Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans,both conscious and unconscious phenomena,and mental processes such as thoughts,feelings,and motives. Psychology is an academic discipline of immense scope,crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences. Biological psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains,linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists,psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States,and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 157,000 members,including scientists,educators,clinicians,consultants,and students. It has 54 divisions,which function as interest groups for different subspecialties of psychology or topical areas. The APA has an annual budget of around $125 million.
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states,perceptual,cognitive,emotional,and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation,observation,and interpretation of how individuals relate to each other and to their environments.
Clinical psychology is an integration of human science,behavioral science,theory,and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding,preventing,and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. Central to its practice are psychological assessment,clinical formulation,and psychotherapy,although clinical psychologists also engage in research,teaching,consultation,forensic testimony,and program development and administration. In many countries,clinical psychology is a regulated mental health profession.
Counseling psychology is a psychological specialty that began with a focus on vocational counseling,but later moved its emphasis to adjustment counseling,and then expanded to cover all normal psychology psychotherapy. There are many subcategories for counseling psychology,such as marriage and family counseling,rehabilitation counseling,clinical mental health counseling,educational counseling,etc. In each setting,they are all required to follow the same guidelines.
Together,legal psychology and forensic psychology form the field more generally recognized as "psychology and law". Following earlier efforts by psychologists to address legal issues,psychology and law became a field of study in the 1960s as part of an effort to enhance justice,though that originating concern has lessened over time. The multidisciplinary American Psychological Association's Division 41,the American Psychology–Law Society,is active with the goal of promoting the contributions of psychology to the understanding of law and legal systems through research,as well as providing education to psychologists in legal issues and providing education to legal personnel on psychological issues. Further,its mandate is to inform the psychological and legal communities and the public at large of current research,educational,and service in the area of psychology and law. There are similar societies in Britain and Europe.
Seymour Bernard Sarason was Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Yale University,where he taught from 1945 to 1989. He is the author of over forty books and over sixty articles,and he is considered to be one of the most significant American researchers in education,educational psychology,and community psychology. One primary focus of his work was on education reform in the United States. In the 1950s he and George Mandler initiated the research on test anxiety. He founded the Yale Psycho-Educational Clinic in 1961 and was one of the principal leaders in the community psychology movement. In 1974,he proposed psychological sense of community,a central concept in community psychology. Since then,sense of community has become a well-known and commonly used term both in academic and non-academic settings.
Patrick J. McGrath,OC,FRSC FCAHS is a Canadian psychologist noted for his contribution to research on childhood pain.
Military psychology is a specialization within psychology that applies psychological science to promote the readiness of military members,organizations,and operations. Military psychologists provide support to the military in many ways,including through direct clinical care,consultation to military commanders,teaching others and supporting military training,and through research relevant to military operations and personnel. Military psychology as a field has been growing since the early 20th century,evidence that the demands and needs for psychological clinical and operational application is continuing to grow steadily. There are many stressors associated with military service,including exposure to high-risk training and combat. As such,psychologists are critical support components that assist military leaders in designing appropriate training programs,providing oversight to those programs,and assisting military members as they navigate the challenges of military training and their new lifestyle. Military psychology covers a wide range of fields throughout the military including operational,tactical,and occupational psychology. Gender differences between military-trained personnel who seek mental health assistance have been extensively studied. Specific examples include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with combat,or guilt and family/partner difficulties accompanying extended or frequent deployments due to separation. Clinical providers in military psychology are often focused on the treatment of stress,fatigue,and other personal readiness issues. Previous wars such as the Korean war,Vietnam war,and WW 2 provide great insight to the workings and practices of military psychology and how the practices have changed and assisted the military over the years.
Rodney L. Lowman is an American psychologist,academic administrator and entrepreneur whose major contributions have been in the areas of career assessment and counseling,ethical issues in Industrial and Organizational Psychology,the integration of clinical psychology and I-O psychology and helping to develop the field of consulting psychology. In a study of the most prolific contributors to the Consulting Psychology Journal:Practice and Research,Lowman was rated the second highest contributor for articles for the period 1992–2007.
Donald Neil Bersoff is an American psychologist,attorney and academic. He was the president of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2013. Before being elected president,Bersoff served as APA general counsel and held several leadership positions within the organization. He has been a faculty member at several law schools and he developed the nation's second joint graduate program in psychology and law. Bersoff has written four editions of a popular book on ethics and psychology.
Gerald Paul Koocher is an American psychologist and past president of the American Psychological Association (APA). His interests include ethics,clinical child psychology and the study of scientific misconduct. He is Dean Emeritus Simmons University and also holds an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School. Koocher has over 350 publications including 18 books and has edited three scholarly journals including Ethics &Behavior which he founded.
The American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct includes an introduction,preamble,a list of five aspirational principles and a list of ten enforceable standards that psychologists use to guide ethical decisions in practice,research,and education. The principles and standards are written,revised,and enforced by the APA. The code of conduct is applicable to psychologists in a variety of areas across a variety of contexts. In the event of a violation of the code of conduct,the APA may take action ranging from termination of the APA membership to the loss of licensure,depending on the violation. Other professional organizations and licensing boards may adopt and enforce the code.
Barry S. Anton,Ph.D.,ABPP is an American psychologist. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Puget Sound where he taught for 34 years. Anton founded Rainier Behavioral Health,a multi-discipline mental health practice where he practices clinical child and adolescent psychology and neuropsychology. Anton has co-authored,along with Professor Janet Matthews,a clinical psychology textbook,published over 90 articles,and has presented numerous conference workshops,invited addresses,keynote addresses,and panel discussions nationally and internationally. Anton served as the president of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2015.
Lee Burton Sechrest was an American psychologist and research methodologist.
Janel Gauthier is a Canadian psychologist with expertise in clinical psychology,human rights and ethics.
John G. Adair is a Canadian psychologist whose work was concerned with the social nature and ethics of psychological research.
Christopher Noel Cullen is a British psychologist who specialised in the field of learning disability.
Wesley Harrison Coons (1924-2015) was a Canadian psychologist who played an important role on the development of clinical psychology in Canada.
John Snarey is a psychologist,academic,and author. He is a Senior Research Psychologist and the Franklin N. Parker Professor Emeritus in the Candler School of Theology and the Laney Graduate Department of Psychology at Emory University.
