Executive summary
Psychology is one among many professions that is considered to be fulfilling. The psychologists are concerned with the behavior of human beings. They are mainly interested in solving problems that are emotional and mental.
Their aim is to help patients recover and live normal lives. Like in other professions psychology has its own culture and language. Culture and language are revealed in their daily practice as they solve different problems.
Culture is evident in the training, teamwork, research, work and experience, ethics, communication and use of internet, working environment. Language is interactive, with frequent use of psychological concepts and based on research.
To become a psychologist one trains as an undergraduate for four years. They later work under the supervision of a qualified and registered psychologist. Training enables learners to acquire the language used in the working environment. Experience is gained over time and the individual is considered valuable and knowledgeable.
Psychologists learn to deal with different individuals from diverse background and assist them equally. Teamwork yields excellent results as the tasks to be covered are adequately and efficiently done.
Effective communication skills have an impact on the quality of work. Written and verbal communication is frequently used. The emails are also used communicate both within and outside the institution.
Psychologist can either be self employed or be employed in different organizations. They can work in the area of development of research or be involved with patients. Patients have behavioral problems like drug abuse, mental illness among other emotional problems. They give assistance while observing ethical guidelines provided by the psychological regulatory boards.
Psychology engages in research to generate knowledge and to find solutions for emerging problems. Concepts that are used in the profession are as result of the concepts. The findings of research are verifiable and recognized by authorities. Research influence policy making and can be effective in preventing undesirable behavior.
Introduction
There are many professions that one could join. Before joining students evaluate what their interest is and choose a profession from a long list. Among many professions, psychology is a widely known profession that has been practiced over many years.
Many who join the profession are interested in helping people who have emotional and others with mental illnesses. Psychology is a well developed profession. It has well established and developed theories as discussed in the Occupational outlook handbook (2011, p. 1).
Those who train in psychology can be employed in institutions and can be self employed. Moreover the field has the challenge of dealing with behavioral problems that have emerged in the contemporary world. Like many other professions, psychology has its own culture and language. This report will identify and discuss the culture and language within psychology.
The culture and language of psychology
Psychologists though different in areas of specialty have commonality in their practices and language. They observe regulations and ethics of the profession. They focus on behavior to assist patient overcome difficulties and lead healthy lives (Flinders.edu, 2010, p. 2).
The America Psychology Association (2011, p. 1) indicates that research is at the core of the profession as theories are developed through research. Concepts are also developed and used as professional language to refer to specific ideas. The language used is understood amongst them and is part of their daily work.
Culture within the field of psychology
Training
Training marks the beginning of a professional journey in psychology. All psychologists are trained to be competent professionals in accredited institutions. They cover units relevant to the field as the tutors mentor them. They participate in individual work, group work and work as interns in psychological institutions.
They also engage in research in the relevant field. The training prepares them to be knowledgeable, efficient, effective, team workers and to rely on verifiable knowledge.
Those who undergo training can choose to specialize in different areas. they can become sports psychologists, social psychologists, school psychologists, engineering psychologists, clinical psychologists, cognitive and perceptual psychologists, counseling psychologists, educational psychologists, developmental psychologists, evolutionary psychologists, experimental psychologists, forensic psychologists, health psychologists, industrial psychologists, rehabilitation psychologists, research psychologists and neuropsychologist (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 2).
After training for four year training in an undergraduate program, the psychologist works under the supervision of qualified and practicing psychologist for two years. Thereafter they can be registered with the professional bodies (Flinders.edu, 2010, p. 4).
Team work
A common observation in today’s organizations is the adoption of teamwork in the working environment. Teamwork encourages the psychologist to complement each other as well as motivate each other while working. They contribute ideas and share ideas within the teams.
A team leader who is a member of the team is in charge of the team. Psychologists share ideas in their team and better decisions are made. However, decisions take a very long time to be concluded and disagreements within the team can affect the efficiency of work negatively.
Teamwork creates a competitive environment. Those who fail to meet the targets required and have difficulties coping are likely to be relieved from their work.
Research
Knowledge on used in the study of psychology is obtained from research findings. The psychologists investigate on a prevailing problem among patient to find explanations of the causes and also find solutions. What is more research can be done to generate knowledge.
Besides generating information, research facilitates the psychologist to make informed decisions. Information obtained from research is trusted by the authorities and can influence change in policy. Research is also an effective tool in prediction. Policies can be adopted to prevent undesirable situations in the future from happening.
Research helps identify the changes that have occurred and helps the professional deal with specific situations accurately. The information obtained clarifies doubts and differentiate facts from myths. They get information from literature review, observations and investigations.
Psychological institutions are diverse in their objectives and goals. The research is done within the organizational objective. The findings are presented inform of report. The report gives details on the investigation done, the findings and the recommendations. Implementation of the recommendations requires may have financial effect among other outcomes.
In accordance with the America Psychology Association (2011, p. 1) research is vital in finding solutions to emerging problems. Individuals keep changing behavior which leads to new problems. Research generates knowledge that is used to train new professionals. Moreover the knowledge helps understand different cultures of the world.
Work and Experience
Lannon (2010) argues that the most experienced psychologists are valuable to their institutions. They are seen as a reservoir of knowledge. The patients prefer those with experience too. Gaining experience means that one must be practicing and at the same time take note of the new developments in the field.
