Psychologists: What They Do and How They Help People

It is not easy to define a psychologist as there are many specializations. But in summary, the psychologist is a qualified professional who has received formal university training in psychology (Bachelor or Degree in Psychology).

This professional studies, from a scientific point of view, the way how individuals think, feel and behave, and has explanatory models and sufficient knowledge to be able to apply the appropriate tools and techniques for the evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and intervention in the different problems that may arise in different areas: education, organization, clinic, community, among others.

Sometimes psychologists also work to improve the performance or potential of an organization or individual.

Psychologists are not only dedicated to treating psychopathologies

As we can see, the definition of the psychologist is complex. But it can be said that this deals with certain aspects of human behavior, such as thinking, emotions, behavior and interpersonal relationships to help other people or groups better understand each other and resolve psychological and relational needs so that they can enjoy greater well-being psychological.

On the other hand, it must be clarified that not all psychologists are dedicated to the treatment of psychopathologies. For example, sports psychologists can help athletes improve their sports performance.

What training does a psychologist have?

Psychology is a very broad field that encompasses different fields of application. Thus, there are certain differences in the educational content of the different countries. For example, the curriculum of most Latin American countries, with a duration of five years, is made up of a basic cycle of two years, and from the third year the students already specialize in clinical, educational or organizational psychology (the latter, also call industrial).

On the other hand, in Spain, the duration of the Degree in Psychology is four years. Specialization is achieved through the different graduate degrees that exist.

Postgraduate degrees can be official or own degrees. The former give the option of accessing a doctorate.

If you want to know more about training in psychology, you can visit our articles:

• Why study Psychology? 10 points that you should value (of the psychologist Bertrand Regader)

• The 20 best Master's degrees in Psychology

• The 10 best universities to study Psychology in Spain

It is necessary for psychologists to stay updated in their field of practice, for this they can attend seminars and courses to keep up to date with the profession.

What do psychologists do and how do they help us?

Psychologists are engaged in research, practice, and teaching of a wide range of topics related to human thinking, emotions, and behavior. They work with people individually, with groups (such as families or sports teams), and organizations. Some psychologists also work with animals. For example, with dogs.

Then some topics and problems that psychologists usually work with are shown:

• Mental health and problems such as depression, anxiety, phobias, or schizophrenia
• Neurological, genetic, psychological and social determinants of behavior
• Brain injuries and degenerative brain diseases
• Pain perception and management
• Psychological factors associated with physical problems and illnesses (for example, diabetes or cancer)
• Psychological factors associated with terminal illnesses
• Cognitive functions such as attention, learning, memory, problem solving, and intelligence
• Psychological development throughout life
• Criminal behavior, crime prevention, attention to victims and psychological factors related to the criminal and judicial sphere
• Use and abuse of addictive substances
• Psychological well-being: managing emotions and other related aspects (for example, stress)
• Personal growth and development (for example, goal accomplishment and planning)
• Factors that influence the maintenance of "wellness", that is, in the mental, emotional and physical balance
• Social and cultural behaviors and relationships between individuals and groups
• Psychological factors related to performance in organizations and in sport

The usefulness of psychologists

What psychologists do has to do with understanding people's behavior and mental processes, but it also has a very clear applied part. After all, understanding something is of little use if this knowledge cannot be applied. That is why psychology has a research aspect and another of application of what is investigated.

In the first area we find, for example, psychologists who study perception and decision-making, and in the applied part is that part of the psychology community that applies this knowledge to psychotherapy, the psychology of marketing, etc.

In short, there are many professional and academic environments that benefit from the work carried out by psychologists in their day-to-day life.

Differences between psychologists and psychiatrists

Psychology and psychiatry are two disciplines that are frequently confused despite being two different fields of application within the field of mental health.

Some differences between the two practices are: psychologists have graduates or degrees in psychology while psychiatrists have studied medicine, both use different treatments (psychologists cannot use drugs, psychiatrists can) or the problems they treat are different. In the latter case, psychologists are not only dedicated to the clinical field, but they can work with people who do not suffer from psychopathologies.

If you want to know more data between both disciplines, you can read this post: "What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?”.

Where do Psychologists work?

The psychologists work in different places as there are many fields of application. Some work in schools, some in organizations, some in private clinics, and some in prisons. Some psychologists can even practice their profession as researchers and others as teachers.

Although the fields of application of psychology are many, the best known areas are: Clinical psychology, Educational and developmental psychology, Experimental psychology, Neurosciences Y Social psychology Y organizational.

In addition to these areas, psychologists may specialize in: Forensic psychology, Sports psychology, Psychology applied to nutrition, Criminal psychology, Legal psychology, Sexology or Coaching.