help people with mental or emotional problems adjust to life. Some help people cope with physical illnesses or injuries. Others help people facing crises such as separation or the loss of a loved one. Clinical psychologists work in a variety of settings, including private practices, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, clinics and schools. They assess, diagnose and treatment mental, emotional and behavioral disorders, ranging from short term crisis intervention to chronic

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conditions like depression. Some clinical psychologists work in medical schools and universities, where they train graduate students in the field of mental health and behavioral medicine. People in clinical psychology jobs work closely with medical doctors regarding treatment, especially when that treatment includes medication. Typically, clinical psychologists are not licensed to prescribe medication, only medical doctors, including psychiatrists, can prescribe medication. There are a few states that allow trained clinical psychologists to prescribe certain medications. Clinical psychology careers also offer a number of sub-specialty areas including substance abuse treatment, child mental health and health psychology. A newer sub-specialty is geropsychology, the study, treatment and management of the elderly. More and more psychologists are becoming a part of the patient management team for these growing subspecialties. So we can say that a clinical psychologist have to play different role regarding his/her job. A typical clinical psychologists role in the work field involves:

Assessing clients' needs using interviews, psychometric tests and observations

Deciding on the most appropriate form of treatment, including therapy, counseling or advice

Planning a treatment curriculum and working with clients in groups or one-to-one

Writing reports and attending case conferences

Carrying out research

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Counseling and supporting careers.

Required Education for a clinical Psychologist : Becoming a clinical psychologist is a long process. In fact, it takes almost the longest time out of all the areas of psychology. To become a clinical psychologist a person need to complete a Masters degree in psychology and a postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology, or a Doctorate degree in clinical psychology. To enter the diploma course a minimum of six years study is required, which involves clinical and research qualifications. After that the person have to work with clinical psychologists to gain hands-on experience also have to gain additional license. Obtain additional needed licenses. Clinical psychologists are required to have additional licensing along with their Ph.D.

Career opportunities for a clinical psychologist: Clinical psychologists work most often in counseling centers, independent or group practices, hospitals, or clinics and on average, 4 out of 10 psychologists in the US are self employed. A recent survey from the American Psychology Association Research Office (APA) shows that in 2001, 65% of American psychologists worked in private practice. About 10% of Psychologists are employed as faculty by colleges and universities in teaching and research positions. Many divide their time between teaching and part-time consulting practices. It may also be possible to work on a supervised, voluntary, part-time basis through a regional health service. One study of U.S bureau Labor Statistics revels that

Psychologists can expect faster-than-average job growth As of 2006, about 34 percent of psychologists were self-employed.
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Offices of mental health practitioners, hospitals, physicians' offices, and outpatient mental health and substance abuse centers employ about 21 percent of psychologists. Nearly 29 percent of psychologists are employed to provide counseling, testing, research, and administration within educational institutions. An increasing number of employee assistance programs, which help workers deal with personal problems, also should lead to employment growth for clinical psychologists.

So with a clinical psychological background, the job market is very much open for the desired candidate. The person can diverse his or her career paths like private sector, consulting, government and education etc. The most important thing is the possibilities of self employment is much higher in clinical psychology than any other field of psychology.

Conclusion: Like other social scientists, psychologists formulate theories, or hypotheses, which are possible explanations for what they observe. But unlike other social science disciplines, psychologists gather information through controlled laboratory experiments or by administering personality, performance, aptitude, or intelligence tests. Other methods include observation, interviews, questionnaires, clinical studies, and surveys which helps them to change and improve peoples lives.

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Information sources: Web sources: I. II. http://www.suite101.com/content/clinical-psychology-career-guide-a3421 http://www.midwestern.edu/programs_and_admission/clinical_psychology_as_a_care er.html III. IV.
V.

www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologycareerprofiles/p/iopsychcareers.htm http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/careers/100926.html

Book sources:
1. Understanding psychology (eighth edition) by Robert fieldman

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