FACTS THAT MATTER
• Psychology is based on certain basic assumptions. It is generally assumed that psychologists have an interest in:
• People • Abilities • Temperament
• A professional psychologist exhibit a willingness to provide help by using his/her knowledge.
He/she is actively involved in obtaining:
• A client refers to an individual/group/organisation who on his/her own seeks help, guidance or intervention from a psychologist concerning any problem faced by him/her.
Skill is proficiency, facility or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training and experience.
The Webster Dictionary defines it as “possession of the qualities required to do something done.
• American Psychological Association (1973) identified skills essential for professional psychologists, and recommended at least 3 sets of skills:
• Assessment of individual differences
• Behaviour modification skills
• Counselling and guidance skills
• Recognization and application of these skills and competencies have strengthened the foundation and practices of applied psychology in a positive way.
Basic skills or competencies which psychologists have identified for becoming an effective psychologist are:
• General skills • Observational skills • Specific skills
• General skills include personal as well as intellectual skills.
Psychologists as researchers and practitioners do in the field is to pay attention, watch and listen carefully.
A psychologist is like an instrument that absorbs all sources of information from the environment.
• Observational skills:
A psychologist engages in observing various facets of surroundings including people and varying events.
In addition to physical surroundings, a psychologist actively engages in observing people
and their actions. This may include the demographic features (age, gender, stature, race, etc.), ways of dealing and relating with others, the pattern of behaviours in the presence of others, etc.
• Major Approaches Observation:
(i) Naturalistic Observation: Primary way of learning about the way people behave in a given setting.
(ii) Participant Observation: The observer is actively involved in the process of observing by becoming an active member of the setting where the observation takes place.
Specific Skills:
— Core/Basic to the field of psychological service, e.g.,
— Psychologists working in clinical settings need to be trained in various techniques of therapeutic interventions, psychological assessment and counselling.
— Specific skills of competencies are required for a very specialized professional functioning nonetheless, all skill sets do overlap quite a bit.
— Not exclusive to an area.
Specific Skills and Competencies
(a) Communication Skills
(b) Psychological Testing Skills.
(c) Interviewing Skills Counselling
(d) Counselling Skill.
1. It is generally assumed that psychologists have an interest in people, their abilities and temperaments.
2. A psychologist from any field is required to have an interest in other people and exhibits a willingness to provide help by using his/her knowledge of the discipline.
3. Client is a special term, may refer to an individual/group/organization who on his/her own seeks help, guidance or intervention from a psychologist concerning any problem faced by him/her.
4. The term ‘skill’ may be defined as proficiency, facility or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training and experience.
5. Assessment of individual differences, behaviour modification skills, and counselling and guidance skills.
6. How to differentiate between a pseudo-psychologist and a real psychologist:
(a) Professional training
(b) Educational background
(c) Institutional affiliation
(d) Experience in providing service
(e) Training as a researcher
(f) International of certain professional values
(g) Knowledge of tools used by psychologists
7. Research psychologists and applied psychologists. Some psychologists carry out research to propound or investigate theoretical formulations while others are concerned with our daily life activities and behaviour.
8. The basic skills or competencies which psychologists fall into three broad sections, namely,
(a) General Skills, (b) Observational Skills, (c) Specific Skills.
9. Genetic.
10. Specific Skills.
1. Specific skills and competencies are required for a very specialised professional functioning.
2. They are not exclusive to an area.
3. Relevant specific skills and competencies can be classified as follows:
(a) Communication Skills
(i) Speaking
(ii) Active listening
(iii) Body language or non-verbal skills
(b) Psychological Testing Skills
(c) Interviewing Skills
(d) Counselling Skills
(i) Empathy
(ii) Positive
(iii) Authenticity
• The general and specific skills form the core competencies essential for a psychologist to act more responsively and ethically. Before entering any professional arena, it, therefore, becomes pertinent for a psychologist to equip himself/herself with these indispensable competencies.\
• General skills include personal as well as intellectual skills. These skills are essential for all professional psychologists, whether they are working in the field of clinical and health psychology, industrial/organisational, social, educational, or in environmental settings or are acting as consultants.
