Career in School Psychology

'Taare zameen par', the Indian Oscar nominated film, dealt with a very relevant aspect in the field of psychology, school psychology. It was about a dyslexic child, who was misunderstood by his teachers and parents. Then, his teacher, who was more aware of child psychology came into the picture. His counseling and persistent efforts, diagnose and solve the child's problems.

School psychology, a branch of psychology, looks to amalgamate the fundamental principles of two other branches, namely educational psychology and clinical psychology. It is a branch of psychology, that can actually be practiced and applied, and is not just theoretical. It uses this merger of the other two branches, to diagnose the leaning and behavioral problems in children. It is a comparatively new addition to the field of psychology, and as such, there are a lot of exciting and interesting avenues open for those who want to pursue it as a career.

A degree in psychology with specialization in school psychology, coupled with an avid interest in children is good enough to equip you for a career in school psychology. But there is also a certain amount of training required, before you finally start dealing with the children. The training and basic educational qualifications are however, country-specific.

A school psychologist works with groups of students in a school set up and helps the students cope up with their behavioral problems and learning problems. They even help children with learning disabilities and other things, which are an inevitable part of the academic bandwagon. Another dimension of working as a school psychologist, is working in tandem with the teachers and parents, and training them to deal better with children in problem situations.

A Career in School Psychology

Typically there are five areas where an individual can work as a school psychologist, and these are broad areas (as in school and clinical psychology) because there no well defined professional profiles. Hence, there cannot be an enumeration of the independent profiles associated with school psychology, but the following is what a career in school psychology entails.

Consultation and Counseling
Consultation mainly involves talking to the children, counseling them for solving their problems pertaining to adjustment, and aiding in overcoming learning disabilities, like dyslexia, school anxiety, examination anxiety, adolescence and so on. This has to be done on the level of parents and teachers as well, as they need to know what the child is facing. While counseling, it is important to progress things at a pace that the child is comfortable with. Depending on the severity, the counseling sessions can last for a short time, or can go on for a long period of time.

Evaluation
As the counseling sessions unfold, the school psychologist evaluates and analyzes the gravity of the problem. After determining that, the child can be referred to a clinical psychologist, or the school psychologist can some take tests and evaluate their results. For instance, if on evaluation, the counselor/school psychologist finds a juvenile with delinquent tendencies, it will require immediate attention.

Intervention
The school psychologist has to act as the vital link between the children, parents, the principal and the teachers as well. So he or she has to intervene among all of them, at these different levels. The school psychologist has to convince the principal and the other concerned people, to understand the problem the child is facing. He may also need to intervene between the parents and the child, if there is a case of a psychological disturbance in a child, due to an unpleasant or depressing home environment.

Prevention
Early diagnosis and the nipping of the problem in the bud, can prevent the child from further psychological trauma. Preventing can be also be interpreted as preventing problems between the parents and child, and the parents and the teachers, by communicating with them about the child, as early as possible.

Research and Planning
Research and planning mainly deals with studying the subject at depth, and possibly coming up with new concepts to solve the problems faced by the children. Planning can be done on how to implement these ideas and if a school psychologist is dealing with a case, the sessions and the treatment can be planned as well. In other cases, one can just simply focus on research, planning and implementation of the strategy on a case, while there would be another individual to actually counsel and carry out the plan.

These are the areas in which a person with a degree in school psychology or clinical psychology can work. As these two are over lapping and are not definitive, there are fewer instances of a someone in this field being labeled or designated a specific post. It is definitely not a cake walk to work at all levels, i.e. teacher, student, principal and the parents.

Yet, a career in school psychology can be a very interesting one, if you take it in your stride. In addition to that, it is a perfect career option for degree holders, as the salaries are quite good to start off with. For instance, the average annual salary for an elementary or secondary school psychologist, is around $55,000 to $60,000 and it can increase, depending your caliber and performance. Ultimately, you can definitely do well if you have a child hidden inside you, who is dying to come out!