So you are planning to become a psychologist and work in a mental health field you plan to get a degree in psychology, you may want to think about with whom you would like to work and what are some of the issues that you would like to approach. Maybe you would like to work with people who have mood disorders such as bipolar disorder. A person who is bipolar suffers from alternating episodes of euphoria and depression. To treat this type of abnormal functioning, you will need a 4- years degree clinical psychology. Part of the bipolar patient treatment involves working with the patient’s family so that they can be more supportive and less intrusive in the patient. Thus, it will be important that you be trained in family therapy as well. But there are other components to a bipolar patient’s treatment plan: medication management, education and developing problem-solving skills. A licensed clinical social worker could be able to oversee and manage a patient’s entire treatment plan such as referring the patient to a psychiatrist for proper medication management and referring patient to other therapy groups where he or she can learn more about his or her disorder. I f mood disorders or any disorder for that matter don’t interest you, you may consider getting a degree in sports psychology, or even child psychology.