• Specific skills are core/basic to the field of psychological service. For example, a psychologist working in a clinical setting needs to be trained in various techniques of therapeutic interventions, psychological assessment, and counselling.
• To become an effective psychologist, one needs to have certain characteristics such as competence, integrity, professional and scientific responsibility, respect for people’s rights and dignity, etc.
• Observation skills are basic skills and are used by psychologists as a starting point for providing insight into behaviour. The two major approaches to observation are naturalistic observation and participant observation.
• Interviewing is a process of face-to-face conversation between two or more people that follows a basic guest ion and answer firmly. It proceeds through three stages which include the warm-up (opening stage), the question and answer (the body), and the closing stage.
• Developing the skills of psychological testing is important since tests are important tools used for the assessment of individuals for various purposes. Proper training is required for administration, scoring and interpretation of tests.
• Counselling
Specific skills are core/basic to the psychological service. Psychologists working in clinical settings need to be trained in various techniques of therapeutic interventions, psychological assessment and counselling.
Counselling involves a helping relationship, that includes some are seeking help and someone willing to give help.
The counsellor understands the elements of counselling like responding to all aspects of personality, acceptance of the client’s perception, confidentiality, voluntary nature and verbal and bon-verbal communication.
Counsellors follow the process of counselling. The qualities that are associated with effective counsellors are
(i) Authenticity (ii) Positive regard for others (iii) Ability to empathise and paraphrase.
Prevention seeks to reduce the incidence of new cases of social and emotional problems in the population.
Community Psychology and related community mental health movements try to prevent mental disorders from developing, to seek out, troubled people, to find the social conditions that may be causing human problems and to make available affordable mental health services.
WORDS THAT MATTER
• Applied Psychology: The practical application of what is known about the mind, brain and behaviour as a result of theoretical and experimental psychology.
• Assessment skill: Specific skill of a psychologist to follow systematic testing procedure with an attitude of objectivity, scientific orientation and standardised interpretation.
• Client refers to an individual/group/organisation who on his/her own seeks help, guidance or intervention from a psychologist with respect to any problem faced by him/her.
• Cognitive skill: Ability to understand and process mental faculties.
• Competence: Capability of developing skills.
• Counselling: Counselling is a therapeutic process through which individuals are helped to define goals, make decisions and solve problems related to the personal-social- educational and career concerns.
• The term ‘skill’ may be defined as proficiency, facility or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training and experience.
• General skills are generic in nature and are needed by all psychologists irrespective of their field of specialisation.
• Ethical observation: Awareness of the ethical (Values) standards and codes during observation i.e. respecting privacy of people.
• Naturalistic observation is one of the primary ways of- learning about the way people behave in a given setting.
• Participant observation is the variation of the method of naturalistic observations. Here the observer is actively involved in the process of observing by becoming an active member of the setting where the observation takes place.
• Communication is a conscious or unconscious, intentional or unintentional process in which feelings and ideas are expressed as verbal and/or non-verbal message that are sent, received and comprehended.
• Interpersonal awareness: Ability to examine and considering one’s own motives, attitudes behaviours and ability to be sensitive to one’s own behaviour and others.
• Intervention and consultation skills: Skill of helper to deal with the client establishing therapeutic relationship, providing positive regard and choosing right technique to treat the problem.
• Intrapersonal communication involves communication with yourself. It encompasses such activities as thought processes, personal decision of making and focusing oneself.
• Interpersonal communication refers to the communication that takes place between two or more persons who establish a communication relationship.
• Public communication is characterised by a speaker sending a message to an audience.
• Speech only a biological act; the utterance of sound, possibly the use of language.
• Paraphrasing allows you to understand how much he/she understood of what was communicated.
• The consistency between current and past patterns of behaviour, as well as harmony between verbal and non-verbal communication, is termed as congruency in communication.
• Psychological assessment is a basic competency required by psychologists. It is systematic testing procedures involving objectivity, standardisation and systematic procedures.
• An interview refers purposeful conversation between two or more people that follows a basic question and answer1 format.
