What is Psychology, and who are Psychologists? Part 3

So What is Psychology Today?

Right. So Psychology is still focusing on behaviour – nothing has changed there. But it’s branched out quite a bit. There’s just so much behaviour out there that it’s nearly impossible for one person to research it all. Additionally, psychologists are always developing new technologies for studying behaviour and refining our methodologies. At my local University where I got my M.Sc., we have four departments covering nearly eight distinct areas of psychological research. Though, even within those areas, there are branches. For instance, at one time I worked in Cognition. However, there are areas of research even within Cognition – there are those who work in Linguistics, those who work in Working Memory, and those who work in Animal Cognition. But for the most part, the various topics covered in psychology all pass through one of three streams of academic routes that people take in order to become psychologists.

1. The Scholar Model: This is the most common path of the professor. In this route, you focus mostly on conducting and analyzing research. As a Graduate student you take classes on fundamental issues in the body of literature you belong to, and classes on psychological and statistical methodology. You spend a great deal of your time learning and teaching statistics. You leave school with a M.Sc., and/or a Ph.D., then pursue a PostDoc in an attempt to build up a set of papers you’ve written and published. After you’re done, you would traditionally find an occupation in an academic institution conducting research and teaching classes.

2. The Practitioner Model: This is a new, but common route for those people who are more interested in pursuing an occupation as a psychotherapist than in conducting or disseminating research. This route focuses on the implementation of research so as to better treat mental health. Practitioners learn how to diagnose and treat mental health issues ranging from mood to developmental disorders. These practitioners can work with sensitive populations (such as those who live with schizophrenia), however, they are not licensed to prescribe medication. Often, these practitioners work with psychiatrists (who can prescribe medication), in order to care for a patient. A person who pursues a career in this model completes coursework focusing on mental illness and practicum (working with patients). They then graduate with a Psy. D. and complete one to two years of post-doctorate apprenticeship under a supervisor’s therapy practice. This exact model varies from country to country and province to province.

3. The Scholar-Practitioner model: This is the traditional route of psychology. A student in this field balances research and practice in roughly equal proportions – contributing to the literature by conducting research studies, while also running a practice where they treat mental illness. Students in this field complete a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. that focuses on identifying mental illness, psychological methodology, and practicum. After graduation, these students typically work with a supervisor with a pre-existing practice for a number of years. These researchers can open their own practice or teach and conduct research in an institution.

4. Honourable mention: The Psychiatrist Model. Now, this model doesn’t necessarily fit within the framework of “psychologist.” However, it’s an important career to consider when looking at professionals that work in psychology. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has specialized in clinical psychology. They work with sensitive populations like someone who has gone through the practitioner model. But unlike them, a psychiatrist is allowed to prescribe medications to their clients. This is important when it comes to treatment because many mental illnesses respond best to medical intervention. In order to become a psychiatrist, you must complete a 4-year pre-med bachelor’s degree, a 4-year M.D. at an accredited medical college, be certified to practice medicine, complete a 5-year psychiatric residency, and then apply for a Certificate of Registration to practice psychiatry with a College of Physicians and Surgeons. It takes a lot to become a psychiatrist, and it’s an incredibly competitive and demanding career path. But, it can be worth it to those who want it badly enough.

So there you have it. Professionals in psychology typically follow one of those three/four paths, then teach, conduct research, or treat mental illness. In addition to that, they go to conferences and visit other universities to discuss their research, publish and hold subscriptions to reputable scholastic journals, and invest in computation skills required to develop and test psychometric tests. It’s not easy getting into psychology, and it’s not easy becoming a psychologist. But if you want to understand how we perceive the world, and maybe – just maybe – get a glimpse of what is beyond that perception, then psychology is for you. Just… don’t try and diagnose your friends and family members please.