Clinical psychologist, educational psychologist and psychotherapist - what is the difference?

Educational psychologist: pros and cons of the profession

Future students of psychology departments, as well as those who have already received higher education in the specialty “Educator-Psychologist”, begin to think about what their chosen field of activity entails. This is due to the fact that the field of psychology involves many diverse areas. In order to choose a truly suitable professional direction for future activity that will bring pleasure, it is necessary to have as much information as possible about what the responsibilities of this type of specialist are, where he can work, what qualities he should have, and where to get the appropriate education.

Disadvantages of the profession of educational psychologist

A specialist who is responsible for his profession must be prepared for an irregular work schedule - this especially applies to areas of activity related to children, medicine, and work in the Ministry of Emergency Situations, where the help of psychologists also often plays an important role. Accordingly, stressful workdays significantly affect personal life, sometimes excluding from it such concepts as free time, personal interests, etc.

A particular difficulty in the work of an educational psychologist is the need to build relationships not only with students of an educational institution (or employees of an enterprise), but also with the parents of children (or management). Unfortunately, sometimes it is possible to achieve positive results in working with a particular child only through close cooperation with parents. But they are not always ready to go to a meeting and listen to the recommendations of an educational psychologist.

General information

Pedagogy and psychology are among the oldest professions. In Ancient Greece, these two professions were given an interpretation. Thus, pedagogy was understood as the art of education, and psychology was the science of understanding the soul. Over time, these interpretations have not changed, as has the importance of the profession itself.

A teacher-psychologist is a specialist responsible for the social adaptation of children, their psychological development and behavior. Often a person whose profession is related to this area of ​​psychology is called “an educator of human souls.” This nickname emphasizes the importance of the profession for society and reflects the high degree of responsibility for the specialist’s performance of his work.

• Increase in wages due to the recent increase in interest in this profession;
• The opportunity to help people and be useful to society;
• The knowledge gained can be applied not only at work, but also in personal life;
• Large selection of areas of activity for employment.

• Salary for a beginner specialist;
• Emotional stress and worries for the wards;
• The commercial sphere is not developed in Russia.

Advantages of the profession of educational psychologist

The real and greatest advantage of the profession of educational psychologist is a feeling of moral satisfaction from one’s work. You can only count on a high salary in this professional field if the specialist provides services privately. As of the beginning of 2020, the average monthly salary of an educational psychologist in Russia was about 33 thousand rubles.

The undoubted advantage of this profession is also that an educational psychologist is a universal specialist who can conduct psychodiagnostics, psychological consultation, psychological education, psychocorrectional measures, etc. In other words, if a specialist decides to leave the education system, he can easily realize himself in other related specialties.

An additional bonus to the profession is the use of the acquired knowledge to communicate with loved ones and friends, and improve your personal life.

Responsibilities

A specialist who wants to take the position of “Teacher-Psychologist” must have a diploma of higher or secondary specialized education in the field of “Pedagogy and Psychology.” The job responsibilities of this profession may vary depending on the chosen field of activity. Below are the main points from the job description:

• Carrying out work to preserve the mental, somatic and social well-being of students in the process of education and training in educational institutions;
• Participation in the protection of rights in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
• Conducting an analysis of factors that have a negative impact on the development of the personality of students and pupils, as well as taking measures to provide various types of psychological assistance;
• Drawing up psychological and pedagogical conclusions based on research materials;
• Providing psychological support to creatively gifted children;
• Maintaining documentation in the prescribed form;
• Carrying out work to eliminate problems in personality development;
• Conducting various social and psychological trainings;
• Consulting and providing psychological assistance to employees of institutions;
• Conducting classes on the prevention of social maladjustment.

Place of work

In modern conditions, specialists in the field of pedagogy and psychology are in demand in the labor market. This profession is becoming widespread in various industries, not counting those where assistance in social adaptation and personality development is the fundamental goal.

Having received a diploma of appropriate education, a qualified specialist can choose one of the following areas of activity:

1. Psychological consultation in school and preschool institutions.
2. Medical type of psychological consultations.
3. Teaching psychology.
4. Activities in the HR service.

