ANSWERING YOUR PRECEPTIONS ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY

BY NEA

What did you first imagine when you heard the word “psychologist”? Most people assume that psychologists are people who can predict a person's character and also treat patients or clients who have mental disorders. In fact, psychology is very broad and covers all aspects of human life. Psychology is all around us, not just in mental hospital, but also in classrooms, laboratories, libraries and so on. The principles of psychology can be seen from everyday life and also in all stage of human life span from birth to old age.

People think that a psychologist who works in a mental hospital is the same as a psychiatrist, but in fact psychologist and psychiatrist are different. Then what's the difference? Indeed, the scope of psychiatrists and clinical psychology is that they deal equally with people with mental disorders, but the treatment is different. Psychiatrists provide therapy to patients through medication or pharmocotherapy. Meanwhile, psychologists provide psychotherapy such as cognitive therapy, behavior therapy, psychoanalysis therapy, motion therapy, and so on. If you want to consult about emotions, behavior, and thoughts, you can see a psychologist, if you want to do treatment you can see a psychiatrist. The educational background of a psychologist is psychology while the educational background of a psychiatrist is medical education.

In addition, psychology also has many branches. Most psychologists do not work in the field of mental health. Various fields of psychology include educational psychology, child psychology, social psychology, forensic psychology, sports psychology, clinical psychology, religious psychology, female psychology, industrial & organizational psychology, and many more. Psychology’s agency is not only in mental hospitals. For example, psychologists who take the industrial & organizational psychology work in a company to analyze the employees’ behavior and attitude, evaluate the company, and conduct leadership training. In the other hand, educational psychology is very influential in the teaching and learning process that is more effective by paying attention to the mental response and behavior of students. The other branches of psychology, in fact, are also far from a mental hospital.

People's perception of psychologists that they can know what is in someone's mind is also familiar to be heard. Then, is the rumor true? Actually, psychologist can not predict what is someone's mind or someone's character. Psychologists analyze someone through a person's behavior patterns. It was a long process to be able to state the results of these observations. For example, by analyzing facial expressions, body movements, tone of voice, or appearance. Psychologists also can not just guess a situation without going through the process of observation. So, it can be concluded that psychology is the science that understands about humans through the process of experience and armed with knowledge, not by prediction. Well now, do you still think that psychologist is the same as a shaman or fortune teller? While the science of shamanism itself is not got through the academic process.