How To Become A Psychologist



By Adam Martin on November 09, 2010
Category: Health Magazines


Becoming a psychologist and working in a mental health center, private practice, hospital, or other mental health setting requires years of classroom learning and years of supervised practical experience. For example, attainment of a bachelor’s degree and successful completion of a graduate psychology degree which includes practicum and internship is required. Also, once the necessary education and supervised experience has occurred, one must additionally pass a national psychology exam and be approved for psychology licensure in whichever locale one plans to practice in if one hopes to become a psychologist.
College Experience for an Aspiring Psychologist
The bachelor’s degree that one attains need not necessarily be in psychology. One could choose any major. Granted, majoring in psychology on the undergraduate level can be helpful because it gives one early exposure to the types of topics one will be learning later. For instance, the bachelor’s degree in psychology will include courses such as human development, personality development, statistics, and data analysis. These are the types of courses that one will have to take in graduate school.
In addition to college coursework, doing a college internship could also be helpful. Doing the internship will enable one to gain supervised experience in a specific psychology work environment. Having internship experience will most likely impress prospective employers and will thus help one to get a job.
The First Job and Graduate Study for a Psychologist
The first psychology-related job that one gets right after college will most likely be heavily supervised. For example, as one does intake, therapy, and assessment, one will typically be heavily supervised by a clinical psychologist or licensed social worker or licensed counselor or other mental health worker who is very experienced and credentialed. The reason for this is that individuals who just completed college typically do not have sufficient expertise and sufficient awareness of applicable rules to be able to practice psychology independently without oversight or assistance.
Granted, after a few years of doing assessment and therapy, at that point an individual will be ready to pursue graduate study where he or she will be able to gain the education and credentials that are needed to be able to practice independently as a psychologist eventually. One could choose to pursue either the Master of Science (MS) in psychology or one could pursue the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in psychology from a program approved by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Deciding Between the MS and PhD for a Psychologist
In deciding whether to pursue the MS or the PhD in the process of becoming a psychologist, keep in mind that the MS degree and the PhD will tend to have similar coursework. For instance, in psychology, both MS programs and PhD programs will tend to include graduate coursework in human development, learning, motivation, psychological testing, and statistics. Of course, the MS degree is considered to be more of a transitional graduate degree whereas the PhD is a more in depth study of psychology and is considered to be a terminal degree that can be helpful if one hopes to eventually go into private practice or if one hopes to eventually become a psychology supervisor in a mental health center or a psychology professor in a college.
If you hope to become a psychologist, also keep in mind that In comparison to MS programs, PhD programs will tend to include more research coursework and may include more opportunities to get scholarships or be given teaching assistantship opportunities. Doctoral programs might also include more opportunities to assist in getting research grants and assist professors with their research. Also, the PhD degree will require the doctoral dissertation which is an opportunity for a student to pursue original research on a topic of interest and then present his dissertation to the dissertation chairperson and dissertation committee.
Licensure and Beyond
For licensure purposes, there is an exam called the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) which is given particularly in the United States and Canada. Passing this exam is essential if one wants to license. Granted, what constitutes a passing score varies from locale to locale. Also, in some states, additional oral and written exams are required so that individuals can show that they are sufficiently familiar with local ethics and laws.
Keep in mind that becoming a psychologist is not an easy path. Not only does one have to have excellent academic skills. But also one must have a lot of patience, flexibility, tolerance for stress, and excellent social skills. Also, one must constantly take courses and read the academic literature so as to stay abreast of any changes in the profession so that one can serve one's clients to the maximum extent possible.

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