A Guide on Pursing a Career as a Clinical Psychology

A lot of students who aspire to study psychology don’t really have a clear vision whether they want to become a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist. Although the two streams may sound very similar and both deal with studying about the human behaviour and psychology, the two are different in many ways in it requires a special training and study.

Today, in India there are plenty of universities that offer both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in psychology. If you want to pursue a career as a clinical psychologist you would have to complete a four year program in college, and later you can opt to pursue an MA degree in clinical psychology before you can start practicing as a psychologist. The degree program would require you to submit an Ignou MA clinical psychology project and also get training under the guidance of a professional psychologist.

A clinical psychologist is a professional who works specifically in a clinical metal health setting. Unlike other psychology professionals, who perform various researches and participate in studies the clinical psychologists work with real patients on the field. Although the clinical psychologists would have to deal with many interesting cases, which are drastically different from each other, they spend most of their time doing ordinary tasks like filing papers and conducting counselling sessions for the patients.

?What work do clinical psychologists do?

Typically, the clinical psychologists work with patients in a group setting or in a one-to-one basis and treat them for the mental disorders that they suffer from. The work of clinical psychology professionals differ from other psychologists because they specialize in abnormal psychology.

It is important to know that the clinical psychologists do not prescribe medicine to the patients, as a matter of fact, only the psychiatrists are allowed to prescribe psychiatric medications by law. The clinical psychologists’ primary role is to help the patients realise that they are suffering from a mental problem, they work to understand the root cause of the problem through counselling and interview sessions. Based on the replies given by the patient, they then recommend solutions on how to overcome the problem.

One of the hardest parts of the clinical psychologists work process is to get the patient talk about their feeling, their darkest fears and win their trust. The clinical psychology professionals typically have excellent communication skills to deal with different patients and they use various communication methods to deal with different patients across different age groups and backgrounds. The clinical psychologists typically use the most up-to-date techniques to diagnose and suggest treatment plans to the patients as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

Another major challenge of a clinical psychologist’s job is that every patient is different and every individual reacts differently to the therapy sessions, the psychologists have to develop a tailor-made treatment plan for different people and constantly alter the plan based on how well they respond to the treatment.

?Where do clinical psychologists work?

After finishing your post graduate program in psychology and completing your Ignou MA psychology report, you can find work in various medical, social service and mental health settings. Also, you can be self-employed and start your private practice. For starters, you can get the initial training with other mental healthcare professionals who are already practicing as a clinical psychologist.

Some clinical psychological professionals choose to work in shelter homes and/or mental health institutions, charity organisations and government sponsored programs that work to serve the community.