In accordance with the identified areas of activity, qualified specialists are in demand in:

• Preschool and educational (schools, technical colleges, universities) institutions;
• Medical institutions (rehabilitation centers) and the healthcare sector (children's hospitals, sanatoriums);
• Social services (social protection centers, homeless shelters, etc.) and law enforcement agencies (police, juvenile correctional facilities, etc.);
• At enterprises in any field of human activity, where the work of employees implies the presence of psychological and emotional stress;
• In special units created by the Ministry of Emergency Situations;
• Providing personalized professional services in private offices.

Important qualities

In addition to professional knowledge and skills in the field of psychology, a specialist must have a number of personal qualities. One of the fundamental features inherent in an educational psychologist is a high spiritual organization and a sense of responsibility.

Of no small importance in the work of such an employee is the way a person “masters his words.” After all, he needs to convey the necessary information to the listener or student, doing this with the help of a huge vocabulary and literary, historical and other examples; ensure that it becomes the personal conviction of the listener. It follows from this that personal qualities include:

• Rich vocabulary;
• Knowledge of literature, history, art;
• The ability to make arguments using examples of famous personalities and literary characters.

Also, due to the fact that the specificity of this profession is to provide services to people of any age, social status, sex and gender, a specialist must have the following qualities:

• Humanitarian and analytical mind;
• Good manners and tact;
• Humanity and delicacy;
• Balance and calmness;
• Courtesy and politeness;
• Sociability and ability to win over a person;
• Philanthropy;
• Observation and insight;
• Have the gift of persuasion.

Education

The training of relevant specialists is carried out on the basis of the educational program 44.03.02 “Psychological and pedagogical education” .

In order to enroll in this profile, the applicant must pass the following exams:

• Russian language;
• Mathematics (basic level);
• Biology (major subject).

The duration of study in the chosen field of study for full-time study is 4 years (bachelor's degree), and for part-time study - 5 years. If you have secondary vocational education, the period of study at the university will be 3.5 years.

Preparation for the program “Psychological and Pedagogical Education” is carried out with the study of the following areas:

1. "Psychology of the individual and group."
2. "Formation of pedagogical activity."
3. "Developmental Psychology".
4. "Psychological support of the pedagogical process."

During the educational process, the student studies both general education disciplines and specialized ones, namely:

• General psychology;
• Psychology of management;
• Psychodiagnostics;
• Individual and social psychology;
• Psychological consultation;
• Age-related psychology;
• Social and psychological trainings;
• Social pedagogy.
• Theory and methodology of training and education;
• Psychology in Commerce and Education;
• Organisation management;
• Personnel Management;
• Conflictology;
• Foreign language.

As can be seen from this list, the student receives not only knowledge in psychological and pedagogical sciences, but also studies management and personnel management, which expands the range of places for employment.

You can obtain a diploma of appropriate education at the following universities in the country:

• Moscow Social Pedagogical Institute (average Unified State Exam score – 56.8, tuition fee 110 thousand rubles per year);
• Moscow City Pedagogical University (average Unified State Exam score – 72.12, tuition fee 199.6 thousand rubles per year);
• Russian State Pedagogical University named after. A.I. Herzen (average Unified State Exam score – 67.07, tuition fee 138.7 thousand rubles per year);
• Russian State Vocational Pedagogical University
• (average Unified State Exam score – 62.5, tuition fee 108 thousand rubles per year);
• Ural State Pedagogical University (average Unified State Exam score – 63.81, tuition fee 108 thousand rubles per year);
• Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University (average Unified State Exam score – 61.73, tuition fee 87 thousand rubles per year);
• Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University named after. Kozma Minin (average Unified State Exam score – 63.10, tuition fee 95.3 thousand rubles per year).

Wage

The average salary of a teacher-psychologist in the Russian Federation is 31,000 rubles. Depending on the region and place of work, this figure may change.

Minimum salary – 15.4 thousand rubles. Maximum monthly earnings are over 100 thousand rubles. and higher.

The average salary by position is presented below:

Supplements may be added to the salary:

1. For higher education – 10%.
2. For the specifics of the work - 20%.

Is it possible for an educational psychologist to work as a psychologist?

The work of an educational psychologist often turns out to be thankless, since a person is always in the shadow of the student’s progress and all the praise goes mainly to the “patient”.

However, for a psychologist, the main reward is a high-quality result and gratitude from the person who asked for help at one time.

Pedagogy is a kind of art of educating a person, and psychology, in its time, is the science of knowing the soul.

At the intersection of two sciences, the profession of a teacher-psychologist is born - a specialist working in educational institutions and responsible for the psychological development and social adaptation of the child.

