Clinical Health Psychologists Career Information
Career News August 9, 2013Have you ever wanted to help people change, conquer their demons and improve their lot in life? What is clinical psychology and how does it differ compared to other avenues of mainstream psychology? Clinical health psychology is mostly concerned with a person’s behavioral, cognitive, emotional and social health, mainly on their social and biological processes.
What is Clinical Health Psychology?
Some part of clinical psychology is about preventing and treating diseases and disorders, while others parts of it concern rehabilitation. Clinical health psychology works with medicinal treatment, as it seeks to cure conditions that are associated with physical illness and emotional disorders, which rob patients of happiness. Compared to counseling, which is largely client-directed, clinical psychology is more concerned with biological causes, pharmacological treatments, and pathophysiology.
Doctors who specialize in this area will learn how a person develops mentally, how the memory works, and what motivates him or her. When it comes to working experience, most clinical psychologists in training will observe how experienced doctors treat patients who want to lose weight, stop smoking, or perhaps who are recovering from a disability or traumatic injury.
What must Psychologists Specializing in Clinical Health Know?
Knowledge is not all that is required. In addition, psychologists must understand assessment and diagnosis, family issues and medical backgrounds, and have the ability to work with a health care team. He or she will also become acquainted with most techniques that the medical professional relies upon for better testing and treatment.
Remember that this profession also concerns the psychological aspects of physical diseases, such as patients suffering from AIDS, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. We’re not only speaking of depression, but also in diagnosing and treating all demonstrations of abnormal behavior that might result from these diseases. Other forms of therapy may primarily involve research, experimental procedures, or helping patients accept something that they feel. In contrast, clinical psychology is the study of people, with the absolute intention of promoting positive change.
Is this career path, a subfield in psychology, right for you? It is a job that requires superb people skills, well beyond textbook knowledge. This is one of the most difficult avenues in psychology, since you are not merely discussing facts with other doctors, nor are you helping a patient find peace within himself or herself. No, this is a field where you are often times clashing with patients over their self-destructive habits or highly damaging behavioral patterns. This is a “life saving” work in many respects, and you must be able to handle stress and direct conflict extremely well. As the doctor, you must maintain your authority and not bow to the intense pressure, or else all of your progressive therapy will be for nothing.
With all that said, this is an exciting career, a job that lets you feel a high level of satisfaction, and a high-paying career. Why not look into a school that offers a degree program in psychology, such as University of Phoenix, Kaplan University, Grand Canyon University, and work your way towards the clinical psychology field? You can finish in no time and build a promising career.
