THE 11 TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The main types of psychologists are: experimental, clinical, psychotherapists, developmental, educational, neuropsychologists, occupational, social, forensic, sports and sexologists.

Psychology is a science that is dedicated to the study of processes that occur at the mental level and human behavior. So it must be borne in mind that people not only use these mental processes in one area of ​​life, but that we are continuously making our brain work whatever we do and wherever we go.

This is why psychology can not only have a clinical scope, since there are other areas and contexts in which the knowledge of a psychologist can be very helpful.

Psychologists during their university training are informed about what types of specialties they can develop once they finish basic studies at the faculty. Sometimes psychologists are not only dedicated to one of the variants of psychology, but can combine their knowledge in different contexts and with different functions.

You must understand that psychology has multiple ways of helping people's day-to-day lives. The situations are very diverse and the intervention carried out by the professional differs greatly from one field of action to another.

Next, I show you a list of 11 types of psychologists that exist to give you an idea of ​​how far the aforementioned profession covers.

Classes of psychologists and their functions

1- Experimental psychologists

Research psychologists have the main function of conducting appropriate experiments to add more knowledge to the science of psychology.

These psychologists may be trained in research and the topics on which they work are of various kinds. However, there is also the case of psychologists who specialize in a certain field and then carry out research work adapted to the knowledge they have more established.

What is commented in the previous paragraph is important, since there are many psychologists who do not dedicate all their time to research, either because they carry out tasks typical of their area of ​​specialization and perform other functions totally unrelated to research.

These types of professionals usually work in centers dedicated to research promoted by R&D or in universities. In addition, there are companies that can finance such research in order to use the data and results obtained to apply them to the company itself.

2- Clinical psychologists

Professionals who are dedicated to the clinical branch, have the function of evaluating and intervening in the different disorders that a certain patient may suffer.

They use tests and trials to diagnose the person. In addition, they have the power to prepare reports and to carry out a treatment with the person who comes to consultation.

The pathologies that work are usually included in the DSM manual, a guide used in psychology to improve diagnoses.

Within clinical psychology, there may also be specializations such as addictions, conduct disorders, eating disorders, etc. And although it is true that any clinical psychologist can treat a wide range of patients with various psychopathologies, if a professional who has more experience in a specific field is used, the treatment may be more optimal.

To be a clinical psychologist it is necessary that, in addition to having completed a degree in psychology, complete an official master's degree dedicated to this field or the opposition of the PIR (resident internal psychologist).

3- Psychotherapists

These types of psychologists also work from a clinical setting, since the purpose of their work is to help people who come for consultation with the problems they may have. Psychotherapy offers various techniques of different currents in order to improve the quality of life of patients.

Unlike clinical psychology, psychotherapy is not regulated by law. It is understandable since psychotherapists do not work with serious psychopathologies derived from a clinical diagnosis. Even so, the work of psychotherapists is essential in cases where problems in human relationships or those that are related to emotions are worked on.

In fact, the work of a clinical psychologist is not at odds with that of a psychotherapist, but on the contrary, together they can help the patient much more than in isolation.

Psychotherapists can work at the same time from different approaches such as humanism, psychoanalysis and cognitive behavioral therapy.

4- Developmental psychologists

These professionals base their action on those factors that are related to the personal evolution of an individual.

They ensure that the changes inherent in the evolutionary and developmental ages of a person occur normally, not because they are responsible for it, but because they mitigate those problems that are related to the development of the human being in their life cycle.

In addition, they study the different stages of human growth and development.

The evolutionary or developmental psychologist tries to understand how people function in the world in which they live and how that changes as the years go by.

Therefore, developmental psychologists work with patients of all ages and ranges, such as childhood, adolescence, and even old age.

In addition, they can work in contexts where it is more likely to find ranges of ages together, such as a school or a nursing home.

5- Educational psychologists

As its name suggests, educational psychology carries out its work in the field of education. These types of professionals usually develop their work in places where knowledge is imparted, such as a school or an institute.

This type of psychologists focus on the processes of acquisition of learning and information that the person has. In addition, they also ensure that the environment where this learning takes place is optimal to achieve higher performance.

Within this field we can also find psychologists who perform the functions of counselor, which help the person to decide which path to choose or which option to take when faced with a specific problem.

They can work individually or in conjunction with other professionals dedicated to teaching.

6- Neuropsychologists

Neuropsychologists engage in neurology from a psychological level. They normally work with psychopathologies that have associated organic neurocerebral dysfunctions.

When we speak of an organic dysfunction, we mean that the person shows physical damage. That is, if the person in this case has some psychopathological symptoms, these may be caused by real damage to the brain.

As in clinical psychology, neuropsychologists must specialize after completing their basic degree. Not only do they work from a direct field of application with people who need rehabilitation at a cognitive level or who show brain damage, but they can also dedicate their time to research.

To be a neuropsychologist can also be accessed from the medical career.

7- Organizational and work psychologists

Psychologists specialized in this branch are dedicated to all those factors that are related to the world of work.

Usually most professions are carried out collectively, since within a company there are usually several workers. This is why when there are people, there will also be relationships between them, which results in a work psychologist having the purpose of making the problems derived from those relationships disappear.

In a labor organization we can find psychologists working on selection tasks, employee training or even to improve their health at work level. They are usually collected within the Human Resources department, which is normally designated by the acronym RRHH.

For companies, having a psychologist dedicated to this field is important, since it can even indirectly make the performance and profits of the organization itself improve and increase.

8- Social psychologists

These professionals dedicate their work to those processes that are related to the behavior of human beings when living with each other.

They understand psychology as the general behavior of a group of people (the masses). In addition, not only do they look at people, but for them the environment where individuals live is also important.

Key to these professionals are their own concepts arising from relationships between humans, be it one human with another, or a whole group.

They study interpersonal relationships, relationships that some groups have with others, or relationships that can occur within the same group.

Culture is a very important term for them, and they can apply their knowledge in communities and collectives.

As already mentioned above, all psychologists can perform the research task within their field. However, those of this type, due to their specialization, are the ones that can provide a lot of information regarding everything related to the social, cultural and even political sphere.

9- Forensic psychologists

Forensic psychologists are involved in the legal arena. They usually work in court, as the information they provide can help judges make decisions in the most objective way possible.

Of course, forensic psychologists provide information based on the evaluation (also objective) of the people who have the trial, whether they are accused or even parents who are fighting for the custody of a child.

These types of psychologists have as the most common tool the preparation of reports, since it is these that will determine all the evaluative work that said psychologist has done.

10- Sports psychologists

Sports psychologists have the function of improving the performance of those athletes with whom they work.

It is about improving the level of mental health so that the athlete can achieve a maximum level of performance when playing sports. Athletes who request sports psychological help can be of various kinds, such as football, tennis or even athletics.

When they work, they do so with all those involved, since the idea is that the entire environment and organization that surrounds the athlete is important for their performance.

In addition, the topics they work on are usually related to the type of sport that is performed, since the psychic preparation of a soccer player differs in several factors from that of a professional golf player.

You would be surprised to know how many well-known and elite athletes have a sports psychologist for them and when they need it.

11- Sexologists

As their name suggests, these psychologists are dedicated to the sexual sphere of the patients who come to their consultation.

They can work with sexual disorders, in both men and women. In addition, they can also usually consult with a couple together.

This type of psychologist is not only dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders, but they can also have an educational role in relation to sexuality. This is why they can even dedicate themselves to giving talks about proper sexual health.

To be a sexologist, you need to have completed a degree in psychology or medicine.

What kind of psychologist do you think is missing?