Clinical Psychology

Clinical Psychology includes theory, science and practice focused on the emotional states, psychological processes, interpersonal relations, cognitive functions and behaviors of human beings. Clinical Psychologists may work with any age in direct practice, or may work in research or administrative capacities.

Research Psychology

Research Psychology focuses on conducting qualitative and/or quantitative studies and writing reports and articles on results to further knowledge in the field. Although quantitative research is sometimes described as objective and qualitative research is often referred to as subjective, both are considered important in the study of Psychology and usually both are part of Psychology Research training. Courses generally include, at least, Psychology concepts, theories, research design, methods, statistics, data analysis, ethics and often some therapy coursework too. Sometimes, research is one part of a job that includes counseling/therapy, or psychotherapy, and/or administrative, consulting, testing, and/or advising.

Quantitative psychological research involves an emphasis on objectively measurable research methods and empirical research design. Qualitative psychological research relies on more subjective research methods, such as the use of focus groups, case studies and surveys for data.

Counseling Psychology

Counseling Psychology includes theory, science and practice focused on the emotions, psychology, social, cognitive and behavioral features of human beings. At times it appears that there isn’t much difference between Clinical and Counseling Psychology, although Counseling Psychologists tend to work with people who are mentally stable, but have issues amenable to counseling or therapy while Clinical Psychologists study psychopathology and often work with people who have psychiatric disorders; also known as mental illnesses. Both Clinical and Counseling Psychologists who’ve earned degrees at the doctoral level can be licensed to practice as Psychologists and both are trained in psychotherapy. In many states, there is also licensing or certification with a Master’s level degree in Psychology too, but the designation may be called something different, such as mental health specialist or therapist, and other people trained in other related disciplines may also qualify.

Combing Psychology Degrees

As mentioned, there are many kinds of Psychology too, including; Sports, Abnormal, Biological, Forensic, School, Human Factors, Physiological, Art, Educational Psychology and more. Luckily, students don’t have to choose a discipline until they’ve become familiar with what each kind entails. At the Associate’s, Bachelor’s and even somewhat at the Master’s level in many programs, a cross-section of courses are required and offered. These provide students with an orientation to the kinds of Psychology from which they can choose and the chance to explore the kinds of Psychology they’re interested in before making a commitment to one or two. As students progress to the Master’s and Doctorate’s levels in Psychology and choose the kind they’ll major in, the focus narrows to provide more in-depth study. Only a person with a doctorate in Psychology is called a Psychologist.

Health Psychology

Health Psychology is the study of how the biological, psychological and social (bio-psycho-social) aspects of being human affect health. Practitioners of Health Psychology may work, as examples, in public or private health care, public policy, research and education settings. Students of Health Psychology learn how our attitudes, beliefs and other viewpoints, social circumstances and physiological states affect health maintenance, illness, pain management and recovery from illness or physical injury.

Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology is the study of psychopathology, or behaviors and emotions that deviate from the norm. It looks at the disorders described in the DSM-IV TR, short for the Diagnostician’s Statistical Manual that is widely used for diagnosis in North America. The DSM includes bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder and many other disorders.

Biological Psychology

Biological Psychology is based on quantifiable research of the brain and other physiological phenomena, including genetics, that affect behavior, emotions and cognition. It’s otherwise referred to as neuropsychology, behavioral neuroscience, biopsychology, psychobiology and physiological psychology. Biological Psychology uses fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and EEG (electroencephalography), among other tools, to diagnose physiological causes for psychopathology and other cognitive, behavioral and/or emotional states. It also draws from animal experimentation.

Comparative Psychology

According to The American Psychological Association, the "focus of [Comparative Psychology] is on behavior and its relation to perception, learning, memory, cognition, motivation, and emotion” (2006). They refer to Comparative Psychologists as, “behavioral neuroscientists.” If this seems confusing, especially after reading the Neuropsychology and Biological Psychology descriptions in this book, it is. Like those psychologies, Comparative Psychologists also study the brain and other physiological organs, systems and their functions. However, the difference is that Comparative Psychologists compare animal and human behaviors with particular attention to development and evolution.

Personality Psychology

Personality Psychology is the study of individual personalities. It considers the uniquely characteristic thinking, emotions and behaviors of the person. There are several concepts and theories that fall under the heading of Personality Psychology. These include humanistic, developmental and biological explanations.

Social Psychology

Social psychology examines the effects of social interaction, including beliefs, attitudes and behaviors, on the individual. People trained in Social Psychology work in a wide variety of settings, including psychotherapy and other human services, education, business, government and more. Their work may be, as just a few examples, in assisting group or team success, community organizing, changing dysfunctional group attitudes, marketing/public relations, therapy or planning. Closely allied fields are Social Work and Sociology.

Kinds of Psychology Degrees

There are choices of Clinical, Counseling and Research Psychology disciplines, but within these disciplines there are many kinds of Psychology. The kind you choose should depend on your interests, aspirations, capabilities and values. Your personal circumstances will ultimately determine whether you can afford the cost of the college or university program and want, or can, live where the institution is located. If you hope to work in the field, you should also consider the demand in the job market for the skills you’d gain. Once you’ve tentatively determined these, apply to a few programs in case you are turned down for your first choice.

Educational Psychology

Educational Psychology focuses on how we learn and the factors that influence it . Educational Psychology influences many aspects of education, including how schools are organized, how teachers teach, how educational policy is developed and how learning materials are written, organized and/or presented in education settings. It has applicability in counseling/therapy, public education, the workplace and other sectors besides schools. Educational Psychologists tend to identify themselves as researchers and consultants, rather than as School Psychologists who work in schools.

Neuropsychology

Neuropsychology examines the associations between brain functions and behavior. It’s a science that uses positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as some of its tools. It is concerned with, as examples, the changes in brain chemistry after psychological trauma and brain states of people with certain psychiatric disorders or brain damage, and how this affects cognitive, emotional and behavioral functioning. The work of Neuropsychologists often includes assessment, treatment and consultation within health care settings.

Experimental Psychology

Experimental Psychology refers to the scientific means of ascertaining reasons for our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, learning and more. It may be applied to any scientifically verifiable psychology. A strict interpretation might define it as behaviorism in which observable behaviors are clearly learned as a result of rewards and punishments, although more broadly, it usually means any kind of psychology with empirical evidence.