But can an educational psychologist work as a psychologist? The answer is yes. A specialist with a pedagogical and psychological education has all the opportunities for employment not only in children's educational institutions, but also for work outside the walls of the school.

True, an educational psychologist can work as a psychologist only in a number of areas. For example, when adapting teenagers to rehabilitation centers. But he doesn’t have the knowledge to consult adults.

Therefore, in order to have more opportunities for general specialization, it will be necessary to take advanced training and retraining courses.

The retraining process takes up to six months, but after that the educational psychologist will be able to work as a psychologist with the appropriate qualifications and training.

Can a psychologist work as an educational psychologist?

What seems to work in one direction also works in the other. But in this case this is not the case. According to modern standards, pedagogy is not just a word, but a whole science.

In a general sense, of course, any person with the necessary knowledge can be involved in the teaching profession, but when it comes to psychology, the picture is completely different.

Therefore, the answer to the question whether a psychologist can work as an educational psychologist will not be unambiguous.

Having a diploma in psychology does not yet open doors to schools and kindergartens. The teaching title must be earned, but only then through work experience, and first through education. Therefore, the first thing you should pay attention to is training in both specialties.

A psychologist can work as an educational psychologist only if he has both educations. For this, it is ideal to receive the appropriate specialization while studying at a higher educational institution. Then there will be no problems with employment.

If a specialist does not have a pedagogical profile, then he will not be able to work in this status.

Professional activity of a teacher-psychologist

The professional activity of a teacher-psychologist is to provide social, pedagogical and psychological assistance to students in matters of personality development and self-determination.

Note 2

The main goal of the teacher-psychologist’s detail is to ensure the harmonious psychological development and social adaptation of children, and to prevent the manifestation of behavioral deviations in students.

Finished works on a similar topic

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• Abstract Teacher-psychologist 260 rub.
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To achieve this goal, the educational psychologist must complete the following tasks:

• analyze the social situation in the institution, identify problems, their causes and plan ways to resolve them
• help the personal and intellectual development of students
• help students identify paths to self-realization and self-determination
• carry out preventive measures to prevent social and psychological deviations in students
• creation of favorable psychological and pedagogical conditions for lifelong education
• help teachers work with students by providing scientific material on psychological topics

The activity of a teacher-psychologist is developing in several directions:

• psychological education of educational objects
• psychological prevention
• psychological diagnosis of deviations
• psychological correction
• psychological counseling

A teacher-psychologist provides psychological education to objects of educational activity, providing information about psychological processes, patterns of human behavior, and characteristics of mental development at different age stages. Educational psychologists conduct educational events, lectures, group consultations, and trainings with students, their cultivators, and other teachers.

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Psychological prevention presupposes that the educational psychologist should also carry out activities in order to prevent psychological and social problems in students. Such events can also be held in the form of seminars, conversations and trainings for students, parents and teachers.

Psychological diagnostics are carried out by a teacher-psychologist in order to determine the personal characteristics of students, the level of their mental development, and their abilities. In the future, these data are used for educational and prevention plans in detail.

The goal of the work of a teacher-psychologist is to carry out the intellectual, personal and emotional development of students to the maximum possible extent, while preserving their individual characteristics.

Psychological counseling presupposes that the educational psychologist must provide assistance to all objects of the educational process in resolving the following issues:

• learning difficulties
• social adaptation
• deviant behavior
• personality development
• life problems
• relationships between children and parents, students and teachers

Can an organizational psychologist work as an educational psychologist?

Although not everyone has heard about this profile of the psychologist’s profession, it not only exists, but is also quite popular, and most importantly, well paid.

Everything, of course, depends on where you work, but his services are often in demand in business, as well as as a personal consultant to serious businessmen and famous personalities.

An organizational psychologist can work as a teaching psychologist at a university, but the specifics of his work will no longer be aimed at children. For example, his work in a higher educational institution may be related to the organization of personnel or the management of graduate students, consultation of teaching staff.

If the goal is to work with children and adolescents, to find employment in a specialty in a school or kindergarten, then an organizational psychologist will not be able to work as an educational psychologist without a pedagogical education.

But, as in the previous case, this is not a verdict. Employment will be possible after receiving appropriate education. You can get a second degree and the doors are open, but there are other options.

