General Psychology

The field of general psychology concerns itself with studying the mind. This includes cognition, perception, behavior and emotion. Psychology has been around since the time that people started to think about other people. As a discipline, however, it separated itself from regular medicine in the 1800s. Today, it is a recognized science, which means it has to deal with empirical facts and that it has to be logical. However, it is a difficult type of science, because psychologists effectively try to study themselves, researching the researchers. As a result, although a science, it is still experimental. There are still many different theories around that remain nothing more than theories, and many more experiments have to be completed. However, we have come a long way since we used to lobotomize anyone who exhibited some abnormal behavior.

What We Do

General psychologists are professionally trained to have clinical knowledge with which they help others to cope with the various stresses of life. They provide various services, including psychotherapy and evaluations. They use a number of different techniques that are supported by research and theories, looking at the unique characteristics, values, circumstances and goals of the person they are working with.

General psychology is incredibly broad field of work, which means it also deals with a great many different types of people, who have a huge variety of problems. Some people have issues with depressions, others deal with general anxiety, others have anger problems. Other people have chronic conditions that interfere with their physical health or overall lifestyle. Patients can also have short term problems that make it difficult for them to cope with certain situations such as grief, new jobs, financial problems and so on. Basically, psychologists can work with those who are dealing with some sort of stressful situation, afflicted with a chronic illness, dealing with an addiction, or who have any other type of barrier that stops them from achieving their full potential.

General psychologists have also received training in interpreting and administering various assessments and tests. These are designed to diagnose conditions or identify certain thinking, behavioral or feeling patterns. These tests can be used in order to evaluate someone’s intellectual skills, their particular cognitive strengths and weaknesses, their personality characteristics, their vocational preferences and aptitudes and their neuropsychological functioning.

Because of all of these, general psychologists can work in a great variety of fields, sometimes with some additional specialized training. These fields include:

Forensic psychology
Health psychology
Clinical psychology
Educational psychology
Academia, research and training
Occupational psychology
Counseling psychology
Neuropsychology
Sports and exercise psychology

Why It’s Hot

According to the American Psychological Association’s Center for Workforce Studies, some 5,000 new psychology doctorate students graduated in a variety of subfields of the discipline. However, it is not clear whether or not this will be enough. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), expected growth is 12% between 2012 and 2022, which is average growth. However, greater growth is expected for those with doctoral degrees and certain specializations within psychology. This includes geropsychology, industrial organizational psychology, school psychology and neuropsychology.

The career is hot because:

The new Affordable Care Act has changed the landscape of health care.
Many existing psychologists are reaching retirement age.
The stigma on mental health is being broken, which means that it is more likely for people to seek these services.

Work Environment

Psychologists are, in the main, expected to have a doctorate degree. As such, they are some of the most highly educated of all health care professionals. The entire educational process can take well over 10 years to complete. At present, some 85,000 psychologists employed in the country according to the American Psychological Association (APA). These work in a huge variety of settings, using evidence based treatment, or therapy, to help people with whatever issue they are facing. The most common types of therapy, which can be delivered either individual or in groups that they offer include:

Behavioral
Cognitive
Cognitive-behavioral
Humanistic
Interpersonal
Psychodynamic
Hypnosis
A combination of the above

In many cases, psychologists work with people who also have other health problems. As such, they work together with physicians, psychiatrists, pediatricians and others in order to provide a combination of medicated and therapeutic treatment. Psychologists cannot prescribe medication, with the exception of those in Louisiana, New Mexico and Illinois, although they do need to receive additional training for this.

How to Do It

In order to become a general psychologist, a doctorate degree is almost always required. The educational pathway, however, starts with a four year bachelor’s degree, usually with a focus on psychology. The next stage is a two year master’s degree, where psychologists can choose to follow a certain specialization if they so choose. Then, the must decide between the two main doctorate degrees, being the Ph.D. and the Psy.D. (some choose to complete the Ed.Psy, which is specific to educational psychology).

FIND SCHOOLS

Pros & Cons

There are a number of very clear advantages to being a general psychologist. These include:

High job security with an increased demand.
The chance to meet truly interesting people and hear what their stories actually are.
The ability to learn new perspectives, allowing you to conceptualize and understand things in a new light. This is also something that you can apply to your personal life, although you must be careful to not constantly analyze your own friends.
It is very satisfying to see a meaningful difference in the lives of your patients and to help them get better thanks to your tools and techniques.

At the same time, there are some disadvantages to the career as well:

It takes a long time, and a lot of money, to become qualified as a psychologist and most new graduates start with a large amount of student debt, unless they have been able to access a lot of scholarships and grants.
Although demand is high, the field is competitive, particularly in private practices. This means you must be diligent and patient.
The chance of emotional burnout is high. Many psychologists require the services of another psychologist at some point or another to ensure they can continue to deliver a good service.
There is an element of risk as well, depending on where you work. If you choose to work with the criminally insane, or drug abusers, for instance, you may have to deal with violent and aggressive people.
Some scientists and the general public alike still do not see psychology as a true science, which means there is sometimes a lack of respect that you will have to be able to deal with.
Unfortunately, you cannot help everybody and some patients will simply not be receptive to anything you try.

Career Path

Because the field of general psychology is so broad, you can also work in a huge variety of settings. These include:

Private practices, which you can either run and manage alone, or as part of a team of other psychologists with certain specializations, or even other types of health care providers.
Schools, particularly if you complete a school psychology degree, which is a master’s degree.
Colleges and universities, lecturing the next generation of psychologists. You will require a Ph.D. for this.
Mental health and community health clinics.
Businesses and other private sector organizations.
Nursing homes, long term care centers or rehabilitation clinics.

Financial Aid

Dissertation Research Grant in Developmental Psychology, offered to students who are members of Division 7 of the APA.
Nicholas Hobbs Award, offered yearly to psychologists who have made exemplary contributions to child advocacy.
Div. 16 Grant Program for School Psychology Internships, offered to students who are members of Division 16 of the APA.
Committee on Early Career Psychologists (ECP) Initiative Award, which is offered to organizations who engage newly qualified psychologists.
Mentor Award in Developmental Psychology, for those who have played a significant role in mentoring psychology students.

OpenCourseWare

Introduction to Psychology, offered by Open Yale Courseware.
How to Think Like a Psychologist, offered by Stanford Continuing Studies Program on iTunes.
Great Ideas in Psychology, offered by Dr. Todd Daniel on iTunes.