Psychology and Counseling
Mention the field of psychology and common associations are a book-lined
office housing a comfy leather sofa and a tweed jacket-wearing,
pipe-smoking therapist—or possibly even visions of Tony's sessions with
Dr. Jennifer Melfi on The Sopranos. The problem with these
preconceptions is that there are way too many different kinds of
psychologists for any broadly applied stereotype to be valid.
Do you constantly wonder why people do the things they do? Psychologists
devote their lives to this age-old question in a broad industry that spans
subjects from biology to sociology. While all therapists share the goal of
helping their patients cope with the stresses of life and eliminating
destructive thought patterns and behaviors, they may use any of a wide
range of therapy types to try to achieve that goal. You can choose from
Jungian analysis, Adlerian psychotherapy, existential psychotherapy,
transactional analysis, family therapy, feminist therapy, Gestalt therapy,
and many other schools of therapy. And therapy can take place in a
tremendous variety of settings, from hospitals to schools to professional
sports teams' locker rooms.
And therapy is not the only career option for psychologists. Psychologists
work for businesses, governments, and other organizations, doing everything
from helping lawyers choose juries and acting as expert witnesses in legal
disputes to helping businesses create employee training programs and design
new products. Psychologists also conduct research in the field and teach.
What They Do
Psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals seek to
understand what constitutes normal brain function and behavior. They also
look for ways to help those individuals whose behavior falls outside the
norm in such a way as to cause significant problems for themselves or
others.
In the United States, mental health professionals spend many years learning
and perfecting their techniques. Obtaining a professional license is
usually a long, arduous process. Counselors must have at least a
master's degree, and they undergo difficult internships.
Licensed psychologists must have a doctorate in psychology or a related
discipline. Even after their formal education is complete, mental health
professionals will continue to learn new methods and skills.
Once in practice, mental health professionals use their knowledge in a
systematic manner. For example, a counselor needs to know the difference
between an individual who is showing signs of despair related to a
traumatic event, and another who is clinically depressed. While both need
help, the final treatment will be radically different in each case. In
order to make such assessments, psychologists use techniques to analyze
situations while talking with patients about their problems.
Where They Work
While most psychologists work directly with patients, they are increasingly
being hired by private industry, various branches of government, and
educational institutions. Some psychologists use their knowledge to design
better products and services, based on the latest psychological theories.
Others analyze marketing campaigns to understand why one venture was a hit
and another flopped. Regardless of where they work, psychologists are
interested in what people think, and why.
Who Does Well
Psychologists and counselors must be excellent communicators who can
quickly assess and analyze emotionally charged situations. They must be
able to learn new methods and skills on an ongoing basis. They also need to
be interested in people and in how the human mind functions.
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While your BS in psychology might help you figure out why your roommate is
moody, it won't get you far professionally. Psychologists and
counselors must have graduate degrees, complete supervised internships, and
pass state certification exams before becoming eligible for professional
licensing. Although requirements to practice vary by state, in all states
you'll need a license to practice as a psychologist. Similarly,
counselors are generally required to be licensed, credentialed, or
certified, though these requirements vary by state and counseling
specialty.
Licensing, Internships, Testing
To become a licensed counselor, you'll generally need a master's
degree in psychology or a related field. Clinical psychologists need a PhD
or doctor of psychology (PsyD) degree. Aspiring school psychologists should
get a PhD or a doctorate of education (EdD) degree. Each of these programs
requires four to seven years of graduate work.
Aspiring counselors and psychologists must also undergo an extensive
internship program. The process, which can last for two years or more,
starts while the applicant is still in graduate school. The intern works
under an already licensed psychologist who watches over his or her work.
After graduation, there is usually another one to two years of supervised
postdoctoral work.
The last step in the process is testing. Applicants need to pass the
national Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). Each
state determines its own passing score and may institute additional tests.
Even more confusing, some states allow master's level and doctoral
students who have not completed their postdoc hours to take the exam, while
others do not.