If you have a higher psychological education, you can most quickly learn the profession of a teacher-psychologist through advanced training and retraining courses. It is quite possible to do this in a maximum of six months.

Thus, just as an educational psychologist can work as a psychologist, and vice versa. But in almost all cases, this will require additional knowledge.

Therefore, if a person is thinking about changing the specifics of his job to a related one and wants to avoid any restrictions and obstacles, he needs to tune in to retraining courses. Then there will be no problems with employment for the positions indicated above, and even an organizational psychologist will be able to work as an educational psychologist.

Just don’t forget that in addition to education, you also need to love your profession and, of course, children.

Is an educational psychologist a psychologist or a teacher?

Ferapontova Natalia Alexandrovna,

teacher - psychologist MBOU "Secondary School No. 45 of Chelyabinsk"

Is an educational psychologist a psychologist or a teacher?

In 1990, I graduated from Yaroslavl State University with a degree in psychology. Almost immediately I began working at school.

At that time, our position was simply called a psychologist, and not every school could boast of having such a specialist.

Over the years, the number of psychologists in schools grew, they began to become dissatisfied with the unequal position with teachers - 24 days of vacation, lack of long-service pension, etc. In the process of fighting for equal rights with teachers, school psychologists achieved the renaming of their own position, now it is called " teacher - psychologist"

This is where the strongest “cognitive dissonance” happened in my head. How can you be a teacher and a psychologist at the same time?

Even at the university, our teachers repeatedly talked about professionally important personality traits. Somewhere in the subcortex there is information that the psychologist accepts any person without judgment, as he is, with all his difficulties and “cockroaches”, and does not get into the soul of people who did not ask him about it. Are all these qualities suitable for a teacher who is accustomed to immediately assessing all phenomena and events? The teacher, as a rule, offers students and their parents their own vision of solving the problem; the task of the psychologist is to organize their own work with the same students and their parents so that they independently find a solution to the problem.

I love my job; a psychologist at school needs all the skills and abilities that we were taught at the university and then at trainings and advanced training courses. For a long time, in the double title of my own position, I perceived the word “teacher” as a prefix, giving me the right to leave as a teacher.

Over the years, the understanding has come that while working at school, it is impossible not to be a teacher. We work side by side with teachers, often, at their request, we offer our own help to students and their parents, rather than waiting for them to come to us for this help, we act as teachers-organizers for trial Unified State Examinations and Unified State Examinations, conduct extracurricular activities, etc. d, etc. Simply put, there are many situations in which the school psychologist is the educator.

A way out of cognitive dissonance was found. I am still confident that it is impossible to be a teacher and a psychologist at the same time, and a teacher-psychologist simply needs to be very clearly aware in the process of his work of who exactly he is at the moment.

Features of the work of a psychologist

Many of those who are thinking about becoming a psychologist have little idea of ​​what they can do. Various areas of application of psychological knowledge are often confused in the head. Agree, the work of a psychologist in a kindergarten is fundamentally different from the work of providing emergency psychological assistance in emergency situations.

Therefore, even at the stage of receiving psychological education, it is worth deciding on the desired direction of activity and learning better about what a psychologist can do and where he can work. Many psychologists have to try a variety of professions before they find exactly what they would like to do. Some people go through work at a school, in a kindergarten, or on a helpline before they realize that they would like to engage in psychological training. Some find their calling in working with orphans and psychological rehabilitation of families. Someone knows from the very beginning that his path is a private psychological practice, with his own office. Someone chooses a research direction.

Psychologist's work in primary school

Starting school is a very important stage for a child and his parents. It is at school that the child begins to actively develop and adapt to society. Relationships with peers are built on the basis of a certain scheme, which is worked out by teachers and parents. Before a child enters first grade, a psychologist must determine readiness for school.

At the stage of starting children's education, the psychologist's task will be to adapt the child among his peers and teachers. Gifted children with a high level of development need to be given special attention so that they do not lose interest in learning. Students who have difficulty mastering the school curriculum need to be provided with timely assistance. Monitoring children's school progress is one of the responsibilities of an educational psychologist at school.

If a psychologist observes inappropriate behavior by children or teachers, he must respond immediately. The activities of a teacher-psychologist in elementary school are based on the characteristics of the perception and development of children of a given age. A trusting, collaborative relationship should develop between the child and the teacher.

