Psychology careers
Traditional
- General practitioner/ family doctor: General practitioners and family doctors treat common medical conditions and refer patients to hospitals or other medical services for urgent and specialist treatment.
- Psychiatrist: Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialise in diagnosing and treating people with mental illnesses including prescribing medication.
- Psychologist: Psychologists treat mental health issues by providing counseling and psychotherapy.
- Counsellor: Counsellor’s work with clients to help them to manage and overcome their mental and emotional issues and improve their wellbeing.
- Occupational therapist: Occupational therapists support people with health issues that impact their daily activities to engage in meaningful activities, assist in recovery and achieve their physical goals.
- Art, drama, or music therapist: These therapists encourage clients to use artistic expression as a medium to reduce mental distress and communicate their emotions and problems.
- Animal therapist: Animal therapists use animals to help people to recover from or better cope with physical and mental health problems.
- Family and systemic psychotherapist: Family and systemic psychotherapists work with families and groups to identify and resolve relationship difficulties that may impact individuals’ emotional, mental, and physical health.
- Health psychologist: Health psychologists use their knowledge of psychology and health to promote wellbeing and healthy behaviours.
- Mental health nurse: Mental health nurses support patients to recover from severe mental health conditions.
- Mental health and wellbeing practitioner: Mental health and well-being practitioners provide wellbeing-focused interventions and coordinate care plans for adults with severe mental health problems.
- Mental health support worker: Mental Health Support Workers assist mental health patients with therapeutic and basic care.
Holistic
- Yoga teacher: A yoga teacher teaches students how to perform various stretching poses, practice meditation and promote mindfulness within their classes.
- Massage therapist: Massage therapists manipulate the soft tissues of the body using varying degrees of pressure and movement to improve physical and mental health.
- Wellness coach: Wellbeing coaches take a holistic approach to helping their clients live healthy and fulfilled lives by working with their clients to identify difficulties or issues in all areas of their life.
- Life coach: Life coaches work with clients to help them achieve their goals by providing guidance and support in various areas, including goal setting.
- Pastoral counsellor: Pastoral counsellors provide therapeutic support and spiritual guidance to people to help them find peace, forgiveness, and acceptance.
- Reflexologist: Reflexologists eliminate a build-up of toxins in the body which may cause physical or mental health problems by applying pressure to certain areas of the body.
- Nutritionists and Dietitians: Dietitians and nutritionists counsel clients on nutrition issues and healthy eating habits to promote health and manage diseases.
- Personal trainer: A personal trainer creates one-on-one fitness programmes for their clients, motivating and guiding them to achieve their fitness goals.
- Hypnotherapist: Hypnotherapist guides you into a deep state of relaxation to help you become more open to change or therapeutic improvement.
Other Health and Social Professionals
- Social worker: Mental health social workers support people with mental illnesses to lead fulfilling and independent lives by advocating for them and providing support with social factors such as housing or employment.
- Peer support worker: Peer support workers have lived experience of mental health issues themselves and they use these experiences to support other people and their families receiving mental health support.
- Chiropractor: Chiropractic care involves a mind-body approach that focuses on relieving problems with the bones, muscles, and joints in order to improve physical and mental wellbeing.
Alternative Medicine
- Oriental doctor: Oriental doctors aim to restore the body’s balance and harmony using a range of methods such as acupuncture, diet, herbal therapy, meditation, physical exercise, and massage.
- Herbalist: An herbalist uses plants for healing.
- Naturopathic practitioner: Naturopathic practitioners use natural remedies to help the body heal itself.
- Acupuncturist: Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on the body to treat pain and improve overall wellness.
- Reiki healer: Reiki healers use a technique called palm healing through which energy is transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient to encourage emotional or physical healing.
- Sound healer: Sound healers use vibrations to relax the mind and body.
Research
- Neurologist: Neurologists support other mental professionals with diagnosis using neuroimaging techniques and they also conduct research developing and testing new treatments for mental illnesses.