I have a problem. Who should i consult? A psychologist? But there are many types… And it̵
- Feb 8, 2015
- 3 min read
For most people, psychology or psychologists deal with the “mentally ill.” Perhaps the word “therapist” comes to mind, or you may have an image of someone lying on a couch while the therapist asks questions such as: “Tell me more about that?” or “How do you feel about that?”
These however represent only two specialty areas of psychology – counseling psychology and clinical psychology.
Did you know psychologists design toys for children, or that they seek to understand how we see objects in color? Were you aware that psychologists are involved in defining the significance of different styles of teaching in children, for developing ways to cope with stress, designing solutions to reduce substance abuse, exploring the complex functioning of the brain, discovering patterns of human thought and a multitude of other issues? Some psychologists are even referred to as “social or behavioral scientists.” They study behaviors through use of research methods including experiments.
The Webster’s Tenth New Collegiate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 1993) defines psychology as:
The science of mind and behavior
a) The mental or behavioral characteristics of an individual or group
b) The study of mind and behavior in relation to a particular field of knowledge or activity
Thus a psychologist can be defined as a person who has completed doctoral training (or equivalent) in one of the many psychology subfields (clinical, experimental, counseling, social, community, developmental, industrial/organizational etc.).
The field of Psychology encompasses both research, through which we learn fundamental things about human and animal behavior, and practice, through which that knowledge is applied in helping to solve problems and promote healthy human development. Psychologists in applied fields counsel and conduct training programs; do market research; apply psychological treatments to a variety of medical and surgical conditions; or provide mental health services in hospitals, clinics, or private settings.
In each of the subfields there are psychologists
who work primarily as researchers/academicians,
others who work primarily as practitioners &
Many who do both (scientist-practitioners).
I have compiled the A-Z of the various sub fields in psychology, have tried to make it as comprehensive as possible and have color coded the following accordingly to the best of my knowledge. And please note I mean ‘primarily’ since this field has many overlaps.
A- Abnormal Psychology, Applied Psychology, Anomalistic Psychology
B- Biological Psychology
C- Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Child Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive NeuroPsychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Community Psychology, Comparative Psychology, Criminal Psychology, Consumer Psychology, Cultural Psychology
D- Developmental Psychology
E– Evolutionary Psychology, Educational Psychology, Ecological Psychology, Environmental Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Engineering Psychology
F- Forensic Psychology, Feminist Psychology( Psychology of women)
G- General Psychology, Gestalt Psychology, Geriatric- Psychology
H- Health Psychology, Human factors psychology, Humanistic Psychology
I- Industrial and organizational Psychology, International Psychology, Investigative Psychology
J- _____
K- _____
L– Legal Psychology
M- Military Psychology, Media Psychology
N- Neuro-Psychology
O– Occupational Psychology
P- Positive Psychology, Personality Psychology, Prison Psychology, Paranormal Psychology, Political Psychology, Psycho- oncology, Psychology of arts, Psycholinguistics.
Q- Quantitative and measurement Psychology
R- Rehabilitation Psychology, Religion/Spiritual Psychology
S- Social Psychology, Sports Psychology, School Psychology
T- Transpersonal Psychology, Theoretical Psychology
U- ______
V- ______
W- ______
X- _______
Y- _______
Z- _______
I may have left out a few fields, which are relatively less prominent. But this list in itself may bog us down! The very fact that there are ‘n’ number of subfields and each of it is itself maybe as vast as the universe!
Jokes aside, the realm of the human mind is itself mind-boggling. The fact that there are different perspectives represents the complexity and richness of human behavior. There are ‘n’ numbers of perspectives, each giving rise to an ‘n’ number of subfields that pursue to study, understand the same and apply the knowledge to practice.
However the many perspectives to psychology help to explain the different types of behavior and give us different angles. No one perspective in itself is found to have all the answers.
Guess that is humbling in itself.
So in conclusion, if you have a mental health problem your choice (among st psychologists) is a counselling psychologist or a clinical psychologist. Not any of the others mentioned, if you need the others these professionals will direct you as per need.
References-
McLeod, S. A. (2007). Psychology Perspectives. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/perspective.html
http://mispp.edu/with-so-many-subfields-of-psychology-where-do-i-fit/
http://apa.org/careers/resources/guides/hs-students.aspx?item=9
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