Understanding The Psychologists
"Rules... Without them, we live with the animals Jonathan" - Winston, John Wick Chapter-2
Usually, there are two sides when it comes knowing about psychology. One side where the understanding is totally inaccurate and another where a person gets lost in psychological argot. Either of these conditions causes problems for people. It produces misinformation in the public eye with regards what a psychologist does. Misinformation can never lead to a meaningful and accurate understanding. It confuses us.
I want to address this misinformation spreading in the society in today's article. The society needs to know what exactly a psychologists does and what he/she can offer. Knowing exactly what a psychologist offers can help a person make an informed decision about whether or not to consult one. Further, a person can understand more directly which specific type of psychologist one might need to go for.
According to the American Psychological Association, A Psychologist is:
An individual who is professionally trained in one or more branches or subfields of psychology. The training is obtained at a university or a school of professional psychology, leading to a doctoral degree in Philosophy(Ph.D.), Psychology (PsyD), or education(EdD).
Therefore, a professional psychologist is a trained individual with highly specific training in one or multiple branches of psychology. There exists various branches in psychology like Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology, Social Psychology, Sports Psychology, Psychoncology, etc. Specialization in one or more of the aforementioned branches is a norm for most psychologists and usually an individual chooses to specialize in one branch to learn and practice it in detail for their doctoral work.
The training has to be obtained in order to specialize in a branch of psychology, and the training must be from a university or a college which should lead the individual to work on a doctoral degree till completion. In India, there are two requirements. An M.Phil. or at least a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology with a significant work experience under a psychology department of a hospital is required for practice as a Clinical Psychologist. Furthermore, an individual needs to be certified by the RCI or Rehabilitation Council of India as "Clinical Psychologist" to be practicing as one.
With these uncertain times, we need to produce more awareness as to what psychologists are and how exactly we can help. I keep seeing certain individuals taking unfair advantage of people who don't have sufficient knowledge by posing as psychologists. Practicing without regulation is a wrong-doing against the citizens of India and a client who is putting their trust in you to heal/help them. I have mentioned some links below that can be referred to what learning more.
FAQ's about what RCI regulates: https://www.rehabcouncil.nic.in/forms/list.aspx?id=41
Guidelines for M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology: https://www.rehabcouncil.nic.in/writereaddata/mphilcp09.pdf
?List of Institutions approved by the RCI: https://www.rehabcouncil.nic.in/forms/Sublink2.aspx?lid=1028
Ethics that need to be followed by all professional psychologists: https://www.apa.org/ethics/code
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4 年Great effort Anand, With the growing demand for mental heath and allied services and rise in openess to discuss about mental well-being , there is still a gap in information among people seeking services on choosing the right psychologist or mental health provider. This article surely helps spreading awareness about it.