Samuel Chiltern answered
I think working as a psychologist, and helping people with mental health issues, is a very honorable thing to do.
It seems a very difficult job, but also extremely rewarding. If you are pursuing a personal passion of yours, then it is definitely the right thing to do.
You do need to be wary of allowing the job to affect your own mental health though, especially if mental health issues run in your family.
It is important that you are able to separate other people's emotions from your own, but as a professional, you too will receive psychological support in your role.
Successfully helping others with their mental health issues is not something everybody can do, so there is a distinct need for talented and driven people. The roles are also well paid.
The Different Types of Psychologist
You haven't specified which area of psychology you're interested in, nor what type of role you're considering. It sounds as if you're still at the start of this exciting journey, so you probably haven't made up your mind yet.
I'll just quickly outline the broad specialisms and the roles within them to get you started:
It seems a very difficult job, but also extremely rewarding. If you are pursuing a personal passion of yours, then it is definitely the right thing to do.
You do need to be wary of allowing the job to affect your own mental health though, especially if mental health issues run in your family.
It is important that you are able to separate other people's emotions from your own, but as a professional, you too will receive psychological support in your role.
Successfully helping others with their mental health issues is not something everybody can do, so there is a distinct need for talented and driven people. The roles are also well paid.
The Different Types of Psychologist
You haven't specified which area of psychology you're interested in, nor what type of role you're considering. It sounds as if you're still at the start of this exciting journey, so you probably haven't made up your mind yet.
I'll just quickly outline the broad specialisms and the roles within them to get you started:
- Clinical and counselling psychologists - work with patients in a therapeutic context, to help them overcome psychological disorders
- Organisational psychologists - apply research and techniques towards solving problems within organisations, such as businesses or government
- Academic psychologists - often work at research institutes, or teach the subject at university
