Role of a Psychologist

Role of a Psychologist

When a person hears the word “Psychologist” their internal alarms go off!!  Everyone draws their own interference from this word. But what really is a Psychologist?

The psychological approach focuses on personal experience, cognition, emotions and behaviour, personal strengths and support needs.

This allows for the setting of positive goals, rather than concentrating on deficits or problems. Intervention is based on developing personal strengths and identifying support needs. Psychologists working in the services for children with a learning disability are likely to come from a variety of professional backgrounds.

The relevant professional training could include clinical, community, counselling or educational psychology. Due to their diverse backgrounds, psychologists have played a significant role in the development of new approaches to working with different populations.

Primary care

To provide important diagnostic interventions, and preventive services for the psychological problems in primary health care, illness prevention, and behavioral health promotion.

Secondary care

To give psychological assessments and diagnoses, psychological treatments, and rehabilitation. These services are provided to a variety of age groups and special groups of patients. These would include children, adolescents, adults, the elderly, and people with special needs such as those with learning disabilities, the brain-damaged, and the mentally retarded.

Assessment

One of the core roles of psychologists is clinical assessment. They use psychological tests and measurements for specific purposes. For instance, to assess current functioning in order to make diagnoses; identify the treatment needs, assign appropriate treatment and give prognosis, monitor treatment over time, and ascertain risk management.

To achieve these purposes, psychologists use psychometric tests, which are standardized and validated tools to assess a wide range of functions including intelligence, personality, cognitive neuropsychology, motivations, aptitudes, health behavior, and intensity of mental health problems etc. The tests used include behavioral assessment and observation encompassing the rating scales; intellectual assessments, e.g., IQ tests; neuropsychological tests. Professional psychologists are the only mental and physical health professionals who have the legal right to use, administer, and interpret the psychological assessments.12

Treatment

A major activity engaged in by psychologists in delivering health care is intervention or treatment, providing a wide variety of clinical interventions for individuals, groups, couples, and families with physical and mental health problems. These interventions are directed at preventing, treating, and correcting emotional conflicts, personality disturbances, psychopathology, and the skill deficits underlying human distress and dysfunction. They provide a variety of psychological interventions such as cognitive behavior therapy; behavioral modification; family and couple therapy.

Consultations

Many psychologists provide psychological consultation for health care professionals, businesspersons, schools, organizations, communities etc. For example, a psychologist may help parents who are having behavioral issues with their kids. A Psychologists’ consultation might include assessment, teaching, research, and therapy.

Research and Supervision

With their training and qualifications, clinical and health psychologists are research-oriented. Examples of their research activities include; (a) the development and standardization of clinical tools for diagnostic assessment tests and examination of their reliability and validity; (b) adapting and testing the efficacy of both psychological and biological interventions to promote health and overcome disorders; and (c) ascertaining the impact of both positive and negative human behavior on the physical health.