Psychology is a study of behavior and mind involving therapy for patients with behavioral disorders. It is a broad field, and psychological concepts are applied in business environments.
Pursuing a degree in psychology can be beneficial to attain various positions. Although many of them imagine psychologists as men and women sitting on the couch and scribbling notes with the client, they actually do a lot of other work. Well, there are different types of psychologists. One of the types includes a child psychologist. So, if you want to know the various types of psychologists, you can keep reading this article further.
1. Clinical psychologists
Clinical psychologists diagnose and treat individuals with mental illness and psychological distress. They develop plans of treatment for patients and perform psychotherapy. These psychologists either practice privately or work in hospitals. Some of them work in both. Many psychologists also work in mental health clinics. They are trained to treat patients using different techniques.
But some of them work with specific populations and specialize in treating particular disorders. For instance, a clinical psychologist might specialize in areas like adult mental health, substance abuse treatment, geriatric mental health, and child mental health. Although they work in medical settings, they cannot provide you with prescriptions. As per the American Psychologist Association, clinical psychologists make 80,000 dollars per year.
2. Applied psychologists
Applied psychologists work in different settings like education and management. Their ultimate goal is to improve the process of learning and teaching. They might study the factors that affect the achievements of students, like poor teaching styles and poverty. They will apply this knowledge to develop various methods for teachers and students to overcome academic challenges.
3. Forensic psychologists
A forensic psychologist focuses on the relationship between the law and psychology. It can involve providing psychotherapy services to crime victims. Furthermore, they can perform evaluations on child custody and act as a consultant in civil disputes and criminal cases. You will find many depictions of such types of psychologists in different television programs and movies.
Hence, the interest in this field has gained popularity over recent years. Although most of these popular culture depictions portray them as a sleuth working to catch criminals, they take on duties and responsibilities like assessing adult offenders and juveniles for risk of recidivism, offering professional testimony in court, and evaluating competency to stand trial.
4. Child psychologists
A child psychologist specializes in the mental health of children. These psychologists must have a doctoral degree in psychology. It is a must to have experience with young adults and children and be completely trained in child psychology. It is the job of the psychologist to treat children who cannot cope with the divorce of parents, the death of a family member, or school transitions. Some of the lists of problems include phobias, adjustment disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, and autism.
If there are a complex number of symptoms, it is up to the psychologists to arrive with the best diagnosis. They are also experts in conducting psychological tests. Some of them work privately, whereas others work in government agencies, outpatient centers, and hospitals. So, if you are looking for a psychologist for kids, you can type “child psychologist near me” in your Google search engine.
5. Military psychologists
Military psychologists work with patients who are in the military. These psychologists can either work as independent contractors or become military members. Similar to clinical psychologists, they require a doctoral degree and certain years of professional experience. They must have additional training that helps them focus on working with military personnel in military environments.