Practical psychology is a branch of psychology dealing with the practical application of its knowledge. It is used in all spheres of human activity: sports, healthcare, education, production, law. It gained wide popularity thanks to the development of the Internet and the interest of many people in science itself. This resulted in the appearance of numerous works on practical psychology, which in fact had a very distant relation to it.
Subject and tasks
A practical psychologist studies mental phenomena and their patterns. He learns to manage them, develop the necessary qualities and stop pathological phenomena. The list of tasks of a practicing psychologist includes:
- Research work - studying the process of personality formation, deepening and expanding knowledge about the psyche.
- Applied work - development and application of new research methods, training programs, other types of diagnostics and correction.
- Practical work - determined in accordance with the location of activity and the type of client request.
A psychologist is required to regularly take additional educational courses and trainings and engage in self-education. Its main task can be defined as self-improvement with the aim of providing assistance within the profession.
Application
Knowledge of practical psychology is transmitted along a kind of chain: from psychology it is addressed to the psychotherapist, and from the psychotherapist (or psychoanalyst) it is transmitted to his patient. Psychotherapeutic work is an essential part of practical psychology. Thus, individual client counseling is always associated with unique personal problems that do not have a specific solution based on theoretical knowledge. That is why doctors test various techniques and their combinations, trying to understand what exactly suits a particular patient.
Other questions can be very narrow - such as issues of personal success, time management, business psychology. Others, on the contrary, affect broad layers of education or personal development.
History and followers of the direction
When researchers discovered that they could not only study psychic phenomena, but also influence them, the decision was made to combine knowledge and methods into a separate science. This is how practical psychology emerged, which took shape as an independent discipline at the beginning of the 20th century.
This branch of science quickly became popular because it could change people's lives. From the USA it spread to other countries, first European, then Asian and African countries. Its development was carried out by: Jung, Comte, and their numerous followers.
A practical psychologist working as a separate therapist initially did not evoke either approval or understanding. It was believed that for a patient to work fully, clinical conditions were necessary, but already in the 60s, the first private practices began to work in separate rooms not attached to clinics.
This format quickly became ubiquitous. Even opponents of the method were forced to admit that it works - after undergoing therapy, patients noted a significant improvement in their well-being and life situation.
Practical psychology is often confused with applied psychology, considering them synonymous concepts, but applied psychology is not a separate science, but a part of practical psychology. It combines methods for studying the patterns of the psyche, which are then used in practice. These sciences are not opposed, but complement each other.
The development of practical psychology in the USSR began in the 80s, when the exchange of experience between practitioners from different countries became possible. The greatest contribution to development was made by Druzhilov's research. Psychology is no longer just a field of study. Her achievements and discoveries were aimed at solving specific problems in education and industry. The scope of practical psychological knowledge has constantly expanded. At the same time, science was popularized among representatives of mathematics, law, and politics.
Thanks to the efforts of educators over 10 years, practical psychology has spread and become an accessible type of help.
Books on practical psychology
The topic of practical psychology is extremely broad, so if you want to study it further, check out the books on this list.
- “How to treat yourself and people, or Practical psychology for every day” Nikolai Kozlov.
- “It's in your power. How to Become Your Own Therapist by Jeanette Rainwater.
- “A book for those who like to live, or Psychology of personal growth” Nikolai Kozlov.
- "On the limit. A week without self-pity" Eric Bertrand Larssen.
- “Psychology about personality” Alexey Bodalev.
- “Games that successful people don’t play. Master class in practical psychology” Pia Bylund, Kåre Christiansen.
- “Workbook of a practical psychologist: a manual for specialists working with personnel” Alexey Bodalev.
- “Practical consulting” Galina Kolesnikova.
- “The Gift of Psychotherapy” by Irvin Yalom.
- “Textbook of Systemic Therapy and Counseling” by Arist von Schlippe.
- "The Book of Self-Power" by Tony Robbins.
