Choosing Psychology as a Career

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Psychology is the study of the mind, its biology, and behavior if the individual. The father of psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, used objective measurement and controlled analyzing to find and emphasize separation between psychology and philosophy (McLeod). Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879, using his background in physiology to study reactions and sensations (McLeod). There is no doubt that he, along with the later help of Sigmund Freud, launched what is now modern psychology. Psychology and its research helped the world understand the inner workings of the mind and how it affects everyone around us.
Many associate psychology with sitting in a chair in a small office as someone taking notes, asking how you feel about a certain event or feeling, analyzing your deepest secrets and memories. However, it branches off into many other fields. A clinical psychologist’s main job is “to reduce the distress and improve the psychological wellbeing of clients” (Bond). This can include anything from depression, eating disorders, and addiction, to mental illness, family and personal relationships, and learning disabilities (Bond). A clinical psychologist usually will choose to have an emphasis in a certain field such as children and learning disabilities and work in schools or social work facilities, or mental illness and work in a hospital (Bond). According to Vicki Cohen, people “typically are referred or come to therapy because they have a symptom”. These are defined by emotional, social, and or physiological.
Therapy is the most commonly used treatment for symptoms. A variety of therapy treatments are offered for patients based on their specific characteristics and what th...

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"Forensic Psychologist: Job Description." | Prospects UK. Ed. AGCAS. N.p., Aug. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Inner Body. "Becoming a Clinical Psychologist." InnerBody. Inner Body Careers, 23 Feb. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Layne, Elizabeth. "What Are the Working Conditions for Psychologists?" Everyday Life. Global Post, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
"Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP) Requirements - California Board of Behavioral Sciences." Licensed Educational Psychologist Requirements. Department of Consumer Affairs, 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
"What Do Practicing Psychologists Do?" Http://www.apa.org. American Psychology Association, Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
"What Is a School Psychologist?" NASP. NASP, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

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