becoming a psychologist

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Latoya Brown

English 103 Research Paper

November 4, 2009

Dr. Johnsen

                                    Becoming a Psychologist

       “no one understands me” those were the words that floated around in my mind as I

quietly disengage myself from those around me, When I felt a sense of fear, loneliness, defeat,

and misinterpretation. The light of hope seems to be psychology specifically general psychology.

Psychology is the study of the human mind and human behavior, as stated by the Bureau of labor

and statistic. Psychologists are very insightful and in touched with human behavior and the

reasoning behind them. By exploring the history, process, use, satisfaction, and happiness that

coincides with becoming and being a Psychologist, the ultimate question of “how does becoming

a Psychologist promote personal fulfillment of one’s self and others?” will ultimately be

answered.

        "You cannot face your future until you understand your past" In 1879 Psychology was

introduced as an independent scientific discipline in Germany, due to a man named Wilhelm

Wundt, who opened the first school of Psychology. Wilhelm students were, Emil Kraepelin ,

James McKeen Cattell, and G. Stanley Hall. (Discovery of Psychology) These are the individuals

we can call the Pioneers of Psychology. They managed to separate psychology from philosophy

thus giving psychology an independent life. Wilhelm students went on to intensify the

importance of psychology. Emil Kraepelin discovered schizophrenia and manic-depression.

Kraepelin also jointly discovered Alzheimer's disease which he named after his colleague and
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co-discoverer, Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1888 the academic title "professor of psychology" is

given to James McKeen Cattell, he becomes the first in the United States to be designated by this

title. McKeen taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia. G. Stanley Hall is the final

of Wilhelm students, Stanley Hall established the first U.S. experimental Psychology Laboratory

at John Hopkins University. (Discovery of Psychology) Following those years psychology has

only grown and developed into a field that holds merits for any individual who chooses to

become a psychologist.

               Since the spilt of Psychology from Philosophy; Psychology has expanded, and

can now, be studied, in almost any higher educational institution. Psychologists are fortunate,

because their ability to understand and apply their understanding of the human mind and human

behavior, allows them to work in almost any career field that include but are not limited to Law,

Sports, health, and management. (Psychologist) To qualify for these position prospecting

Psychologist or Psych majors, who complete their four years bachelor degree in college must

first find a school that best suit their needs so that they can embark on their journey. The top ten

graduate schools for Psychology counted down from ten to one are as followed, the University of

California in San Diego, the University of California in Berkeley, the University of

Pennsylvania, the University of Minnesota, Harvard University, the University Of Illinois at

Urbana-Champaign, the University of California Los Angeles, Yale, the University of Michigan,

Ann Arbor, and Stanford university. These universities were ranked in 2009 and are known for

their exceptional staff, and resources. (collegecrunch.org)

               Choosing a graduate school is a vital part of becoming a General psychologist

after all you will be in the same environment more or less for 5-7 years after college, the most

important factor will be happiness, and the comfort the institution provides. The most valuable
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question a psychology major can ask his or her self is, “am I willing to dedicate this much time

to becoming a psychologist?” If someone chooses to become a psychologist after debating the

amount of dedication, and hard work Psychology entails, they will spend a total of 11 years in

school give or take a few years. Let’s assume a person starts college at 18, this means that they

will be in school until about 30 years of age assuming there are no roadblocks in their

studies.Psychologist” During the eleven years of school an individual will face issues such as

time management, meeting grading standards and simply surviving and making the most of the

given courses.

       Once you finish your eleven year of school, and can proudly hold up your PhD you can

take advantage of the numerous opportunities Psychology offers in its various work fields. The

passing of the years following the development of Psychology in 1859 has lead to the division of

Psychology into a copious amount of fields and subfields which allows graduate to use their PhD

and do almost anything. Some of the basic subfields of General Psychology are as followed,

Clinical Psychologists, Counseling Psychologists, School Psychologists, Industrial-

organizational Psychologists, Experimental or research Psychologists, Developmental

Psychologists, and Social Psychologist.(Psychologist) These sub fields themselves have their

own subfields, simply because Psychology has such an immense array of possibility when it

deciding which category of Psychology to venture into. Psychology is a Young developing field,

and as Psychologist discover new information about the brain, and how it works, new fields of

