Careers in Psychology

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Careers in Psychology

• Crichton College
• Dept. of Behavioral Sciences

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Introduction

• If youve made the decision to become a
  psychologist, youve taken a big step in choosing
  your career. But the question still remains
  What will be your area of specialty?
• (Sternberg, 2002)

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Psychology Licenses Available in Tennessee

• Tennessee Licenses Three clinical Specialties
• Clinical Psychologist
• Counseling Psychologist
• School Psychologist

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Other Related Licenses or Certification Available
in Tennessee

• Certified Psychological Assistant
• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• LPC Mental Health Service Provider Status
  (LPC-MHSP)
• Licensed Marital Family Therapist (LMFT)
• Clinical Pastoral Therapist (Only 6 states)
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
• Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor

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Common Settings and Activities for the Clinical
Specialties

• Private Practice Clinical Psychology
• Treating, Teaching, Training Clinical Psychology
  in Hospitals
• Emphasizing Strengths/Reaching Out to Community
  Counseling Psychology
• Helping Children School Psychology

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Common Work Settings

• Private Practice Clinical Psychology
• Treating, Teaching, Training Clinical Psychology
  in Hospitals
• Emphasizing Strengths/Reaching Out to Community
  Counseling Psychology
• Helping Children School Psychology

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Careers in Various Organizations

• Public Service
• Research Careers in Government
• Helping Students Change and Develop
• School Psychologist
• Improving the Workplace
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• Consulting
• Consumer Psychology

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Diverse Areas of Psychology

• Design for Human use
• Human-Factors Psychologist
• Defending the Nation
• Military Psychologists
• The interaction of psychology, biology and social
  factors
• Health Psychologist

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Academia

• Professor of Psychology at a College or Graduate
  School
• Psychologists in Schools of Education
• Teaching Managers Psychologists in Business
  Schools

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Professor of Psychology (College or Graduate
School)

• A cluster of possible directions
• Community college
• Part time instructor with outside job
• Liberal Arts College
• Research Universities

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Common Activities

• Course Preparation
• Teaching
• Grading
• Consulting with Students
• Research
• Faculty Meetings Committee Meetings
• Attending Professional Meetings
• Writing, Consulting, Community Service

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Psychologists in Schools of Education

• Focus Psychology studies the individual in
  context education is the social institution by
  which a society transmits its cultural heritage
  to youngsters.
• Educational psychologists study how people think
  behave and learn as individuals and in learning
  communities

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Psychologists in Schools of Education (2)

• Areas of concern
• Special Education
• Counseling
• Assessment
• Better understanding of how teachers instruct,
  motivation, influence of social contexts,
  interplay of curriculum instruction and assessment

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Psychologists in Schools of Education (3)

• Common Activities
• Research statistics
• Writing
• Consulting
• Presentations to groups conventions
• Teaching teachers how to instruct
• Developing high educational standards for the
  teaching profession

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Teaching Those who Manage Psychologists in
Business Schools

• Teaching Specialized Courses
• Organizational Behavior
• Perception Learning
• Motivation
• Decision Making
• Groups Group Dynamics
• Leadership
• Organizational Change
• Interpersonal Skills
• Race Gender
• Power Influence in organizations

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Private Practice Clinical Psychologist

• Focus multifaceted career that requires
  clinical skills and entrepreneurial skills

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Services Provided

• Psychotherapy
• Psychological Testing
• Behavioral Medicine Health Psychology Wellness
  Therapy
• Substance Abuse
• Divorce Mediation
• Sports Psychology
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Career Educational Counseling
• Forensics Work
• Supervision
• Media Work
• Workshops Lectures

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Employment Settings

• Solo Practice
• Group Practice
• Independent Contractor or Consultant

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Treating, Teaching, Training Clinical Psychology
in Hospitals

• Provide direct service to patients
• Supervise/instruct interns, students or other
  health care professionals
• Conduct research
• Administer/direct programs as inpatient
  services/outpatient services or psychology
  training programs

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Emphasizing Strengths Counseling Psychologist

• Focus
• To help people improve their well-being,
  alleviate distress, resolve crises, increase the
  problem solving and decision making abilities

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Emphasizing Strengths Counseling Psychologist

• Common Activities
• Counseling/Psychotherapy
• Teaching/Training
• Consultation
• Supervision
• Administration
• Research

