Psychologist
Field of Study — Counseling
Psychologists provide counseling and therapy to those suffering from emotional, learning or behavioral problems. They study behavior to understand, compare and explain people’s actions. Psychologists may work in a variety of settings, including schools, clinics, hospitals or private practice.
Psychologists:
- diagnose and treat psychological problems.
- collect data through interviews, case histories and observation.
- develop, select, administer and interpret psychological tests, surveys and experiments.
- counsel individuals and groups.
- confer with parents, teachers, counselors, administrators and others.
- follow-up to determine the effectiveness of treatment.
- conduct research.
- develop and evaluate mental health programs.
- consult with social, educational, medical or other agencies.
- write for professional and trade journals or other media.
- teach in colleges and universities.
Psychologists may specialize in teaching, research, therapy, counseling, rehabilitation, community health, physiology and psycho-pharmacology. They may choose to concentrate their work on a specific age group or psychological problem.
- Clinical psychologists evaluate, diagnose and treat mentally and emotionally disturbed people and are concerned with preventing mental and emotional disorders.
- Educational psychologists design, develop and evaluate techniques and materials to solve problems in education/training programs. School psychologists work with average, gifted and physically or mentally challenged students.
- Psychometrists or quantitative psychologists develop and implement intelligence, aptitude, achievement and other tests and analyze results.
- Developmental psychologists investigate emotional, mental, physical and social growth and development.
- Social psychologists study human relationships to understand individual and group thought, feeling and behavior.
- Experimental psychologists plan, conduct and analyze experiments in human and animal learning, thinking, motivation and perception.
- Industrial-organizational psychologists develop and apply psychological techniques to personnel administration, management and marketing problems.
Educational Requirements
Students interested in becoming psychologists should prepare by taking challenging high school courses in science, math and English, including advanced placement courses.
Licensed psychologists must have a doctorate in psychology from an accredited university with training in the area(s) of intended practice. Those who want to specialize in clinical services also must complete two years of supervised post-doctoral experience and one year of internship (or two years of part-time experience). Applicants must pass two written examinations as required by the certifying board. School psychologists must hold at least a master’s degree.
Educational Institutions
Virginia Colleges and Universities
American Public University
Argosy University
Averett University
Bluefield College
Bridgewater College
Cambridge College of Massachusetts
Christopher Newport University
College of William & Mary
Eastern Mennonite University
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Emory & Henry College
Ferrum College
George Mason University
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampton University College of Health, College of Health
Institute for the Psychological Sciences
James Madison University
Longwood University
Lynchburg College
Mary Baldwin College
Mary Washington College, National College for Business & Technology
Marymount University
Norfolk State University
Old Dominion University College of Health Sciences
Radford University
Randolph-Macon College
Randolph-Macon Woman’s College
Regent University, Alexandria
Regent University, Virginia Beach
Roanoke College
Saint Leo University, Langley AFB
Saint Leo University, South Hampton Roads Center
Shenandoah University
Sweet Briar College
University of Richmond
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Intermont College
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VaTech)
Virginia State University
Virginia Union University
Virginia Wesleyan College
Washington and Lee University
Professional Associations
- American Academy of Clinical Psychology
P.O. Box 683
Niwot, CO 80544-1082
(303) 652-9154
Fax: (303) 652-2723
http://www.aacpsy.org - American Psychological Association Society of Clinical Psychology
P.O. Box 1082
Niwot, CO 80544
(303) 652-3126
http://www.apa.org/psychologists