HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

Health Psychology

Health Psychology

Psychologist

Want to talk? A psychologist is ready to listen. Now, stupid intro aside; I have decided that the career of my choice for this wonderful paper will be Psychology. Psychologists are seen as the kinder, gentler brand of "shrinks." They are distinct from psychiatrists in that they do not prescribe drugs and do not hold medical degrees. Psychologists are social scientists and behavioralists - they are students of human behavior. More specifically, they investigate the physical, cognitive, emotional, or social aspects of human behavior. They formulate hypotheses and collect data, and gather information through controlled laboratory experiments, as well as through personality, aptitude and intelligence tests. They do all this just to figure out what is wrong with you (which sounds like fun to me).

The Types of Psychologists

Clinical psychologists, who make up the largest specialty of psychology, generally work in independent or group practice, or in hospitals assisting mentally or emotionally disturbed individuals. Clinical psychologists provide group therapy, such as abuse counseling, marriage and child counseling, and drug or alcohol counseling. They may talk it over with physicians and other specialists in developing and coming up with treatment and intervention programs. As part of their involvement, psychologists work to make these programs less alienating and complex to their patients, so in other words they dumb it down for retards like us.

Other specialties within the great field of psychology include cognitive psychology, health psychology and neuropsychology. Cognitive psychologists deal with memory, thinking and perception. Health psychologists promote wellness by providing health counseling programs that help people quit smoking, lose weight and battle chemical dependency (such as Heroin addicts and fat kids on twinkies). Neuropsychologists study the relationship between the brain and human behavior; they are particularly interested in head injuries and strokes (which I think is borderline disturbing).

Another major group is the developmental psychologists, who study the patterns and causes of behavioral change as people progress from infancy to adulthood. For example: they would try figure out why Hitler was an insane bastard by looking at his child years and such. Some developmental psychologists specialize in behavior during infancy, childhood and adolescence, while others study changes that take place during maturity or old age. The study of developmental disabilities and how they affect people is a relatively new area within developmental psychology. This does mean you get to blame everything on your parents yet.

Psychologists aren't simply confined to the study of the disturbed or other special cases. As behavioralists, their work is applicable in every aspect of human life. For example, industrial-organizational psychologists apply psychological techniques to personnel administration, management and marketing problems. They are involved in applicant screening, training and development, counseling, and organizational development and analysis. An industrial psychologist might work with management to develop better training programs and to reorganize the work setting to improve worker productivity or quality of work life. Employers will bring in psychologists in vain attempts to boost employee moral.

Traits Needed:

* Logical

* Rational

* Sympathetic

* Perceptive

* Patient

* Strong Mind

* Determination

* Creativity

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