Helping Professions

Definition of the Helping Professions

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), helping professions are jobs or positions that offer health and education services to individuals and the community. These roles often exist in psychology, psychiatry, counseling, medicine, nursing, social work, physical therapy, teaching, and education.

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Those who work in the helping professions are not limited to studying psychology, though there are many concepts in psychology that are useful when working with individuals and groups in the community.

Types of Helping Professionals

There are different types of helping professions, such as biological, psychological, or social helping professions.

Biological Helping Professions

Examples of biological helping professionals are:

• doctors
• nurses
• physical therapists
• psychiatrists
• surgeons
• specialists
• dentists
• etc.

Psychological Helping Professions

Examples of psychological helping professionals are:

• psychologists
• licensed counselors
• licensed marriage and family therapists
• life coaches
• occupational therapists
• speech therapists
• developmental therapists
• educational therapists
• etc.

Social Helping Professions

Examples of social helping professions are:

• social workers
• spiritual counselors
• pastors/religious leaders
• teachers
• au pairs
• caseworkers
• firefighters
• police
• etc.

Examples of Psychology and the Helping Professions

There are several examples of helping professionals who benefit from the study of psychology, even though they may not necessarily be in a psychological field. Educators, occupational therapists, social workers, and religious leaders are a few of these.

Educators can benefit from knowing about developmental psychology, as well as how memory works and how people learn best. Teachers who understand what their students are going through developmentally can modify their teaching style to reflect their students' needs. This can lead to more successful classroom learning goals and higher self-esteem for students. An educator is a person who provides education or instruction. The primary example of this is a school teacher or a college instructor.

Occupational therapists (OTs) are medical professionals who help people overcome physical challenges in order to complete daily or routine tasks. While occupational therapists mostly work with physical challenges, understanding psychological concepts can help them do their job well. Understanding grief and loss, as well as neurological psychology, will be very helpful in this role, as they are helping people navigate a potentially sudden loss of mental or physical ability.

Social workers can work in a wide variety of situations. They work in child protective services, adoption agencies, elder care facilities, food provision programs, substance-use treatment programs, and HIV care. Social workers see and do it all. They work to improve the overall well-being and function of individuals and the community. Understanding a variety of psychological concepts can be extremely helpful when dealing with such a wide variety of needs.

Religious leaders provide a wide variety of services to their communities including leadership, guidance, and hope. It is really helpful for religious leaders to understand psychological principles because they may find themselves with members of their community coming to them for help with spiritual, mental, or even physical issues.

A religious leader is someone who holds some form of authority within a religion or religious place of worship.

Types of Helping Professions in Psychology

Clinical, community, and counseling psychologists use their studies in psychology to directly impact individuals and the community.

Clinical Psychologists

Clinical psychologists work to promote psychological or mental health in both individuals and groups. Often clinical psychologists focus on one group of specific psychological disorders, such as anxiety disorders or depressive disorders. A clinical psychologist is someone who specializes in providing continuing and comprehensive mental and behavioral health care for individuals and groups.

Clinical psychologists work by conducting therapy, doing research on psychological disorders, administering psychological assessments, or providing consultations in various settings. They may be called in to make an assessment during a legal dispute. It is important to note the difference between clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. A clinical psychologist holds a doctorate in psychology, and is highly skilled in providing clinical therapy as well as diagnosing mental disorders. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who holds a doctorate in medicine, and is skilled at prescribing medication to treat mental health disorders.

Counseling Psychologists

Counseling psychologists can offer therapy, but they focus less on severe psychopathology (or mental disorders), and more on common mental health issues and lifestyle adjustments. They emphasize helping clients build skills and tools for dealing with what life can bring, and they often focus on one specific area of need, like coping with anxiety. A counseling psychologist addresses the emotional, social, work, school, and physical health concerns people have at different stages in their lives. They address typical life stresses and more severe issues that people struggle with as individuals or groups.

Counselors can specialize in mental health counseling, marriage and family counseling, or school counseling. Similarly, licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) are able to provide counseling and psychological services to their clients as well. LCSWs and licensed counselors differ in that LCSWs focus on physical and environmental needs as well as providing counseling. Licensed counselors specifically focus on the psychological well-being of their clients.

Community Psychologists

Community psychologists focus on community needs for mental healthcare, instead of focusing on individuals. This often looks like community outreach, education, and preventative measures. A community psychologist uses social, cultural, economic, political, environmental, and even international influences to encourage positive change in physical health, mental health, and self-empowerment at an individual and systemic level.

The Importance of the Helping Professions

Helping professionals are kind of like the glue that holds us together. They are there for our physical and mental health and safety. Without helping professionals, we would not have access to critical social services, education, or resources. Helping professionals are all around us, and it can be easy to forget how much we rely on them as a society.

Imagine a society where there were no helping professionals. No firefighters, no doctors, no nurses, no teachers, no counselors, no physical therapists, no crisis hotlines, and no shelters. No services and help for those in need. No help for you when you're sick, need mental healthcare, or need help finding a job.

It is easy to see the importance of helping professionals when we imagine a world without them!

Different Skills for the Helping Professions

There are six foundational skills that helping professionals should possess:

• A positive view of humankind
• Emotional stability and mental health
• Strong self-care skills
• Intelligence and knowledge of psychological principles
• Creativity and good humor
• Courage

Being a helping professional in psychology takes a lot of education and practical skills. Professional psychologists have to obtain a graduate or doctoral degree. Counselors are state-licensed, and licensure requires a specific number of hours in the field counseling clients, often at least 1,000 hours of practical experience. Clinical psychologists need field experience along with a doctoral degree to establish their own counseling practices and conduct research. Community psychologists need at least a graduate degree or higher, depending on the specific services they want to provide.

Along with knowing a lot about psychological concepts, helping professionals in psychology need to be culturally sensitive and aware. They need to know the ethical principles of their profession and stick to them. They have to be good listeners to empathize well with others. They also need to be able to respond in the event of a crisis. Helping professionals are also trained in therapeutic communication skills including both verbal and non-verbal communication.

Nonverbal Skills

• Eye contact

• Open body posture

• Maintaining attentive silence

• Voice tone

• Appropriate gestures and facial expressions

Verbal Skills

• Skilled encouragers to help others open up
• Open and closed-ended questioning
• Paraphrasing and reflecting
• Summarizing
• Giving feedback and challenges
• Goal-setting

In addition to all these skills, helping professionals need to know how to prevent personal burnout, maintain their professional license, bill insurance, and keep their services safe and confidential for all of their clients.