Child psychologist – role and responsibilities

Mental health jobs are specific in the sense there is a role that targets different age groups. A child psychologist is a specialist that provides a wide range of services to children and adolescents. These range from simple checkups to more serious treatments. Knowing what is involved in this job can help to choose the best child psychologist Brisbane.

What is Child Psychology?

A child psychologist is a specialised filed that combines the fundamentals of clinical psychology with child and family development. Child psychology entails looking at social structures of everyday people such as schools and families and understanding how it affects the cognitive, psychological and behavioural functioning of a child or adolescent. Child psychologists focus on scientific research and provide psychological services to infants, children and teens.

Work Environment or Settings

A child psychologist has the freedom to practice in a wide variety of settings. Many of them prefer to open their own private practice which focuses on treating children or all ages ranging from babies to adolescents. Others may opt to work in a group setting which also has facilities to treat adults and families. Other popular options include working in community centres, schools, paediatric hospitals, mental health clinics, specialist health care centres, child advocacy organisations or juvenile detention centres.

Responsibilities and Duties involved in the position

The duties and responsibilities of a child psychologist depend mainly on the environment they choose to work in, but these are some of the popular duties involved:

• They may involve the diagnosis and assessment of specific disorders such as certain developmental disorder or varying forms of autism.
• They also may treat psychological disorders such as depression or anxiety or delays in learning specifics by a certain age.
• They may manage and implement personality or other psychological tests.
• They’ll help children and teens dealing with social problems like substance abuse, bullying and risky sexual behaviors by education and providing them counselling.
• They may also assist children and adolescents dealing with family concerns, such death, illness or separation.
• Child psychologists not only help with the diagnosis and assessment stages but they also offer preventative services, such as creating and executing plans in order to prevent issues like teen pregnancy or death due to substance abuse.
• They may check with with other professionals involved in a child’s care, such as paediatricians and teachers.
• They might also be involved with study that centres on child and adolescent practice and might distribute academic articles in professional journals.

Qualifications and Education

In order to become a qualified child psychologist, you will need to complete a doctoral degree such as a PhD in psychology. This includes detailed study in child and adolescent psychology. You will also be required to complete a yearlong internship where you have direct contact with young people who suffer from mental health issues. If you choose to have your own private practice, you will need to have a license that allows you to practice in your state. In addition to that, you can obtain a certificate from any authorised professional organisation in your state or country. Having voluntary credentials shows that you have lots of practice in the field and let your client know that you are an expert.