Andhra Pradesh   

It's all in the mind

Sumit Bhattacharjee

A career in psychology is both fulfilling and lucrative

LENDING A HAND: Development psychologists deal with problems that arise at a particular life stage - childhood, adulthood or old age.

There is nothing more beautiful and complex than the human mind. And exploring and studying it could be even more fascinating and exciting. Well, the inference is about the subject of psychology. The 125-year-old discipline is broad in scope, covering subject matter from biology to sociology. Students of psychology, like scientists, follow scientific methods, using careful observation, experimentation, and analysis and that makes the subject interesting. Further they also discover a creative way to apply their findings.

"The field is wide open for a psychologist. Wherever there are human beings there is a role for a psychologist. The main objective of a psychologist is to improve the quality of life of an individual," says V.S. Bose professor in Department of Psychology, Andhra University.

This is one among the few disciplines that does not pop out as an alternate degree or career. Only people with the inclination and taste take this up. "Basically this is a postgraduate option. Psychologists indulge in a lot of research and work on both sides of the human body -- physical and mental," informs Prof. Bose.

Career options

The options are varied and could be broadly categorised as fulltime, part-time and consultancy. Since research forms the base for psychologists, teaching comes as the staple diet. Here are a few options.

Clinical psychologists: Assesses and treats mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders.

Career guidance: Today most children and parents find themselves at crossroads when it comes to choosing a career. Here psychologists can play a major role.

Developmental psychologists: . Childhood has its own problems and old age, especially after retirement has its own. The concept of nuclear family has increased such problems and psychologists can identify this area and start a career.

Industrial training: Industry houses appoint psychologists for imparting training to their personnel and training department employees. They are also used for negotiations, recruitment, dispute management, accident management and stress management. Psychologists are also employed to generate market survey reports.

Forensic psychologists: The expertise of psychologists is also used in courts. They can, for example, help a judge decide which parent should have custody of a child or evaluate a defendant's mental competence to stand trial. Psychologists can also team up with medical personnel in private practice and in hospitals to provide patients with complete health care.

According to Prof. V.S. Bose to be a successful psychologist one has to pursue Ph.D or take up some specialisation in institutes like NIMHANS.

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