Psychology is one such field which is multiplying its growth day by day. As nowadays everyone is going through some stress which may later lead to some or the other issue. Also due to this Covid-19 pandemic, many people have lost their job and others have to do work from home. All this creates a feeling of irritation and frustrations or stress within an individual. Pursuing psychology as a career is one best choice one can make.
IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD OF PSYCHOLOGY:
Growing Field:
Psychology is a growing field as everybody is facing stress or some or the other psychological issue. So, for this they need a psychologist, counselor or a psychiatrist. Also, now people are getting open minded. Earlier they did not used to refer to a psychologist but now, they reach up to a psychologist if needed.
Helps Build Relationships:
In psychology, you learn how to build relations with other, how to manage relations and the importance of people in your life. You meet up new people, clients you build a relation with them. In psychology you get to learn how to build and manage relations with others.
Helps To Know Us Better:
Psychology is the deep understanding of oneself. You get to dig deeper within yourself, know more about your preferences, about your dislikes, your interests and more. Psychology helps you to be your own best friend.
Get To Help Others:
There are many people who wish to choose a career where they can help others. Psychology is one such field by which you get to help others. As nowadays everyone needs a psychologist or counselor to deal with the problems they face. In such a way you get to help others.
Be More Understanding And Develop Different Skills:
The field of psychology helps you to more understand and have patience. There are many skills that one can learn and apply in his life like problem solving, listening skills. All these things help one lead better life.
STEPS TO BECOME A PSYCHOLOGIST
Psychologist is one who studies human behavior and identifies mental health conditions. They also focus on the behavior and emotions of the people and help them treat it using treatment and therapy.
For becoming a psychologist:
- Pass the 10+2 with psychology as one of the subjects
- Bachelors in psychology (B.sc or B.a) which is a 3 year course
- Masters in psychology as specialization in one field of psychology which is a 2 year course
- Doctoral degree (Ph. D. or M.Phil.) to become a licensed psychologist which is a 4-7 year course.
SKILLS NEEDED TO BE A PSYCHOLOGIST
To become a psychologist, one needs to have some skills which are needed in this field.
- Good listening skills
- Empathy
- Patience
- Open-mindedness
- Analytical skills
- Problem solving skills
ONLINE PSYCHOLOGY COURSES
If you want to do an online course in psychology, there are many courses on Udemy related to psychology. Also, Alison provides free online psychology courses. Coursera also offers different courses in psychology with certification which are free.
PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Getting admission into college has different requirements. Every college has different entry requirements.
Eligibility for entry in graduation course:
- Students should have completed class 12th education from state or national educational board in India with at least 50% marks.
- Apart from this various college have different eligibility criterion
- There are some universities that conduct entrance exams, so clearing those exams is also one criterion.
Eligibility for entry in post-graduation course:
- Students must have done a bachelor's degree in psychology from a recognized university with at least 50% marks.
- There are some universities that conduct entrance exams, so clearing those exams is also one criterion.
- Apart from this various colleges have different eligibility criteria.
BEST UNIVERSITIES FOR PSYCHOLOGY
There are many universities that provide psychology course but some of the best universities are:
- Lady Shriram College For Women, New Delhi
- Christ University (deemed to be university), Bangalore
- St. Xavier’s, Mumbai
- Jesus And Mary College
- Presidency College, Chennai
- Tata Institute Of Social Sciences, Mumbai
- Amity University, Noida
- NIMHANS
- Gargi College, Delhi
- Delhi University
CAREERS AFTER PSYCHOLOGY
You have many career paths after doing psychology.
Clinical Psychologist:
Clinical psychologists are present in hospitals, clinics. They help in assessment, diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems. For becoming a clinical psychologist, you need to do your M.Phil. clinical psychologists apply therapies and treatments to help their clients.
Child Psychologist:
Child psychologists focus on the emotional, cognitive issues concerned with infants or adolescents. They understand their development and entire processes in the lifespan.
Counselor:
Counselors are mainly required in hospitals, rehabilitation center, NGO. Counselors listen over to the issues faced by the clients and help in resolving these issues and making the clients free from problems that are disturbing them.
Sports Psychologist:
Sports psychologists work with sportspeople, their performance, any issues faced by them. They get appointed in coaching centers, sports teams. Also, nowadays a sports psychologist goes along with the team for a tournament for the team if needed at the moment.
Organizational Psychologist:
Organizational psychologist gets a job in companies, organization. They get hired as human relations managers, for this they need to do MBA after doing psychology as a bachelor’s degree.
Forensic Psychologist:
Forensic psychology mainly deals with jail, prisoners, law or forensic labs. They understand the mindset of criminals or help in understanding the reason for committing such a crime. So, here forensic psychology comes into role play.
Psychology Professor:
As you have studied psychology you can be a school counselor, teacher for special children, professor in college. You can be a professor after clearing NET exam. You can teach students in school or college after clearing this exam.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGIST AND PSYCHIATRIST
Psychologist is one who does not have a medical degree but has completed bachelors, masters and post-doctoral in psychology. But a psychiatrist has a medical degree and specialization in psychology. A psychologist can only provide therapies, treatment for mental disorders. Whereas, a psychiatrist gives medication for treatment of mental disorders. Sometimes, a psychologist works with a psychiatrist where a psychiatrist gives medication and the psychologist takes upon some assessments if needed.