Education & Career Trends: June 13, 2023
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
- Excerpts are taken from an article published on economictimes.indiatimes.com.
Over the last few years, the demand for a career in psychology has increased dramatically. One of the major reasons behind this is growing awareness of the importance of keeping sound mental and emotional health.
Today, conversations around mental health are given the utmost importance in schools, colleges and offices. The tumultuous period of Covid-19 played a significant role in drawing attention to mental health issues, and this further generated a massive demand for counsellors, psychologists and other mental healthcare specialists.
Psychology is a broad scientific field that studies the human mind, behaviour, thoughts and feelings.
A career in psychology introduces you to not just one single field, but various sub-disciplines. You can establish a successful career in each one of these sub-domains such as clinical, forensic, educational, industrial and more.
In addition, as we continue to combat concerns like work stress, career and educational anxieties, and day-to-day problems, the need for expert mental health professionals will only multiply.
With so many branches of psychology, it can be overwhelming to pick the one that suits your goals and ambitions the best.
Here is a list of some lucrative roles that you can consider:
1) Clinical Psychologist
- A clinical psychologist is responsible for assessing and treating people with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and personality disorders.
- They are usually required in clinics and hospitals to treat people across age groups and social backgrounds.
- In addition, they closely work with their clients to help them identify their triggers and manage their emotions and behaviours.
- Clinical psychologists use a wide range of therapies and techniques such as cognitive, humanistic and psychoanalytic to improve the condition of their patients.
- With timely treatment, a psychologist can effectively prevent a minor mental health issue from turning into a serious psychological disorder.
- However, it’s important to note that although they operate in medical settings, they cannot prescribe medicines like psychiatrists.
2) Child Psychologist
- As the name suggests, child psychologists specialise in diagnosing and treating various emotional, behavioural and mental concerns in children and adolescents.
- They primarily focus on finding the reasons for cognitive delays or learning disabilities and recommending proper treatments.
- As a result, you can see many parents and their children engaging with child psychologists these days to fight issues like ADHD, depression, anxiety, and other developmental disorders.
- Child psychologists work in schools, hospitals, clinics and private practices to promote positive development in infants and children.
- Instead of suggesting medications, they use family therapy, cognitive therapy and play therapy to improve the condition of their subjects.
3) Industrial Psychologist
- Industrial psychologists are employed in workplaces to boost employee morale, job satisfaction and performance.
- With their help, an organisation can resolve numerous issues like high turnover, low productivity and lack of smooth communication.
- In simple words, industrial psychologists use their expert knowledge to align facets of human behaviour with organisational systems to further design training programmes and strategies that can benefit both.
- They usually conduct surveys, interviews and analyse statistical data to comprehend the underlying issues and to suggest appropriate solutions.
- In addition, they work with HR managers, organisational consultants, strategists and executives to implement the necessary employee as well as business-oriented policies.
4) Counselling Psychologist or Counsellor
- Unlike clinical psychologists, counsellors do not delve deep into the behavioural or emotional patterns of an individual.
- Rather, they assist them in immediately processing different emotions — fear, anger, grief, anxiety and guilt.
- From dealing with marital problems to setting career goals, overcoming addictions and managing work stress, the job of a counsellor is to patiently listen to the pressing matters of their client, empathise with them and help resolve them.
- Counsellors can be seen working in mental health clinics, rehabilitation centres, youth welfare services, marriage guidance centres and educational institutes.
- Moreover, they engage in both individual and group sessions, depending on what the situation demands.
5) Forensic Psychologist
- Forensic psychologists apply the concepts of psychology to assist in legal crime investigations.
- They use their knowledge of human behaviour to understand the motive behind the crime and provide psychological assessments of criminals and witnesses.
- To effectively contribute to an investigation, they use a plethora of psychometric assessments and behavioural observations.
- Forensic psychologists are generally hired by law enforcement agencies, consulting firms, courts and prisons to simplify legal proceedings.
- Given the vital role they play in legal matters, forensic psychologists are expected to be highly trained, knowledgeable and experienced professionals.
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Have you checked out yesterday’s blog yet?
The Power of Patience for Positive Life Change
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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