What does it to be a psychologist?

Question

I am very interested.. im a freshman right now and i would like to know what kind of skills, qualities do you need?

Answer 1

You will need to take the required psychology classes of course, and if you want to work in the field you need to have at least a B.A. to get "in the door," but that will be working in supervised positions more often than not still. Your college advisor can help you determine which courses you will need to take to get headed in the right direction. It works better if you can maintain motivation to continue at least to a master's level with it, as job opportunities are better at that level.

Personal skills and qualities are a big part of the job in this field. You need to be able to deal with all sorts of things (ie, aside from those genuinely coming in for healing there will be crises, dramatics, people not wanting help but being court ordered, people asking for help but in reality wanting you to "fix it" for them rather than doing the healing themselves, etc.), know how to not "react" to people when they are having behaviors and instead apply what you've been trained to do, be able to remain objective and not get emotionally attached to a person's pain while at the same time empathizing with them about their difficulties, and the list goes on. You need to be willing to get your brain saturated with scientific and empirical literature, and if that sounds a bit overwhelming, you might consider sociology instead, which is a more philosophical discipline. And you need to be willing to remain human in the face of all you know about human behavior (ie, be willing to give up "shrinking" everybody and their grandmother when you're "off-duty," be willing to ask for help yourself when there are psychological difficulties in your own life, etc.).

Oh... and you need a genuine desire to understand human nature so that you may be a part of the ongoing work to improve (and heal where necessary) the world. I think that's the "easy" part, though. ;)

Answer 2

Masters Degree in Social Work, or Psychology...possible later studies in gestalt therapy, or a Ph D in Social Work or Pyshchology or Psychiatry.