- From Frogs to Princes by Richard Bandler and John Grinder.
We wish you good luck!
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Key words:1Self-knowledge
Development of the direction
The accumulation of experience has allowed therapists to provide assistance and work for the future, preventing the problem from reoccurring in the future, but the low level of understanding of the essence of psychology among ordinary people is still a problem.
According to the ideas of people far from science, psychology is a mystical practice that can realize any requirement. A common request to a therapist is to “fix” behavior problems.
Psychology doesn't work that way. During a consultation, the therapist needs to make significant efforts to understand the essence of the patient’s problem and show a creative approach. There are no ready-made templates that would work in any situation.
We cannot ignore the contribution that practitioners have already made to the formation of mass consciousness. The task of modern psychology is to popularize science among ordinary people, convey the need for diagnosis and correction.
Education
Those interested in practical psychology can get an education in this specialization. Bachelors and masters in the relevant field are prepared by both public and private higher education institutions. In addition, this direction can be additional to the main profile of training. It is on this principle that graduates are trained, for example, by the Kirov Institute of Practical Psychology.
Advantages and disadvantages of science
Psychology is sometimes considered "frivolous" compared to psychiatry. This is a wrong approach, which only reflects a complete misunderstanding of the principles of working with an individual.
Benefits of psychology:
- therapy is available to a person at any time;
- You can choose a specialist based on your preferences;
- a large selection of working methods;
- You can work out any problem.
Disadvantages include the inability to obtain drug treatment. Only a psychiatrist can select medications. Therefore, one cannot contrast these industries and assume that one is somehow worse than the other.
Issues
Theory often outpaces practice, which is why weakly substantiated assumptions and hypotheses appear in the sciences. These gaps need to be filled with something. In psychology, for practical purposes and filling gaps, so-called metaphors are used - not supported, but working techniques that are a specific part of the discipline in question.
The problem that is acutely posed to practical psychology is that the demands of the real world do not correspond to the theoretical basis. From this emerge the main tasks of this science.
Research methods
The first task a psychologist works with during a consultation is to identify the patient’s problem. To do this, he uses various diagnostic methods.
To assess the condition, several methods are used in turn:
- observation;
- conversation;
- tests.
Observation may occur in the patient's office or natural environment. During the research, records are kept, from which conclusions will subsequently be drawn.
The conversation, unlike an ordinary conversation, has a clear goal - to identify the true cause of the pathology. Not only the patient’s words are assessed, but also his posture, facial expressions, and gestures. Intonation and involuntary semantic accents are important. Often during the conversation, the patient changes the initial request, realizing that his problem is different.
Testing includes the use of questionnaires, tests, and projective techniques. Depending on the patient’s answers, personality traits are revealed: type of temperament, character traits, hidden phobias. Based on the data obtained, the optimal type of therapy is selected.
Professions
Practical psychology is a branch of knowledge that is used by representatives of the following professions:
- psychotherapist;
- coach;
- psychologist-trainer.
And if for the former, having a basic psychological education is a prerequisite, then, for example, a coach can only have an additional retraining education. This is a vivid example of how the discipline in question comes into contact with the real world and its requirements - the coach is tasked with motivating and helping the client achieve his goal. A practical and grounded task. Either it is done or it is not.
Within the framework of psychological counseling, the task of dealing directly with the patient’s problems is also stated precisely and clearly.
Connections with other sciences
The practical industry involves the use of knowledge and methods from other areas:
- behaviorism;
- psychoanalysis;
- Gestalt therapy;
- transactional analysis;
- humanistic psychology;
- body-oriented therapy.
The interaction of psychology with other sciences, in particular with biology, is also necessary. Psyche is not only an area of personal development. It cannot work without the normal functioning of the central nervous system, and biology studies it. Practical application also affects the humanities: history, philosophy, cultural studies. For full-fledged research, the use of mathematical methods is also necessary. Practical psychology combines different disciplines and finds new approaches to their application.