Psychology also emerge, the possibility for work are endless

              So you’re Out of School and you got a new lease on life, you’ve learn all these

techniques that will help you to deal with patients and not judge but help them. You can now

navigate your emotions and understand why you do the things you do so what next for the
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Psychologist. The next step is a job let’s assume that you decide to be a counseling Psychologist

Helping people with their day to day life. An average day for a general Psychologist would be

waking up and setting your own schedule, one of the Greatest Benefits of being a Psychologist is

the fact that you can decide when you want to meet with patients and talk to them. Psychologist

works around their patients schedule as well as their own. Psychologists have

their own Psychologist this helps to balance out their life, and it also allows them to better assist

the patients that they counsel. No one is bigger than being helped, but when the right help is not

provided the effects can be catastrophic.


       “Psychologists who are interested in direct patient care must be emotionally stable,

mature, and able to deal effectively with people. Sensitivity, compassion, good communication

skills, and the ability to lead and inspire others are particularly important qualities for people

wishing to do clinical work and counseling.”(Psychologist) In a recent incident a Counseling

Psychologists for the U.S Army named Nidal Malik Hasan had an emotional breakdown


               Many of the patients fill the day are bereft, angry Broken. Their experiences are

               gruesome, their Distress lasting and Process of recovery exhausting. The repeated

               stories of battle and loss can leave the most professional therapist numb or angry

               And hanging over it all, for psychiatrists and psychologists in today’s military, is

               the prospect of their own deployment — of working under fire in Iraq or

               Afghanistan, where the Pentagon has assigned more therapists to combat units

               than in previous wars. That was the world that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army

               psychiatrist, inhabited until Thursday, when he was accused of one of the worst

               mass shootings ever on a military base in the United States, an attack that killed
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               13 and left dozens wounded. Five of the dead were fellow therapists, the Army

               said.” (Alvarez, Carey, Cave)


       This excerpt from the New York Times made it more apparent that psychologist

themselves are human beings and although they can help other they are at times in need of help.

Psychology can help the Psychologist themselves become a better, more open minded, and

understanding person, but it takes work and nothing will take away the problems of society or

the problems that human emotion conjure up all that anyone can do ,Psychologist and individuals

alike, is learn to cope and get help when needed. Counseling is a huge part of Psychology and

Psychologist has to be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure that they are able to counsel

effectively. Counseling is also where most jobs for Psychology can be found human being are

always in need of guidance, which is why Psychology is such an appreciated and needed field. In

these times of, economic turmoil, and war. Psychology will play a pivotal role in individuals

life’s as long as we don’t forget that psychologist need counseling too.The rise in health care

costs associated with unhealthy lifestyles, such as smoking, alcoholism, and obesity, has made

prevention and treatment more critical, and the affect of the War in Iraq will soon overwhelm our

country as veteran return to continue their life’s in a more stable and safe

environment.(Psychologist) It is then that we will need more and more Psychologist to help keep

this country sane.




       Robert Durfey a Counseling Psychologist at LaGuardia Community college stated “If

you choose the right career which is based on your interest skills, aptitude, values, that can

ensure that you will be happy in your work, and want to get up every day and go to your work ”
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gaining fulfillment is not about picking the career that you can boost about, or the career you

think will increase your self esteem, choosing your career is about finding the right environment

that allows you to express yourself, be comfortable, and actually make a change both in your life

and others. It doesn’t matter if you’re a cleaning person or a doctor what matters is that your

career makes you happy. What matters is that when you wake up you want to jump out of bed

and get to work. The benefit of Psychology is that you can learn to understand yourself and

others getting an associate in Psychology can benefit almost anyone, because it can help you to

become better in any field you decide is right for you.
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                                            Works Cited

Alverez, Lizette. Carey, Benedict. Cave, Damien. “Painful Stories Take a Toll on Military Therapists”

     New York Times. New York Time, 7 Nov. 2009. Web. 11. Nov.2009

College Crunch. “Top 10 Psychology Colleges in the USA.” 1 Mar. 2009. Web. 22. Nov.2009

Discovery of Psychology. perf. Philip G. Zimbardo. Anneburg Media. 2001. Learners.org. web. 3 Nov.

     2009

Durfey, Robert. Personal interview 19 Nov.2009.

Psychologists “Bureau of Labor Statistics.” U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook

     Handbook,Edition,. 18. Dec. 2007 Web. 11. Nov.2009

     http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm