How to become a psychologist?

Must graduate 12th. It would be helpful and preferable if one of the subjects was psychology.  After that you have to do either a BA or a BSc in psychology degree. The curriculum mainly consists of personality development, psychotherapy, stress management etc. if psychology was a paper of yours un school then you will have a good base and it will be easier to grasp the concepts. After your bachelors you can go for masters and specialize. For this you mainly have three options ; MA or MSc in psychology, social work or counselling. After that you can take your phd or mphil. But the studying process involves a lot of research and case studies. A lot of internships also have to be undertaken in order to be a good psychologist.

The P.HD  and MA/MSc program is centered around a lot of research. This makes you capable to pursue a career in research or teaching. The graduate degrees are inclined more towards actual practice like counselling. There are mainly two kinds of psychologists, clinical and counselling. To be a counselling psychologist a degree in BA or BS in psychology is sufficient. A degree in education of social work will also be a good alternative. But to be a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist you need to have an MBBS degree. The difference is that only a clinical psychologist can prescribe medicines.

Duration of studies

BA/BSc in psychology is a 3-year degree program. Post graduate or masters is a 2 year program Graduate. MPhil or Phd programs are generally 2 years long but they can extend up to many years depending on the kind of study and research involved

Skills required

Not everybody can make a good psychologist. First and foremost a psychologist should have empathy. They must understand the difference between empathy, sympathy and intellectual understanding. They should employ empathy while dealing with patients. They also have to be analytical so as to diagnose the problem. They should also be able to communicate really well to the patients. The patients should also feel like confiding in the psychologist and opening up. Only then can the psychologist identify the problem and then help them through therapy. Patience is also an important requirement. Some patients can be difficult to deal with. A psychologist should also be nonjudgmental. The patient should feel that they are in a space where they will not be judged.

Being a psychologist is truly a very challenging profession. It takes years of painstaking research, practice and hard work to be one.

Hey,

Psychology is one of the most interesting discipline which help you understand human minds and behaviour. This subject makes you explore so much in terms of examining varying behavioural pattern in society as a whole.

To be a psychologist,you need to secure Bachelor's in Psychology and then you can go for Masters in Psychology.After this you will become eligible to work as industrial or organizational psychologist.

Since you are from Science background then you may take up B.Sc in Psychology but there is negligible scope of it in India.On the other hand BA in Psychology is offered by most of the good colleges in India and the course is generally the same for both B.Sc and BA as Psychology is considered as social science.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.