Psychologists

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Psychology
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Psychologists
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A psychologist is a scientist who studies psychology, the systematic investigation of the human behavior and mental processes. Psychologists are usually categorised under a number of different fields, the most well-recognised being clinical psychologists, who provide mental health care, and research psychologists, who collect, investigate and analyse aspects of human behaviour.

In the legal context in the United States and Canada, Psychologist is a protected professional title. In this sense, the title of "Psychologist" means that the mental health professional has a doctoral degree (usually a Ph.D. or a Psy.D.) in Clinical or Counseling Psychology and has also met state or provincial licensing criteria. Those criteria typically include a period of post-doctoral practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist, a licensing exam, and continuing education requirements. In most states in the United States and in Canada, only licensed psychologists and psychiatrists can legally provide psychotherapy and use this term to refer to aspects of the mental health treatments they perform.

Unlike psychiatrists, psychologists are not medical doctors and hence, in most states, cannot obtain a license to prescribe psychiatric medications. Prescription privileges in the United States have recently began to change in some states, and some psychologists are gaining prescriptive privileges, specifically in New Mexico and Louisiana. Licensed psychologists generally have academic doctoral degrees (Ph.D.) that are different from the professional degrees of medical doctors in that they require not only coursework, supervised protessional training, and clinical internship but also significant academic research experience and original contributions to scientific research in the form of a dissertation. In this sense, the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology is a hybrid academic/professional degree, and university programs in Clinical Psychology are not only acedmic but also training programs typically characterized by rigor and intensity. Some psychologists have professional degrees in psychology (Psy.D.) that include similarly rigorous coursework, supervised professional training, internship, and developing the ability to read and interpret academic research, but they do not necessarily require original research contributions to science.

Types of psychologist

Psychologists are often categorised under different fields or disciplines.

  • Clinical psychologists and Counselling psychologists often work in counseling centres, hospitals and clinics. They diagnose and evaluate mental and emotional disorders, and use tools such as psychotherapy and hypnosis to treat affected patients. They conduct interviews and psychological tests, and may conduct complex treatment programs, sometimes in conjunction with physicians or other specialists.
  • Occupational Psychologists are concerned with the performance of people at work and in training, with developing an understanding of how organisations function and how individuals and groups behave at work. Their aim is to increase effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction at work.
  • Research psychologists study behavioural processes by experimenting on human beings and animals. They work in universities and private research centres, as well as for government organisations and often contribute to fields including marketing, design, and different forms of drug and chemical research. Common areas of research include memory, motivation, and factors affecting behaviour and development.

Statistics

These statistics are from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, information dated 2002 unless noted otherwise.

  • Employed psychologists: 139,000
  • 1/4 self-employed
  • 3/10 employed by educational institutions (in positions other than teaching)
  • Median income for clinical psychologists: USD$51,170
  • Median income for industrial/organisational psychologists: USD$63,710

Restrictions on the use of the label 'Psychologist"

In New Zealand, the use of the title 'psychologist' is restricted by law. Initially, only 'clinical psychologist' and 'registered psychologist' were restricted (to people qualified as such). However, in 2004, the use of psychologist is now limited to only those registered psychologists (including clinical psychologists). This is to prevent the misrepresentation of other psychology qualifications in the mental health field. Academic psychologists (e.g., social psychologists) are now only able to refer to themselves as 'Researchers in Psychology'.

Similar restictions apply in the United States, although application of these restrictions varies state-by-state. For example, School Psychologists, tend to have fewer years of course-based training and practice (e.g., residencies and fellowships) and less experience in conducting independent research than Clinical Psychologists. (Some School Psychologists may have earned a doctorate (Ed.D., Psy.D., Ph.D.) but the vast majority have completed Master's degree training (M.Ed., M.A., M.S.) or Educational Specialist training (Ed.S.) only. Clinical Psychologists, by definition, have completed a doctorate). For this reason, individuals with training in School Psychology cannot be licensed as a Psychologist, per se. Similarly, many states restrict the work of Clinical Psychologists to function in public schools.


This list includes famous psychologists and contributors to psychology; some of them may not have thought of themselves primarily as psychologists but are included here because of their important contributions to the discipline.

Specialised lists of psychologists can be found at the articles comparative psychology, list of social psychologists and list of cognitive scientists. Psychologists included in those lists are also listed below:


Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

B

C

  • Mary Calkins
  • James Cattell
  • Laura Carstensen
  • Jean-Martin Charcot
  • Nancy Chodorow
  • Leda Cosmides
  • Clyde Coombs

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

  • Ulric Neisser
  • Alexander Sutherland Neill
  • Erich Neumann
  • Donald Norman
  • Kent Norman

O

  • James "Jim" Olds
  • Thomas Ogden

P

Q

R

S

T

U

  • Dimitri Uznadze

V

  • Liev S. Vygotski

W

X

Y

Z

  • Robert J. Zajonc
  • Oliver L. Zangwill
  • Philip Zimbardo
  • Manas K Mandal

Prescientific theorists

External links


See also

  • List of cognitive scientists
  • List of people by occupation

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