Psychology of Personality
Personality psychology is a branch of science that allows us to understand the essence of human nature and individuality from a psychological point of view. It is closely related to practical psychology, so it is impossible to be interested in one area without touching on the other.
For example, to better understand people, you will need to become familiar with personality traits:
Character . This is the structure of persistent, relatively permanent mental properties that determine the characteristics of relationships and behavior of an individual. However, integrity of character is not absolute and can change over time. It depends very much on temperament.
Temperament . Without understanding temperament, you cannot create a complete map of a person's personality. It forms the basis for the formation and development of character, and is also determined by the type of higher nervous activity of a person. If a person is slow, and his emotions sluggishly flow from one to another, you can be sure that he is either a phlegmatic person or a melancholic person. Of course, every person has something of each type of temperament, but one of them always predominates.
Capabilities . These are personality traits that are conditions for the successful implementation of a certain type of activity. They are not reduced to skills, abilities and knowledge, but are found in the depth, speed and strength of mastering the methods and techniques of some activity. There are physical, literary, musical, structural and technical, mathematical, educational and mental abilities.
Motivation . This is a psychophysiological process that controls human behavior, setting its direction, organization, activity and stability. If you don’t learn to motivate others, or at least yourself, it can kill any desire to develop as a person, to work, to change the world, to influence others.
All these personality traits are closely related to each other. Psychology is a very complex and developing science, so studying it is a life-long process. If you love learning, you can make it a part of your life or even a profession.
Job responsibilities of an organizational psychologist
In order for a psychologist to be effective and justified, he needs not only theoretical knowledge and skills in this area, but also experience, objectivity, the ability to analyze problem areas and correctly define them and be able to solve all the problems that arise related to the field of work psychology. The professional skills necessary for the effective functioning of an organizational psychologist cover a wide range of his actions in performing professional functions and responsibilities. He needs to be able to objectively and comprehensively analyze the conditions and factors, goals and objectives of the worker’s work and life. The job responsibilities of an organizational psychologist include:
- studying the human factor in the work activity of an enterprise;
- search and selection of personnel;
- development of selection tools - tests, questionnaires, interviews, etc.;
- monitoring employee skills;
- assistance in organizing work and workplace of employees;
- participation in the development of product design;
- development of the company brand;
- advertising of the organization's products;
- Conducting marketing research of the market into which the organization's products are supplied.
The psychologist’s activities are aimed at achieving maximum efficiency of employees, quality, convenience and external attractiveness of the company’s products and ensuring that the organization is recognizable and respected in the market.
Position of psychologist in the organization
The position of a psychologist in an organization is provided to persons with higher specialized education. Priority is given to experienced workers with at least three years of work experience. The specificity of a psychologist’s work implies a responsible attitude towards one’s duties and the presence of the appropriate personal qualities necessary for this work. The presence of a psychologist position indicates a developed, modern enterprise, focused on introducing innovations, caring for employees, focusing on modern work methods, and adequate perception of the labor market.
Personnel policy
Personnel policy should be aimed at strengthening the stimulating role of remuneration, creating modern methods and technologies for personnel selection, developing personnel development programs, developing a social program and much more.
Personnel policies should not be discriminatory.
Discrimination is infringement of the interests of an employee on any grounds. Discrimination factors:
- gender – women’s work is usually less paid, and women, especially young women, are usually reluctant to be hired due to the possible birth of a child and maternity leave;
- age - employers tend to provide jobs to people from 25 to 45 years old, people of older or younger age usually have difficulty finding work because they either have no experience or are considered unpromising (old) workers due to the fact that early retirement is possible, frequent absence due to illness, etc.;
- nationality (race);
- place of residence and registration;
- health status – negative attitudes towards people who have health problems and, therefore, do not perform their work duties to their full potential;
- sexual orientation;
- external data;
- religious views.
