Where will your career in psychology take you?
Environmental Psychologists take part in the study of environment and the psychological interaction that takes place in certain types of environments. It is believed that the understanding of an environment and how people interact with it can help to increase productivity, increase or decrease comfort, increase or decrease creativity, etc.
Social workers are the people responsible for either helping people live their daily lives by helping them cope with their mental, social, emotional, and physical problems, or they can be clinical workers who can diagnose and treat mental and emotional issues. Both types of social workers are charged with helping people overcome emotional issues by using their psychological background and knowledge base.
Child social workers are the day-to-day case managers for children and families dealing with mental, emotional, or social issues. They are responsible for helping the child or family achieve normalcy in their day-to-day life and generally improve the quality of life by working to prevent problems and provide therapy or counseling if problems eventually arise. They help children find success socially and academically by identifying and addressing psychological issues.
School Social Workers are usually hired by school districts to help students not only with academic success but behavioral, social, and mental health support as well. They use their training in psychology and counseling to help students and their families with any issues ranging from academic progress concerns to social development issues. They are the people responsible for helping children adapt and assimilate successfully to their school so they can be prepared for what lies beyond.
Public health social workers identify social problems affecting the well-being and social development of the public and then seek to not only treat them, but also understand them better so they can prevent them in the future. They work to promote positive mental and emotional development in individuals, groups, the community and the public at-large by using their psychological background to help assess broader social development issues.
Family social workers help foster the development of a family dynamic and they also help families deal with emotional, psychological, or social issues that they face as a group through counseling, therapy, and a deeper understanding of where the problems came from. They help address issues such as domestic abuse, teen pregnancy, foster care, and repeated misbehavior so that families can live together in a supportive and comfortable environment.
Disability policy workers are the people responsible for working with elected officials to pass laws that help those people who are disabled; they are basically lobbyists for the disabled population. These workers are well-versed in the psychological and physical issues that cause disability and they use that knowledge to advance the civil rights of disabled citizens looking for additional help from legislative representatives.