Psychologist job description - duties, job description and requirements

Not everyone knows the responsibilities of a psychologist. Many have difficulty imagining what this specialist is doing. If you believe the movies, it seems that the main function of the psychologist is to listen for hours to the sentimental stories of clients and do nothing else. But is it really so? How far is the cinema picture from everyday reality? Let's find out.

Description of work

The profession of a psychologist involves working with people, helping them in complex and atypical situations. The specifics will depend on the specific place of work. For example, there are specialists who help employees adapt in the new team. Some assist in choosing a profession. There are those who prefer to act as a psychologist at school.

Depending on the chosen direction, the specifics will vary. It should be understood that we are talking about an applied profession, in which much is learned in practice. That is why there are no universal specialists ready to perform the duties of a psychologist in absolutely any situation. On the contrary, one should stay away from such, giving preference to those who have a narrow specialization.

Demand

Relatively recently, the vacancy of a psychologist was considered a rarity. As a rule, such specialists were recruited by educational and healthcare institutions. However, in recent years, the profession has become more in demand.

Which establishments employ qualified psychologists? They are required in such organizations:

• Training centers.
• Social and sports facilities.
• Commercial companies.
• Career guidance centers and even labor exchanges.

In addition, there are many psychologists who practice private practice, accepting clients individually and receiving payment for their services directly from them, and not from the employer.

Requirements

Any profession involves a certain list of requirements for a specialist. For example, a psychologist in the personnel department should be familiar with the certification of employees. A specialist in the field of sports activities must understand its nuances.

If we talk about formal requirements, then there are few of them:

• Higher education by specialty.
• Experience in the chosen field. For example, if a specialist plans to take on the duties of a psychologist at school, it is advisable that he has experience working in children's educational institutions. The same applies to other areas of activity.

School psychologist

Among the representatives of the profession, there are certainly those who prefer to connect their lives with school. Many educational institutions have this vacancy, but not all parents know why it was created. Let's look into this issue.

If earlier they tried to educate difficult children by traditional methods that did not bring results, now they are hiring a specialist who is acting as an educational psychologist.

However, there are many erroneous opinions regarding what the specialist does. Someone thinks that a psychologist is a doctor, therefore only sick people turn to him. Someone is sure that this is a teacher or educator who should give instructions and re-educate the child in accordance with the wishes of adults.

However, it is not. Healthy people turn to a psychologist. If the parents are concerned about the physical condition of the student, most likely they will have to undergo a medical examination. After this, it is already possible to talk about the presence or absence of psychological diseases. If available, further correction methods are selected. The task of this specialist is to temporarily become a kind of friend and assistant in solving problems for the student.

The duties of a child psychologist do not include the need to raise a child. He should not impose on the baby the stereotypes typical of adults, and force him to behave in full accordance with their expectations. His goal is to help the child overcome the problems that have arisen.

Psychologist Responsibilities

Depending on the specific specialization, the functions assigned to this specialist may differ. That is, the psychologist will not have to fulfill all of the duties listed below at the same time:

• The holding of trainings. This is a short-term training aimed at developing certain skills or overcoming complexes. For example, training can be aimed at combating excessive shyness, developing a communication skill, etc.
• Individual consultations. As a rule, clients turn to a psychologist when they find themselves in difficult or critical situations.
• Compilation of psychological characteristics. In this case, the specialist, using various professional methods, evaluates the qualities of a person. This may be relevant when hiring employees in some organizations.
• Development and education of children. The psychologist can observe their development, identify problems, conduct educational games, etc. In addition, it is possible to conduct consultations not only with students, but also with their parents.
• Making report. The teacher-psychologist, whose job responsibilities include this item, should not neglect its performance.
• Work with the labor collective. The task of a specialist may consist in adapting new employees, preventing conflicts in the team and establishing friendly relations among its participants.

Knowing the job responsibilities of a psychologist, it is easy to guess that this specialist has to perform many tasks that require appropriate skills. That is why people with a certain character and developed empathy choose this profession. It is difficult to provide assistance without the gift of empathy.

Psychologist Rights

And duties, and other rules relating to the profession, must certainly be fixed in the relevant official documents. When settling for a position, a specialist should familiarize themselves with them.

Rights that a psychologist has:

• Familiarization with management decisions regarding its activities.
• Making suggestions.
• Requesting documents required for performance of official activity.
• Attracting employees to participate in activities that increase productivity.

How to learn a profession

The issue of choosing a profession at all times remains relevant for young people. Among yesterday's schoolchildren, there are certainly those who plan to become a psychologist in the future.

To do this, you need to graduate from an educational institution in the relevant specialty. In addition, the student has to decide on a specialization. For example, you can become a child psychologist.

It is curious that they often become real specialists thanks not to education, but to their own life experience. For example, a mother who raised three children herself can become a child psychologist and cope with this work much more successfully than her peer with a diploma, but without practical experience. However, in Russia much attention is paid to formalities, so without an appropriate diploma it is extremely difficult to get the desired vacancy.

Benefits

Choosing a profession, you need to know in advance what to expect from it. Let's start with the benefits:

• Useful knowledge. If you don’t even get a job as a psychologist, the knowledge gained can be used in everyday life or in another profession, for example, in the field of personnel management.
• Demand. At the moment, the doors of many institutions are open to potential psychologists. Entering the institute to study the basics and subtleties of this profession, you can not be afraid to remain an unclaimed specialist.
• Pleasure. Often, the profession of psychologist is chosen by those who like to help other people. As a result, they receive moral satisfaction from the performance of their duties.

disadvantages

In any profession, they can’t do without them. The psychologist is no exception. This profession has the following disadvantages:

• High stress level. You need to understand that customers often turn to find themselves in critical situations. The psychologist has to constantly deal with other people's experiences. That is why you need to be able to abstract from them. Otherwise, the specialist himself will be in a constant state of stress.
• Low salary. Perhaps the profession of a psychologist is one of the most underrated at the moment. However, those who choose it often have to put up with low wages. That is why some professionals prefer to practice private practice.