What does a psychologist do?

What do practicing psychologists do?

Practicing psychologists have the professional training and clinical skills to help people learn to cope more effectively with life issues and mental health problems. After years of graduate school and supervised training, they become licensed by their states to provide a number of services, including evaluations and psychotherapy. Psychologists help by using a variety of techniques based on the best available research and considering someone’s unique values, characteristics, goals and circumstances to provide counseling Jacksonville.

Psychologists with doctoral degrees (either a PhD, PsyD or EdD) receive one of the highest levels of education of all health care professionals, spending an average of seven years in education and training after they receive their undergraduate degrees. The American Psychological Association estimates that there are about 85,000 licensed psychologists in the United States.

Practicing psychologists help a wide variety of people and can treat many kinds of problems. Some people may talk to a psychologist because they have felt depressed, angry or anxious for a long time. Or, they want help for a chronic condition that is interfering with their lives or physical health. Others may have short-term problems they want help navigating, such as feeling overwhelmed by a new job or grieving the death of a family member. Psychologists can help people learn to cope with stressful situations, overcome addictions, manage their chronic illnesses and break past the barriers that keep them from reaching their goals. Practicing psychologists are also trained to administer and interpret a number of tests and assessments that can help diagnose a condition or tell more about the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. These tests may evaluate intellectual skills, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, vocational aptitude and preference, personality characteristics, and neuropsychological functioning.

Practicing psychologists use an assortment of evidence-based treatments to help people improve their lives. Most commonly, they use therapy (often referred to as psychotherapy or talk therapy). There are many different styles of therapy, but the psychologist will choose the type that best addresses the person’s problem and best fits the patient’s characteristics and preferences.

Some common types of therapy are cognitive, behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, humanistic, psychodynamic or a combination of a few therapy styles. Therapy can be for an individual, couples, family or other group. Some psychologists are trained to use hypnosis, which research has found to be effective for a wide range of conditions including pain, anxiety and mood disorders.

For some conditions, therapy and medication are a treatment combination that works best. For people who benefit from medication, psychologists work with primary care physicians, pediatricians and psychiatrists on their overall treatment. Two states, New Mexico and Louisiana, have laws allowing licensed psychologists with additional, specialized training to prescribe from a list of medications that improve emotional and mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

A doctoral degree to practice psychology requires at least 4-6 years of full-time study after completing an undergraduate degree. Coursework includes areas such as ethics, statistics, individual differences and the biological, cognitive-affective and social bases of behavior, as well as specific training in psychological assessment and therapy.

While in graduate school, psychology students may also participate in research and teaching. A one-year full-time supervised internship is required prior to graduation and in most states an additional year of supervised practice is required before licensure. Psychologists must pass a national examination and addition examination specific to the state in which they are being licensed.

Once licensed to practice, psychologists must keep up their knowledge, which is demonstrated by earning several hours of continuing education credits annually, as required by their state’s license and regulations.

For the states where psychologists are allowed to prescribe medication, they must have advanced training after they are licensed. Specific education guidelines vary by state, but they must complete a specialized training program or master’s degree in psychopharmacology.

Many practicing psychologists manage their own private practice or working with a group of other psychologists or health care providers. Practicing psychologists work in many other places too. They are found in schools, colleges and universities, hospitals and prisons, veterans’ medical centers, community health and mental health clinics, businesses and industry, nursing homes, and rehabilitation and long-term care centers.

Article provided by the American Psychological Association’s Help Center, Updated April 2011: Documents from APA Help Center may be reprinted in their entirety with credit given to the American Psychological Association. Any exceptions to this, including requests to excerpt or paraphrase documents from APA Help Center, must be presented in writing to Help Center and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Permission for exceptions will be given on a one-time-only basis and must be sought for each additional use of the document.

Counseling and Psychotherapy in Jacksonville, FL. Dr. D’Arienzo, Psychologist, Life Coach, Couples Counselor, and Marriage Therapist. 904-379-8094.

Counseling Jacksonville Fl-Its aims and objectives

Relationships play a very important part in our lives. It is therefore essential that we keep a good and healthy relationship with our family members and our colleagues. The stronger the relationships of a person are the happier and contented he is with his life. However, keeping strong relationships is not quite that easy. The reason for this is keeping everyone happy is impossible. As no two people are the same and do not think the same way, there comes a time when they differ on a subject. Once a conflict arises the strongest of relationships can break if the conflict is not resolved at an earlier stage.

In order to keep a relationship from breaking due to conflicts the help of a relationship counselor can prove to be very beneficial. Relationship counselors are psychiatrists who are trained to help out people who are facing difficulty in maintaining a healthy relationship with their life-partners, other members of their family or their colleagues. The main task of the relationship counselor is to find out the root cause of the problem that has soured the relationship between two individuals. After deciding the cause the counselor proceeds towards finding a solution of the problem so that the relationship between the two individuals becomes strong and healthy again.

The aim of the Counseling Jacksonville Fl services is to provide help to those people who are struggling with their relationships and are finding it hard to maintain good relations with their family members or their colleagues. The advice provided by the Jacksonville Fl counselors has proven to be very effective in mending the relationship not only between couples and family members but also between employees, and office colleagues. This is the reason why the Jacksonville counseling services are popular all over the United States and people come here to seek advice about their relationships from the trained counselors here in Jacksonville.