Psychologists work hand in hand with other professionals. They work with policy makers, the medical practitioners, school educators and courts as well as interact with a wide range of professionals.
They assist people handle mental challenges and emotional experiences so that they can have healthy relationships within their environment. Their advice is highly regarded in disaster management where people are traumatized.
There are many opportunities for those who train as psychologists as pointed out by the America Psychology Association (2011, p., 1). Psychologist can provide counseling in a firm, be involved in research, become educators in education institute and may also become a consultant for both individuals and society.
Problems that psychologist treat are behavioral and constantly increasing. Some include adolescent rebellion, drug addiction, stress related to work and family life, disasters related trauma and other ailments that are emotional or mental in nature.
The field of psychology is one of the most fulfilling professions that last as long as the psychologist is healthy and capable of working.
Ethics
The ethics within the psychology discipline must be followed. According to Lannon (2010) ethical issues require understanding between members of a profession such that there are well laid regulations and standards that must be followed.
Ethics in psychology is requiring psychologist to be conduct themselves in the acceptable manner when handling the patients. Like in other professional bodies, psychology has its own ethics that are stipulated by the psychological regulatory boards, the state and other organizations within the profession (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 2).
The significance of following the ethics is ensuring that patients receive quality services. Ethics originate from the professionals. They engage in discussions that lead to formulation of the ethics. The more experienced psychologist is the more likely they are to give contributions.
Experienced psychologists give major contributions in the discussions. In some cases they vote before implementing or discarding the idea. Those who violate the ethics could receive sanction from either the state or the psychological organizations.
Psychologists have to learn different personalities to be able to communicate. Psychologists deal with different people with unique problems. Listening is given important so that they clearly understand the patient.
Communication and use of internet
Communication between the professional and patients is important. Within the workplace there are various forms of communication. They include written, verbal and non verbal. The written form of communication is usually formal. It is used by the superiors to communicate to the employees.
They give instructions and communicate changes in written memos and letters. The employees use written communication to give feedback to their superiors. The employees request for assistance and give reports inform of writing (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 2).
Consistent with Lannon (2010) the world has many developments in technology which have been incorporated in the working environment. The employer and employees use the internet in communication. The emails have been used to recruit and to communicate within the organization. Psychology is no exception. Patients can get assistance from online psychologists who offer services over the web.
The internet is very rich in knowledge and can be handy in assisting professionals find facts very fast. Other institutions have used the internet to communicate with the patients. The institutions have web pages that are designed by the employees to get feedback.
Working environment
The Occupational outlook handbook (2011) mentions that the working environment in different institutions is diverse. The diversity is identical to the different subfields of psychology and the goals of the institutions. The psychologist adapts to the culture and the goals of the organization that they join.
The psychologist gives high regard to patient. The patient is assured of confidence by the psychologist who offers to assist them.
After being assured of confidentiality, patient feels liberated to talk to the psychologist. Additionally, they are not supposed to be condemning the patient if they confess, their role is to be understanding and have a relationship that will be effective in helping the patient recover.
Language within the field of psychology
Interactive language
Psychologist interacts with the patients engage in a face to face conversation. They maintain good relations. Verbal conversations matter a lot as the psychologist uses a polite and friendly tone while assisting the patient.
During the four year training the student of psychology learns the concepts used. They engage in literature review to understand their meaning and importance. Moreover, they can learn about the concepts during internship in a psychological institution.
More concepts are learnt in the journals after the publication of an article or a book. Knowledge is cumulative and with time one adds knowledge on the concepts they know and use in conversation or in writing (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 2).
Use of psychological concepts
Language is one of the best ways of expressing oneself as Lannon (2010) indicates. The language an individual uses gives a lot of information about what the individual. In psychology, language use is important for both the patient and the psychologist.
There are several important concepts used in everyday life of a psychologist. According to the America Psychology Association (2011, p. 1) the word psychology refers to the study of an individual’s behavior. This is different from sociology which investigates the behavior of people as a society.
What an individual thinks is the concern of the psychologist. To be able to assist an individual they have to understand the individual behavior.
Research
Concepts used in psychology are generated from research. The concepts are used by psychologist to refer to specific ideas or conditions. The concepts are developed for easy communication within the field. They are more specific and well understood by the professional (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 1).
The psychologist uses the language of the patient to communicate. The language in most cases should be simple. The psychologist explains meaning of complex words to patients when they request for explanation.
While communicating, the psychologist is sensitive to different communities and diversity in the use of language. They pay attention not to use words that may be offensive in a community. Moreover they pay attention to the age and of the patient while making a conversation. For instance children require a polite conversation.
Conclusion
Psychology is a field whose objective is to assist individuals overcome emotional and mental problems. The professional language and culture are learnt throughout ones professional life.
Research is very important and increases the knowledge and helps solve problems. It generates concepts used in the field and influences policy. The students specialize in different areas after training.
Working as a psychology requires one to be good in communication teamwork and observe the ethics of the profession. Moreover one has to learn to work in an environment with diverse people.
Reference List
America Psychology Association. (2011). Career in Psychology. Web.
Flinders.edu. (2010). The Psychology Profession. Web.
Lannon, J. M. (2010). Technical communication 11th edition. Web.
Occupational outlook handbook. (2011). Psychologist. Web.