The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.
William JamesWilliam James

 

Psychology Awareness MonthBeing that February is Psychology Awareness Month, I thought that I would take a moment to write about psychology. Psychology is the study of mind and body, or more specifically, understanding mental and behavioural processes of individuals and groups. My role as a clinical psychologist is to help people understand their mental processes and behaviours and help them create change to better their life. Many people think this often entails the stereotypical approach of “tell me about the relationship with your mother.” However, there are numerous theoretical orientations in psychology all of which have advantages and disadvantages.

Clinical psychology is not the only form of psychology. There are a multiple different branches of psychology including Neuropsychology which works on understanding how the brain works; Developmental Psychology which entails understanding how we change throughout our lives; Organizational Psychology which focuses on understanding how to improve workplaces and ensuring employee health and safety; and many more disciplines in psychology.

Most individuals who seek out a psychologist are seeking the Clinical/Counselling Psychologist, to which there are a myriad of theoretical orientations as stated above. My theoretical orientation is Cognitive-Behavioural, which involves understanding our thought processes as they often lead to our behavioural and emotional responses and reactions. Our thoughts are based on our knowledge and understanding, so by expanding our knowledge of why we do what we do, we can change how we experience the world and therefore adjust our emotional and behavioural responses.

 

By Notman Studios (photographer)

[1]MS Am 1092 (1185), Series II, 23, Houghton Library, Harvard University, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16250941