Counseling psychology - Brems & Johnson - Kennedy
Counseling psychology is a career whose specialty involves helping people gain control of their feelings. It is a class of applied psychology that uses research and applied work to give treatment to clients who experience variety of emotional, social and behavioral problems. Among other psychology areas, counseling psychology has the largest number of professionals. (Brems & Johnson, 1997)
The career is often mistaken with clinical psychology. These two deal with treating mental and emotional problems but counseling psychology focuses on patients whose symptoms are less severe (Kennedy, 1990) Clinical psychology on the other hand deals with patients with serious symptoms and disorder.
The work of a counseling psychologist is diverse and deals with different types of patients including children, adults, students, families and couples. They work in different settings, such as hospitals, prisons and probation centers. In some cases, they start their own practice. (Kennedy, 1990)
What a counseling psychologist does is help patients conquer negative emotions and thoughts. The part of the job involves interacting with their patients from time to time. In order to treat a patient, counseling psychologists will try to create a serene and inviting atmosphere. It helps to relax the patient and open up to them (Kennedy, 1990) They encourage the patient to talk about their fears, feelings and behaviors. In between the processes, the psychologist asks questions occasionally. After listening, the counseling psychologist helps the patient solve his/her problem (Brems & Johnson, 1997)
[...] Anyone who has the above characteristic and values can make a good counseling psychologist and can pursue a career in counseling psychology (Kennedy, 1990) The minimum entry for requirement for counseling psychology is, a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. Doctor of Philosophy (Psy.D) or Doctor of Education (Ed.D). These programs are accredited by the American psychology association. (American Psychological Association, 1969) The complete education path of a counseling psychologist is first earning a bachelor's degree that takes an average of four academic years. After that, the candidate should earn a master's degree that takes two more additional years in campus. Finally, the candidate is supposed to earn a doctorate in psychology that normally takes 2 to 4 years. [...]
[...] The backbone of the counseling service industry is empathy. The feeling cannot be faked, thus, counseling psychologists should be able to understand patients' emotional pain and show passion. People who get frustrated easily, this is not a career to choose (Brems & Johnson, 1997) Counselors need to be stable individuals; they should not be distracted by their own personal problems. The counselor should address their problems first before dealing with a patient. A stable counseling psychologist makes stable decisions (Kennedy, 1990) Anyone who wishes to pursue counseling psychology should be comfortable with talking to all types of people. [...]
[...] Among other psychology areas, counseling psychology has the largest number of professionals. (Brems & Johnson, 1997) The career is often mistaken with clinical psychology. These two deal with treating mental and emotional problems but counseling psychology focuses on patients whose symptoms are less severe (Kennedy, 1990) Clinical psychology on the other hand deals with patients with serious symptoms and disorder. The work of a counseling psychologist is diverse and deals with different types of patients including children, adults, students, families and couples. [...]
[...] Counseling psychology is a career that involves working with people at all times. One must have some values and characteristics that are crucial to making a successful counseling psychologist. The first and the main one is that an individual should be a social person (Strawbridge & Woolfe, 2010) The job is as social occupation that will frequently involve interacting and communicating with people. If one is not social enough, he/she will not influence the patient to open up. A social counseling psychologist gives a patient the willingness to form an alliance, and that forms the first step of the healing process. [...]
[...] It is a long life career with other career paths to take. It offers opportunities not only to help others but also to develop holistically in terms of professional development and development of interpersonal skills in an individual through daily interaction with people from varying walks of life. The life of a psychologist is an experience that is relived every day. References Brems, C., & Johnson, M. E. (1997). Comparison of recent graduates of clinical versus counseling psychology programs. Journal of Psychology Kushner, M. G., & Sher, K. J. (1989). [...]
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