My future

[countSpanky]

Hi all

 

I was just having a little discussion with my father over dinner. I made it pretty clear in the past I want to start my studies in psychology next year, and eventually go for clinical psychology.

 

But my father just told me it's hard to find a job in psychotherapy nowadays. If they find work, he says, they're subordinate to psychiatrists.

 

Now I'm starting to doubt. How much development is there in a psychologist's career? How hard is it nowadays to start and hold an independent practice successfully?

 

Would it be wiser for me to start my education in medicine and go for psychiatry instead?

[YT2095]

A friend of mine is interested in a similar field, she started off doing Psychology at a local college, and does voluntary session work with the social services, basicy she sits there whille an expert does all the talking, and is then asked afterwards for her opinions and such (to see if it ties with the experts basicly).

maybe that would be a good place to start, it`ll certainly give you a "feel" if it`s right direction for you on not

[greg1917]

I think psychology is going the way of several popular sciences right now, a huge influx of gradutaes into a job market that cant cope.

 

Its happened already with geology - there are so many graduates with geology degrees there just isnt a market for them and any jobs there are usually snapped up by people with better qualifications than a degree. If you genuinely enjoy psychology then you should study it, but be aware of the demand for your profession when you graduate.

[Glider]

You wouldn't go for a job as a psychotherapist if you were a clinical psychologist anyway. They are two entirely different things. As it stands, the job market at the moment (in the UK at least) is screaming for clinical psychologists.

 

The first thing to do is to find out what a clinical psychologist is or indeed, what a psychologist is (most people cannot define psychology and have no real idea what a psychologist is, or does). You could start by logging on to http://www.bps.org.uk which is the website of the British Psycholoical Society (if you are in the US, look for the American Psychological Association (APA)).

 

A clinical psychologist is not subordinate to a psychiatrist. They are different jobs and have different roles. It's a bit like saying the Marines are subordinate to the Paras. Before deciding a course, you should find out more about the roles and functions of each.

[Kevin Conti]

If you want to progress in psychology my advice to you would be to be different in your approach, than would say your average BA student. Specifically, go further than your recommended books and SPECIALISE in a few areas. In order to make it as a clinical psychologist you have to be unique and be able to innovate, formulate and postulate, not just be able to read and quote.

 

Researching classical psychology texts are good only if you're a beginner but there are numerous drawbacks to them. Namely, they are sometimes based only on the basics of psychology, and there is frequently little scope in them for specialist research. So certainly if you hope to make it big in the field then pick a few areas that you would consider useful. I would advice you to read about psychopathology of all contexts, from the neurological to the psychological end. Additionally, learn about natural selection and the process in which individuals can be genetically inclined to develop some mental problems. In the process, find out about the prognosis for such disorders and read about the potential cures that influence that prognosis. Furthermore, I cannot highlight enough the importance of neuroscience knowledge when studying pathology.

 

In terms of the lack of jobs in psychology I would have to concur, but in the specialist arena (i.e. clinical, forensics) the Western world is lacking. Like your man Glider said, the UK is seriously lacking in clinical psychologists and there is vacancies in abundance here.

 

And no you will not be a psychiatrist's subordinate, unless your just a BA grad with an interest in pathology. If you are a clinical psychologist you will be working with psychiatrists and other experts and you will be responsible both collectively and individually for dealing with particular cases. In such cases, clinical psychologists have as much autonomy as psychiatrists (except they can provide drugs) and expert psychologists are often more skilled in the various psychological causes of problems and the psychological methods used to reverse them.

 

Kev

[ed84c]

I would suggest eitherway trying out a few experiments (Stay with me) on your friends, i wanted to but never got roung to it- try this:

 

Ask a person about their past and about their future. Their eyes generally will wander to either side of you when they think about it. See if their writing hand preferance has any bearing on it eg.; do left haned people look to the left when thinking about the past, and right handed people look to the right when doing the same?

 

If you try it out; post the results!

[ed84c]

What i meant is that when people think about past they look one way, future they look the other

[Glider]

ed84c said in post # :

I would suggest eitherway trying out a few experiments (Stay with me) on your friends, i wanted to but never got roung to it- try this:

 

Ask a person about their past and about their future. Their eyes generally will wander to either side of you when they think about it. See if their writing hand preferance has any bearing on it eg.; do left haned people look to the left when thinking about the past, and right handed people look to the right when doing the same?

 

If you try it out; post the results!

 

Why? In what way is this relevant to the thread?

[BrainMan]

Since I fist thought about going into psychology (about 6 or 7 years ago) to the present, every report I have ever seen has claimed that the job market for clinical psychology is growing and will continue to do so for quite some time (in the US).

[ed84c]

It is an experiment concerning the workings of the human mind. I often try to do things before they are needed; i.e. prosumable for the degree a project is required so a bit of practice cant hurt!

[Kevin Conti]

BrainMan said in post # :

Since I fist thought about going into psychology (about 6 or 7 years ago) to the present, every report I have ever seen has claimed that the job market for clinical psychology is growing and will continue to do so for quite some time (in the US).

 

They may be an influx of psychology graduates but there is a clear shortage in the number of experts in several key areas, e.g. clinical, neuropathology, forensics etc. So like I said it is also best to specialise in a few areas if you really want to crack the discipline. In terms of working with just a basic degree in the subject, your chances are severely limited as your knowledge is likely just be preliminary fundamental background knowledge. Jobs available therefore are far and few between, particularly of course due to the abundance of psychology graduates.