Roughly half the states allow those who have completed a master's
degree in psychology to take the EEEP. In those states, master's level
candidates who pass the EEEP can assess and meet with patients in almost
the same way fully licensed psychologists do. However, such practitioners
must be supervised and work under different titles, such as licensed
psychological practitioner (LPP), psychological associate, or psychological
examiner.
Finally, many states let school and industrial psychologists practice after
receiving their master's degrees. For the exact requirements in your
state, you can contact your state's board.
Counseling Versus Psychology
Because boundaries between counselors and psychologists are blurring, the
requirements necessary to become a counselor are becoming stiffer.
Currently, 47 states require counselors to pass a professional
certification exam. Most use the National Counselor Examination for
Licensure and Certification (NCE), administered by the National Board for
Certified Counselors Inc. (NBCC). Applicants must already have a
master's degree in a field where at least half of the course work
relates to counseling.
According to the NBCC, many master's-level psychology programs do not
meet the requirements, so check out your school's program before
signing up. For the exact requirements in your state, contact your state
board.
Outside of the health-care industry, many organizations hire professionals
who do not have advanced psychological education or training and who do not
meet state licensing requirements. Such employees will have a variety of
titles, since most states forbid them from being called psychologists.
However, opportunities for BA- and BS-level candidates are severely
limited. Most private companies and government agencies want candidates
with master's and doctoral degrees.
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of jobs for
psychologists and counselors will grow faster than the average for all jobs
in the U.S. economy in coming years, in response to increased demands for
psychological services in schools, hospitals, treatment clinics, consulting
firms, and private companies.
School psychologists may find the best job opportunities in the field.
Research continues to grow in the area of student mental health and
behavioral issues, creating an increased need for student counseling and
services. Another rapidly expanding sector is in management consulting
services. Businesses rely on psychologists to conduct marketing research
and to direct their advertising campaigns. Industrial psychologists are
also in great demand as companies seek to resolve workplace issues before
they become legal disputes. The growth in employee assistance programs,
where employees receive help with personal problems, is also creating
opportunities for psychologists.
Counselors should find opportunities in many of the same areas
psychologists find them. More specifically, opportunities are projected to
grow in schools, as a result of rising student enrollment and the expansion
of responsibilities among counselors; for vocational counselors, as a
result of laws that require welfare recipients to find jobs; and for
counselors in the area of substance abuse, rehabilitation, and behavioral,
mental health, and marriage and family counseling.
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Psychologists and counselors can be divided into two categories. Most work
directly with patients in health-care settings or private practice. The
rest are hired by government agencies, businesses, or educational
institutions to perform a wide variety of tasks.
Some companies provide counseling services as an employee benefit. Others
use psychologists to carry out market research. Universities and government
agencies rely on psychologists to help them determine public policies.
Following is a list of psychology-related positions typically found in
various industries.
Psychotherapists
Despite public perception, not everyone who seeks mental health services is
in need of Prozac. Most patients receive psychotherapy, or counseling, in
one form or another—what Freud called "the talking cure."
While psychotherapy may seem unstructured, it actually follows approved
methods and guidelines. The techniques can be found in a number of standard
reference materials. By using a combination of tests and listening skills,
psychotherapists form an assessment of a patient's mental state, then
use various techniques to help the patient. If counseling alone is not
enough, a psychotherapist will usually refer a patient to a psychiatrist,
who has a medical degree and can prescribe medication.
Within psychotherapy, there are several competing techniques and schools of
thought. The major branches of therapy in the United States include
psychoanalysis, humanistic, behavioral, and cognitive disciplines. Students
of psychology learn about the different approaches in school, but usually
wait until their internship to choose one discipline over another. However,
40 percent of all therapists say they use a mix of different techniques.
The different approaches can lead to radically different treatments. For
example, someone who has an intense fear of dogs might sit on the couch of
a psychoanalyst, talking about his relationship with his mother. The same
person seeing a behaviorist might be trained to desensitize himself by
repeatedly visiting a kennel and interacting with its inmates more and more
each time.
