The Many Roles of Psychologists

For a layperson, a psychologists in malaysia is a person who is an expert in explaining people’s behavior and in providing treatment to those who have mental ailments. The truth is, because psychology has a wide range of fields and subfields, so there are also a huge array and types of psychologists. Practicing psychologists can work as clinical psychologists and psychotherapists, forensic psychologists, human resource manager in a business enterprise, industrial and organizational psychologists, school counselors and education psychologists, genetic psychologists, health psychologists among many others.
The most popular type of psychologist is the clinical psychologists. They are the ones who deal with people who are suffering from mental illnesses. They assess, diagnose and give treatment plans to patients using their preferred psychological techniques and approaches. The common treatment approaches include cognitive, behavioral, psychoanalytical, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, solution focused therapy, among others. The complementary and alternative methods of treating symptoms of mental distress and emotional imbalance are getting popular among the practicing psychotherapist. The use of meditation, music therapy, supplementary medicines and diet, massage therapy, progressive muscle relaxation, chiropractic, yoga and spiritual therapy are on the rise. The clinical psychologists differ from psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are medical graduates who specialize in psychiatric treatment. Like the psychologists, psychiatrist assess and diagnose mentally ill patients. They use medicated treatment (prescription drugs) but they usually refer them to clinical psychologists in providing counseling or therapy.

Another type of psychologist work in a school setting. These are the school counselors, school psychologist and educational psychologists. The school counselors help schoolchildren with their academic, social, personal problems. They carry out programs and activities that promote healthy socio-emotional wellbeing of children. The school psychologists are those who assess, diagnose and treat children who have behavioral problems, learning difficulties and disabilities and other developmental problems. The educational psychologists are the ones whose concern deal mainly with educational matters such as appropriate academic curriculum to age levels, teaching methodology and learning outcomes. They strategize to optimize learning capacities of students in any given level and school setting.

The Industrial and organizational psychologists are another type of practicing psychologist and this time, they can be found in organizations, business enterprises and other workplaces. The goal of industrial and organizational psychologists is to optimize the work proficiency of workers or employees. Part of their work is to study the interaction of workers with the workplace system, and the equipment and devices that they use.