What are some of the majorspecialty areas of psychology?
Psychologistsfrequently choose to specialize in a subfield that is focused on a particular subject within psychology.
Many of these specialty areas in psychology require graduate study in a given area of interest.
Willie B. Thomas / Taxi / Getty Images
Learn more about some of the largest subfields in which psychologists work.
Let’s take a closer look at a few major specialty areas in psychology.
Typical work options include hospitals, schools, universities, prisons, mental health clinics, and private practices.
Work prefs can vary based on the particular population that a clinician is specialized in working with.
There are a number of sub-specialty areas in clinical psychology includinghealth psychology, neuropsychology, and geropsychology.
Other clinical psychologists might work in a mental health center to counsel children recovering from abuse and trauma.
Counseling psychology focuses on providing therapeutic treatments to clients who experience a wide variety of symptoms.
They often work at universities, private research centers, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
Forensic psychologists are often involved in custody disputes, insurance claims, and lawsuits.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology focuses on workplace behavior.
School psychologists provide psychological and academic assessments and arrange interventions and support for students as needed.
They also work with teachers and parents to develop techniques to deal with home and classroom behavior.
Prominent areas of study includegroup behavior,leadership,attitudes, and perception.
These professionals often work in universities or may be sought by organizations focusing on diversity, equity, andinclusion.
Some will get into politics and policy development.
They can also engage in market research, organizational management,conflict resolution, and other applied areas.
If you are interested in exploring your career options in the field of psychology, there are infinite possibilities.
Pappas S.2022 Trends Report: The rise of psychologists.Monitor on Psychology.
2022;53(1):44.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Occupational Outlook Handbook: Psychologists.
American Psychological Association.Counseling psychology.
American Psychological Association.Understanding forensic and public service psychology.
American Psychological Association.Understanding human factors and engineering psychology.
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.What are SIOP and I-O psychologists?
American Psychological Association.Industrial and organizational psychology.
National Association of School Psychologists.What are school psychologists?
American Psychological Association.All about social psychology.
