Psychologists: What They Do And How They Help People
It is not easy to define a psychologist since there are many specializations. But in summary, The psychologist is a qualified professional who has received formal university training in Psychology (Bachelor or Degree in Psychology).
This professional studies, from a scientific point of view, the way individuals think, feel and behave, and has explanatory models and sufficient knowledge to be able to apply the appropriate tools and techniques for evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and intervention in the different problems that may arise in different areas: education, organization, clinic, community, among others.
Psychologists also sometimes work to improve the performance or potential of an organization or individual.
Psychologists are not only dedicated to treating psychopathologies
As we can see, the definition of the psychologist is complex. But it can be said that this deals with certain aspects of human behavior, such as thinking, emotions, behavior and interpersonal relationships to help other people or groups understand themselves better and resolve psychological and relational needs so that they can enjoy greater psychological well-being.
On the other hand, it must be clarified that not all psychologists are dedicated to the treatment of psychopathologies. For example, sports psychologists can help athletes improve their sports performance.
What training does a psychologist have?
Psychology is a very broad field that covers different areas of application. Thus, There are certain differences in the training content of different countries For example, the curriculum of most Latin American countries, with a duration of five years, is made up of a two-year basic cycle, and from the third year onwards, students specialize in clinical, educational or organizational psychology (the latter , also called industrial).
On the other hand, in Spain, the duration of the Degree in Psychology is four years. Specialization is achieved through the different graduate degrees that exist.
Postgraduate degrees can be official or own degrees. The first give the option of accessing a doctorate.
If you want to know more about psychology training, you can visit our articles:
It is necessary for psychologists to stay up to date in their field of practice; to do so, they can attend seminars and courses to stay up to date with the profession.
What psychologists do and how they help us
Psychologists engage in research, practice, and teaching on a wide range of topics related to thought, emotions, and human behavior. They work with people individually, with groups (such as families or sports teams), and organizations. Some psychologists also work with animals. For example, with dogs.
Next Some themes and problems that psychologists usually work with are shown:
The usefulness of psychologists
What psychologists do has to do with understanding people’s behavior and mental processes, but it also has a very clear applied part. Ultimately, there is little point in understanding something if this knowledge cannot be applied. That is why psychology has a research aspect and another aspect of application of what is researched.
In the first area we find, for example, psychologists who study perception and decision making, and in the applied part is that part of the psychology community that applies this knowledge to psychotrapy, the psychology of marketing, etc
In short, there are very many professional and academic environments that benefit from the work that psychologists do on a daily basis.
Differences between psychologists and psychiatrists
Psychology and psychiatry are two disciplines that are often confused despite being two different fields of application within the field of mental health.
Some differences between both practices are: psychologists have degrees or graduates in psychology while psychiatrists have studied medicine, both use different treatments (psychologists cannot use drugs, psychiatrists can) or the problems they treat are different. In the latter case, psychologists are not only dedicated to the clinical field, but can work with people who do not suffer from psychopathologies.
If you want to know more data between both disciplines, you can read this post: “What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?”
Where do Psychologists work?
The psychologists They work in different places since there are many areas of application Some work in schools, others in organizations, others in private clinics and others in prisons. Some psychologists can even practice their profession as researchers and others as teachers.
Although the fields of application of psychology are many, the best-known areas are: Clinical Psychology, Educational and Developmental Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Neurosciences, and Social and Organizational Psychology.
In addition to these areas, psychologists can specialize in: Forensic psychology, Sports psychology, Psychology applied to nutrition, Criminal psychology, Legal psychology, Sexology or Coaching.
