A Psychologist, or Clinical Psychologist, is a mental health professional in charge of performing psychoanalysis to diagnose mental illness and provide treatment for mental and behavioral issues. Their duties include conducting talk therapy with clients, writing referrals to other health professionals and performing mental health assessments to identify problems.
A Psychologist should be able to fulfill various duties and responsibilities. The following are some duties and responsibilities a Psychologist should be able to execute:
- Diagnose and treat emotional, mental and behavioral disorders
- Assess patients and provide recommendations for treatments
- Use literature, research and translate complex concepts and use them to treat patients
- Provide patients with referrals to other therapists, clinics or facilities as needed
- Participate in off-hours call rotation
- Conduct administrative tasks
A competitive Psychologist will have certain skills and qualifications, including:
- Patience, especially when working with challenging patients or those who may be resistant to treatment
- Interpersonal skills, including being able to relate to their patients in order to help them
- Empathy to identify with patients’ experiences to help them understand what is causing them to feel a certain way
- Trustworthiness to keep information confidential, as patients will tell the psychologist their most private thoughts and secrets
- Communication skills and the ability to know when to talk and when to listen to create a safe environment for the patients
- Critical thinking to help the psychologist make an accurate diagnosis to recommend proper treatment