In the past, licensed psychologists (and psychiatrists) who worked with
severely disturbed clients were often called psychotherapists. Those who
served clients with mild emotional problems were called counselors. Today
this distinction is all but gone. Counselors and fully licensed
psychologists often treat the same patients using similar techniques. But
fully licensed psychologists have a great deal more training and are
therefore better equipped to handle more disturbed patients, although
psychiatrists have even more training.
Hospital Clinical Psychologists
A man is treated in a hospital for a heart attack. A doctor discovers the
man smokes two packs of cigarettes a day and won't quit. Hospitals
often employ clinical psychologists to work directly with such patients.
Many emotional and mental disturbances have direct effects on patients'
physical health.
While their work is similar to those in private practice, clinical
psychologists work directly with doctors, psychiatrists, and other medical
personnel. Together they come up with multifaceted treatment plans to
improve the lives of their patients. The group approach usually combines
psychological, medical, and pharmaceutical methods.
Clinical psychologists also supervise and train other mental health
professionals. Their students include graduate-level interns,
master's-level psychologists, and counselors hired by hospitals. Many
also research competing psychological methods within their hospitals to see
which lead to the best outcomes.
While clinical psychologists treat clients who are mentally or emotionally
disturbed, they may also specialize in the treatment of physiological brain
dysfunction. Such psychologists are the leading researchers investigating
potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease, stroke, multiple
sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and other dementias.
School Psychologists and Counselors
Educational institutions today are fighting perceived threats on all sides.
Broken families, school violence, and limited financial resources have all
affected the learning environment. Many school districts use professional
psychologists to identify and treat troubled students before their problems
become catastrophic.
School psychologists and counselors work mainly with students who have
behavioral problems that affect their work. Behavioral problems
can include antisocial actions that are typically met with
disciplinarian responses and behavior caused by psychiatric illnesses
such as depression. Together with teachers, administrators, social workers,
and parents, school psychologists determine the issues that are causing
behavior problems and develop treatment plans to correct them.
Counselors also work with students who have learning disabilities. They use
techniques from cognitive psychology to develop individualized education
plans (IEPs) for learning-disabled students. The IEPs are then carried out
by special education teachers.
Often, licensed school psychologists work at the district level, where they
oversee school counselors based at particular schools. Such psychologists
may also determine and develop official school-district policies.
Industrial Psychologists
Industrial psychologists are hired by businesses to increase overall
employee satisfaction. Industrial psychologists study the physical and
aesthetic conditions at a workplace, including lighting, climate control,
interior design, and noise levels. Manufacturing companies hire industrial
psychologists to analyze machinery and plan how shifts should be scheduled.
They may also help develop job application policies and effective
interviewing techniques.
Unlike efficiency experts, who are concerned with the bottom line,
industrial psychologists seek to improve the working conditions of the
average employee. When they find an area of concern, they will suggest
improvements that can be made to a company's physical plant or within
its organization. Such changes can make a big impact on the amount of
psychological stress affecting workers.
Research Psychologists
Research psychologists study how humans think, learn, remember, and respond
to their environment. They are most often found working for universities,
government offices, and private corporations. Whatever the setting,
research psychologists conduct experiments, surveys, and market research to
discover why people react the way they do.
In any university setting, there are psychologists who have no formal
teaching duties. Some study mood disorders. Others research the mechanics
behind memory, inference, visual, and auditory perception. Still another
large field in psychology attempts to understand the various ways people
learn, so that more effective teaching methods can be developed.
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Salaries vary greatly depending on the organization and geographic area.
Following are general annual income ranges for psychologists and
counselors:
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Clinical or counseling psychologist: $45,000 to $150,000
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School psychologist: $47,000 to $65,000
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Industrial/organizational psychologist: $35,000 to $125,000
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Educational, vocational, or school counselor: $25,000 to $70,000
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Substance abuse or behavioral disorder counselor: $20,000 to $49,000
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Marriage or family therapist: $30,000 to $66,000
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Psychology professor: $53,000 to $120,000