Table of ContentsIntroductionRole DescriptionPersonal CompetencyPersonal AttributeWorks CitedIntroductionFinding the “right” career is extremely crucial. A recent study by McCrindle Research (2018) showed that after leaving school, the average Australian will have 17 employers between the age of 18 and retirement. “Searching for a job is no longer just about employment, but rather about finding a calling,” as Berg, Grant, and Johnson (2010) state. Additionally, individuals seek careers that provide meaning and enable them to realize their core personal values. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to determine whether choosing educational and developmental psychology is the “right” profession based on my skills and attributes. and values. Because finding the specialty that suits you when choosing a career is important for the reasons mentioned above. A brief overview of the EDP will be provided, following the self-assessment on how my skills, attributes and values ​​match my chosen profession. To practice as a psychologist in any Australian state or territory, one must be registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA), which is the national board for psychologists. PsyBA is supported by the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Agency (AHPRA). AHPRA implements the national registration and accreditation system. In addition, AHPRA registration requires psychologists to (a) hold accredited qualifications, (b) follow the APS (Australian Psychological Society) code of ethics and guidelines, (c) engage in regular continuing professional development (CPD), (d) go through a formal programme. process of auditing their professional practice and CPD (APS, 2018a). It is also important to be aware that school psychologists must additionally consider federal, state, and local laws governing their practice and advocacy practices. Role Description Educational and Developmental Psychologists (EDPs) work with individuals/groups across the lifespan. and are particularly concerned with the development and learning of individuals. Areas of practice include early childhood, school years, adolescents, adulthood, and late adulthood. Like other psychologists, EDPs identify, assess, report, and diagnose psychological problems. Their role in particular involves: designing and evaluating programs and interventions, advising, researching, developing the program and consulting with individuals and groups. Additionally, they design training and professional development programs. By specializing in educational and developmental psychology, I want to become a school psychologist. Therefore, the job description provided below indicates where the profession falls, as well as the roles, duties, and purpose of school psychologists. School psychologists work as practitioners, researchers or administrators. The majority of school psychologists work in educational settings. Other locations include clinics, community organizations, hospitals and universities. School psychologists provide "direct" support such as psychological treatment and counseling (e.g., to address emotional and social problems), psychological assessments (administration and interpretation of tests, such as cognitive functioning), assessments behavioral (for example, observation of the student in a classroom),psychological or educational assessment (for example, assessing the child's learning progress in accordance with the school curriculum). An important role of school psychologists involves "indirect service" which provides support indirectly through consultation with teachers, parents, guardians or other stakeholders. School psychologists are also committed to designing school-wide preventative programs for students who do not need direct or indirect support. This includes, but is not limited to, information sessions for teachers and parents, implementation of anti-bullying programs or crisis intervention strategies. The duties and roles of a psychologist aim to promote the creation and maintenance of a supportive, friendly and helpful learning environment. As noted above, this is done by encouraging learning, socialization and good mental health. In cases where a psychologist is unable to meet the child's needs, he or she refers the child to external resources or agencies, which will help the student and the school realize their full potential. Personal Skills Having effective communication skills as a psychologist is one of them. of the most important aspects in a psychologist-client relationship. School psychologists interact not only with students, but also with teachers, school authorities and parents. Therefore, it requires working within a framework that involves communicating with a wide range of audiences to negotiate issues/conflicts, discuss shared decisions, and facilitate change. In order to fulfill this requirement, one must understand what is involved in applying effective communication skills. Active listening, concentration, self-disclosure, paraphrasing and summarizing, questioning, observation, participation, empathy as well as understanding non-verbal communication (i.e. body language), are all elements of effective communication . In other words, it is about how one reacts to what the client says, shows and implies, which requires careful observation, careful listening and accurate interpretation of the client's feelings. Additionally, research has shown that doctors with adequate communication skills have a better impact on mental health outcomes; such as reducing emotional distress in their patients. Below is a personal example that shows how effective communication plays a crucial role in a counseling/psychology session with clients. In my role as a school counselor, one of the students sought help due to personal and family issues. She was determined to start working, but she was worried about how work might affect her studies and how her parents would react to her decision. As part of the counseling, she briefly mentioned why she wanted to work; however, she indicated that she did not want to cause emotional conflict in her parents. In this context, she needed help/advice to find a solution that would allow her to tell her parents about it, without causing potential arguments or emotional pain. As a counselor, I validated her feelings. Then, with the student, we explored all available options and at the end of the counseling session, she was still quite emotionally affected by her decision and its possible consequences. At this time, self-disclosure was used as a strategy to help the student move toward a more positive mindset. I revealed a similar personal incident, in which I also feltupset by the outcome of my decision. The personal example I gave was: I had wanted to volunteer for the first time in year 12, and my tutor agreed to the idea of ​​volunteering on the condition that I only started after the end of the 12th grade. It took patience and effort, but my tutor understood my decision and we agreed on a “win-win” situation. As discussed with my tutor, I started volunteering when I started university. At the end of the counseling session, the student felt comfortable with the personal experience I had provided and was able to move forward with her decision without any form of visible distress. By sharing a personal experience, the student felt she was not alone and had an impact on reducing her stress. This was one of the examples that showed the effectiveness of communication skills (such as listening, concentration and self-disclosure (also used as a means of building relationships and trust)). Personal Attributes Flexibility is another important factor in meeting customer needs. For example, using only client-centered therapy with all clients cannot meet all their needs, as Parker (1987) explains, but as a psychologist one must instead relax one's approach. This has also been observed by me, in my role as a school counselor, as noted below. During my role as an advisor, I was approached by a student who wanted to seek help with some personal questions. This was an interesting case because she came for help but wasn't willing to share what the problem was. In the first session, I was talking mainly because she wasn't sharing any information. Additionally, to every question I asked, she responded, “I’m not comfortable talking about that.” After having a few sessions with the student, I realized that she had a very “introverted and reserved” personality, which prevented her from expressing her needs. She was very calm but willing to receive help. Knowing that the student had this type of personality, I used a different approach to help him. I started talking about more general topics to give him a comfortable environment. Worksheets were used to uncover the problem because the student was more receptive to worksheets than verbal communication. It was a way for me to adapt and change the way I meet the needs of my clients. This is important because sticking to a predetermined approach or strategy is not effective when different clients require a different approach to counseling or therapy. According to Ramarajan and Thomas (2010), due to the increase in diversity in recent decades, members of minority or disadvantaged groups are less stigmatized and enjoy more equal outcomes within organizations. For example, Kalev and colleagues (2006) found that the percentage of white women, black women, and black men has increased enormously over the past two decades due to changing industries. This has been observed in organizations, which have notably structured their work around the promotion of diversity. In another study by Beckman and Phillips (2005), which focused on women partners in the legal sector and found that the proportion of women partners in the legal sector is growing, due to the diversity of genres. Additionally, Ramarajan and Thomas (2011) stated that increased diversity within organizations is a result of increasing numbers of members from disadvantaged and stigmatized groups. He »., 16(4), 36-40.