Psychologist at school

A teacher-psychologist at school is a specialist in the field of psychology who studies the mental state of students, corrects their behavior, helps in eliminating personal problems, adapting to a team, helps improve the psychological climate in the classroom, and conducts explanatory work with parents and teachers. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in biology and psychology (see choosing a profession based on interest in school subjects).

The key tasks of this specialist are to help the student choose competent behavioral mechanisms, identify their psychological problems, and find internal and external balance. It is worth noting that a psychologist does not deal with pathological disruptions in the human psyche, but corrects his inner world and state of mind.

Educational psychologist program

The work program is drawn up for one academic year in accordance with the requirements of the Law “On Education”. Each program is developed with a specific purpose. To achieve the goal, a list of tasks is assigned, the implementation of which leads to the desired result.

Each program has several areas of work, and the activities of a teacher-psychologist at school are divided into the following areas: correctional and developmental, psychological and pedagogical, analytical, counseling and education. For each category of activity, a detailed action plan is drawn up. The means and methods that must be applied to achieve the goal are listed.

The predicted performance results for each category of students are indicated. The program is compiled based on the individual and age characteristics of students. The program should include planning work with students’ parents, taking into account the individual characteristics of families, identifying dysfunctional, single-parent families. The responsibility of a teacher-psychologist at school is also to monitor the upbringing of a child in the family.

Features of the profession

It is believed that the profession of a psychologist becomes part of its carrier over time. The professional uses his skills and knowledge not only in working with patients, but also in everyday life, when communicating with loved ones. After all, the subject of study of a psychologist is the human soul, and it represents an inexhaustible resource for acquiring the necessary knowledge. Psychologists help a person connect his internal resources to solve current psychological problems. The main activities of a psychologist:

• Psychological training, which includes training in methods of emotional self-regulation, the use of special exercises for personal growth and subsequent summing up.
• Consultations involve communication between a specialist and students in order to find the best way out of a difficult situation.
• Testing allows you to study the individual characteristics of the human psyche using interactive programs.

School psychologists are obliged to monitor the psychological health of students, create a comfortable environment for them, and conduct periodic mass examinations in order to identify people requiring psychological help.

Pros and cons of the profession

Such specialists play a big role in the lives of students and their parents, because they help to quickly solve various types of problems, preventing dangerous consequences.

Educational psychologists use their knowledge to timely turn current events in the right direction. A child at school is faced with non-childish problems: difficult relationships with peers, lagging behind in studies, misunderstanding of others. If these problems are not solved, the child becomes tense and aggressive. In some cases, suicidal tendencies occur. If the psychologist takes adequate measures, the situation will stabilize.

Pros:

• the opportunity for personal growth, because a specialist is obliged to constantly improve himself;
• acquired professional knowledge helps in everyday life;
• the profession is considered creative and interesting;
• the opportunity to really help people solve their problems;
• knowledge of oneself and the depths of one’s consciousness.

Minuses

The disadvantages of the profession of “psychologist” include periodic mental fatigue and emotional burnout. After all, such specialists immerse themselves in the patient’s problem headlong, passing information through themselves. Also, not everyone finds it easy to accept another person's worldview. Such professions oblige the specialist himself to have a crystal clear reputation so that his word has weight. It is unlikely that a patient will trust a doctor who cannot help himself.

Important qualities

Psychologists by nature must be altruists, since the emotional difficulties they have to face cannot be compensated for by any money. A high level of responsibility is a key requirement for a true professional.

The main qualities that a psychologist should have:

• emotional and general intelligence must be at a high level;
• the ability to listen and hear a person;
• stress resistance;
• tact and delicacy;
• sociability;
• observation;
• optimism and self-confidence;
• creativity and ability to offer non-standard solutions;
• tolerance;
• ability to calm the client;
• empathy.

A specialist must be able to clearly formulate his thoughts. A sense of humor and endurance will also be very helpful.

Personal qualities of a teacher-psychologist

Every educational psychologist, regardless of which organization and which children he deals with, must have a set of certain personal qualities, without which it is impossible to carry out full-fledged pedagogical and psychological activities. Among these main qualities are:

• adequate level of self-esteem
• determination
• hard work
• observation
• communication skills
• oratory and artistry
• observation
• Creative skills

Separately, we should highlight such an important pedagogical quality as empathy - the ability to empathize with one’s students, the desire to help them.

A teacher-psychologist must also possess pedagogical tact and a high level of behavior.