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Counseling Psychologist

• Common Settings
• Independent practice
• Community Mental Health Centers
• Hospitals and Medical Centers
• Schools
• Business/Industry

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Reaching out Community Psychologist

• Community psychologists move beyond the
  individual to deal with broad mental health and
  human relations in community settings
• E.g.
• How a school program affects a population
• How unemployment affects neighborhoods
• How to help empower people for self direction
• Effects of deinstitutionalization

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Common work settings

• Governmental departments of
• Mental health
• Corrections
• Welfare
• Aging
• Children youth services
• School systems

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Licensed Professional Counselor

• Does many of the same tasks as psychologists
• Practice limited
• No personality adjustment
• No psych testing (education/career testing is
  ok)
• Limited 3rd party payments

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Licensed Marital Family Therapist

• Strong focus on couples and family relationships,
  communications, conflicts, etc.
• Special training in systemic types of therapy
• Limited access to 3rd Party payments

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Clinical Pastoral Therapist

• Strong focus on couples, family relationships,
  ministry at different developmental stages,
  bereavement, communications, conflicts, etc.
• Work in Church Settings, Christian Counseling
  Centers
• Builds on a Seminary Degree (M.Div. or D.Min)
  which includes 60 hours of specialized counseling
  coures
• Limited access to 3rd Party payments

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Licensed Clinical Social Worker

• A different field, but tends to focus on
  relationships of individuals and families and
  social agencies.
• Types of activities include
• Relationship training
• Family counseling
• Location of appropriate social services for
  individuals

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Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor

• No Bachelor degree needed
• Training program plus 600 hours of contact
• Addictions background helpful

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Public Service Research Careers in Government

• Investigate questions that originate in social
  concerns as reflected in public polls and
  elections
• Engage in research projects commissioned by and
  funded by government agencies

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Helping Students Change Develop School
Psychologist

• Common tasks
• Analyze behavior patterns of children
• School, community, family influences on the
  learning process
• Counsel/analyze individuals referred to you for
  behavioral and/or learning problems.
• Function as team member to plan remediation
• Staff development workshops
• Trends toward college involvement as well as with
  elementary high school students

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Improving the Workplace Industrial/Organizational
Psychology

• Small number of individuals
• General psychology practiced in a business or
  industrial setting.
• Varied job tasks
• Developing tests for job applicants
• Design work for products (ergonomics)
• Redesign an organization so that people may
  function within it more effectively

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Consulting in Consumer Psychology

• Consumer Psychology the study of people and
  the processes they pursue as they purchase and
  consume goods and services.

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Consulting in Consumer Psychology

• Areas of study
• Purchasing behaviors
• Emotional attachment to products
• Influence of emotions on purchasing
• Information processes that might lead to
  purchasing
• Settings may include
• Business, government, consumer associations,
  academic ,etc.

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Design for Human use Human-Factors Psychologist

• Hard to describerelated to engineering
• Do research into basic human capabilities and
  limitations visual processes, etc. Write
  manuals for those who do design work
• Design of systems that serve particular purposes
  (initially or re-design) e.g. everyday items
  keyboards, chairs, household goods, building
  design, etc.
• Designs to aid engineers in developing products,
  buildings, services, etc.

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Defending the Nation Military Psychologists

• Defined as application of psychological
  principles, theories and methods, within a
  military environment. (focus on the context of
  the applications military uses)

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Defending the Nation Military Psychologists

• Possible areas of focus
• Mental health/family clinics to improve lives of
  service personnel and families
• Research on effects of battlefield environment on
  soldiers to reduce casualties
• Analyze humanitarian peacekeeping mission
  procedures in order to save lives

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Defending the Nation Military Psychologists

• Other areas of focus
• Train personnel to increase readiness
• Human factors engineering
• Military leadership effectiveness
• Individual and group behavior
• Environmental stressors and performance

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Health Psychology Intersection of Psychology,
Biology and Social Factors

• Aim to identify links between the way people
  think feel and behave and their physical
  well-being, and to improve health with
  psychosocial interventions.
• To help behavior changes to better cope with
  development and/or recovery from disease
  processes.

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Credits

• Much of the material above may be found in
• Sternberg, R.J. (2002). Career paths in
  psychology. Washington, DC
• APA.