What should you study to specialize in child psychology? How to learn the main theories, strategies and methods of child and adolescent psychology? Discover the best master’s degrees.
A child psychologist is the professional in charge of evaluating and treating children. Therefore, these child psychology specialists help children with a wide variety of developmental problems, from learning disabilities to serious mental illnesses. Some of the pathologies treated by these professionals are attention deficit disorder, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias and adjustment disorder. This field of study allows psychologists to focus on a professional orientation in which to help children meet their physical, educational, mental and social needs. So, which master’s degree in child psychology should we choose to specialize in this topic?
What is child psychology?
The child psychology It is a study of learning patterns, environmental factors and behavioral developments that can affect children from childhood to adolescence. There are different branches within child psychology, such as developmental psychology or the different disorders that can appear during this stage.
He work of a child psychologist It mainly consists of helping children who have suffered trauma or who have mental, psychic or learning disabilities. Learning about child psychology enables psychologists to be able to help during the early stages of psychological, cognitive and social development.
What are the main outputs of child psychology?
A child psychologist can perform the following functions in the workplace:
- Psychologist in rehabilitation centers: Specialize in child psychology It will allow you to diagnose, treat and monitor cases that may arise within a rehabilitation center, whether in psychological, social and academic aspects of a person’s disability.
- School psychologist: A child psychology specialist It can also help children succeed academically, socially and emotionally. In this way, we will work together with teachers and parents to achieve greater cognitive and social development during the school stage.
- Clinical child psychologist: If you are a clinical psychologist, this specialization will allow you to have the strategies and tools to help children and families diagnose and treat mental disorders that may arise during childhood.
- Psychologist specializing in language and speech disorders: One of the most common pathologies during childhood are language and speech disorders. Therefore, make a specialization in child psychology can help you identify, diagnose and treat these disorders.
The best master’s degrees in child psychology
If you are passionate about this branch of psychology and want to specialize, we recommend that you take into account the following master in child psychology offered in Spain:
- Online master’s degree in child and youth psychology (Open University of Catalonia, UOC): This master of child psychology It will provide you with the necessary training to be able to carry out interventions in cases of problems or disorders that interfere with the lives of children and adolescents. This course will help you learn about the different theoretical orientations offered to explain these disorders and know how to treat them from different contexts (such as the clinical, educational and community settings). Price: €2500 approx, duration 60 ECTS
- Master in Child and Youth Psychology (European University, EU): The training offered by this master’s degree in child psychology focuses above all on the practical part, since particular cases will be analyzed. In addition, all teachers are specialists in this field, which implies that they have a long history and experience in the techniques and methodologies of child psychology On the other hand, the student will have 400 hours of practice in reference centers in this field of psychology. Price: €5040 approx, duration 60 ECTS
- Master in psychological intervention in children and adolescents (International University of La Rioja, UNIR): This child psychology course It focuses on knowledge at a theoretical, technical and procedural level. Therefore, the student will have the ability, upon completing this master’s degree in online child psychology, to acquire all the skills to be able to intervene as a child psychologist. Price: €7000 approx, duration 60 ECTS
- Master in child and adolescent clinical psychopathology (Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​UAB): These child psychology studies will offer their students training that will allow them to learn about the most common theoretical cases and practices in mental deficiency, emotional and behavioral disorders that can arise during childhood. This master in child psychology It also focuses on learning child psychology, both theoretically and practically. Price: €5,400 approx, 60 ECTS
- Master in psychology in childhood and adolescence (International University of Valencia, VIU): This degree arises with the intention of responding to the need for child psychologists due to the prevalence and severity of psychological disorders and problems in children and adolescents. Therefore, this online master’s degree in child psychology will provide you with all the necessary tools and strategies to specialize in the field of child and adolescent mental health, especially focusing on the most common disorders during the first years of life. Price: €7000 approx, 60 ECTS
- Master in clinical and child and adolescent health psychology (Complutense University of Madrid, UCM): This master in child psychology It focuses first on knowing and understanding the processes and main stages of psychological development throughout the life cycle, as well as learning all the methods of evaluation, diagnosis and treatment during the childhood and adolescent stage. Therefore, the student who passes this master’s degree will become a professional capable of identifying, diagnosing and administering techniques to help with the childhood problems or disorders of their patients. Price €2000 approx, 60 ECTS
- Master in educational psychology. Advances in psychoeducational intervention and special educational needs (University of Seville): This master in early childhood education and psychology will allow its students to have the necessary tools, strategies and techniques to improve the practice of teachers in the school environment, as well as to be able to offer psychoeducational advice, and finally to serve students with specific educational needs. Price: €820 approx, 60 ECTS
These are some of the master in child psychology which we recommend if you want to specialize in this branch of psychology. Furthermore, if you are still not sure which specialization to focus on, you can also consult other master’s degrees in psychology.