Archive for October, 2009

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Forensic Psychologist

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Since forensic psychology is the mixture of the legal system as well as psychology, then a Forensic Psychologist job is to give legal aide concerning psychology to the legal system or basically to the courts and are usually in contact with lawyers, Judges and others who deal with legal aide and they are usually asked to testify in court about certain matters that they are professionally good at.

Forensic psychology is one of the branches of psychology so if you are interested in learning how to be a psychologist for the justice system then this is the course. As an undergraduate in forensic psychology you will get to learn psychology as a whole then as you progress on you will get into the clinical or counseling part of psychology which is also important to help you reach your goal.

Once you are done with your first degree you can now specialize in forensic field and expect this to go on for another seven years. Once this is all done you can now get a good job as a forensic psychologist and you can become an expertise witness for the legal system and the more cases you handle with great success the more credible a witness you become.

Forensic psychologist ensures that no abuse of power comes about in the legal system and also makes sure that the facts given in court are credible and are fact not some fictitious idea someone has just cooked up. As a forensic psychologist you must insure that all cases come to a civil and righteous end and no false information is involved in a case. You can also check to see if the accused is of the right mind to be tried in court.

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What is the Difference Between Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy?

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

In a report published in the January 1994 issue of Psychological Science a review of 42 different studies comparing professionally licensed and paraprofessional therapists determined that professional psychotherapy is no more helpful than paraprofessional counseling. In fact, 12 studies found that paraprofessionals such as pastors are more successful than psychologists and psychiatrists in meeting the counseling needs of distressed individuals. Studies since that time have not dispelled these findings and a June 2005 article in Psychology Today confirms that individuals are abandoning psychotherapy and flocking to Christian counseling.

But, what is the difference between Christian counseling and psychotherapy? More importantly, is the Bible and Christian counseling sufficient for the counseling needs of individuals in today’s complex, modern society?

At their core, the difference between Christian counseling and psychotherapy is simple. Psychotherapy is based on scientific studies and therapies formed to address the findings of such studies. Christian counseling is based on the teachings of the Bible and, specifically, faith in Jesus Christ as described in the Bible. This raises the question: Is the Bible, a 2000 year old text, sufficient for counseling in today’s complex, modern society?

Is the Bible Sufficient for Counseling?

One good place to examine this question is the Bible. [You may question whether the Bible is the proper authority to reference to determine if it is sufficient for counseling, but referencing the Bible to determine if it is sufficient for counseling is no different than referencing a particular book on psychology to determine if it states it is sufficient for psychotherapy.] Does the Bible teach that it is sufficient for counseling?

Second Timothy 3:16-17 provides guidance as follows:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (New Living Translation)

This Bible passage provides us with the following insights:

·   All Scripture is inspired (or breathed) by God;

·   All Scripture (not just parts of it) is useful to teach us what is true;

·   All Scripture is useful to make us realize what is wrong in our lives (which is the reason most individuals seek counseling);

·   All Scripture is useful to correct us when we are wrong;

·   All Scripture is useful to teach us to do what is right; and

·   All Scripture prepares and equips us to do every good work.

Similarly, Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, provides a parable that illustrates how individuals can survive the storms and turbulence of life:

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. Matthew 7:24-27

Jesus makes it clear in this parable that those who apply God’s Word to life will be able to withstand its storms. Those individuals who do not follow the teaching contained in God’s Word do not have a solid foundation and will find life collapsing around them when they suffer the storms of life.

The Bible teaches that man is a moral being with the ability to know and choose between right and wrong (Joshua 24:15; Deuteronomy 30:19). God is the One who determines right and wrong (Genesis 2:16-17; John 12:48; Romans 2:16). As a moral being with the ability to choose between right and wrong, man is responsible for his choices and behavior (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 14:12).

Additionally, the Bible explains how being without sin is man’s “normal” state of intended existence (Genesis 1:27, 31). Man lost his normality when he sinned (Genesis 3:6-19) and the image of God in all people has been marred by the curse of sin (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-19). In fact, all humanity is sin cursed and, as a result, all people are abnormal (Romans 3:23).

The only normal person who lived his entire life free of sin is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:15). Normality is learned through studying Jesus Christ, not through the research of sin cursed people studying other sin cursed people.

The way to become more normal is to become more like Jesus Christ, which is the goal for every Christian (2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:9; Romans 8:28-29). The manner of change from abnormal to normal is also described by the Bible (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10).

Thus, from God’s Word pastoral counselors have specific time tested facts instead of a theory of psychotherapy. The Bible is filled with actual instances of abnormal behavior and God’s specific response to such abnormal behavior. The Bible is also filled with instruction on how to change from abnormal to normal and live a normal life.

In other words, the Bible provides solutions to the issues and problems man faces every day (Romans 10:9-10; Romans 6:17; Luke 10:27). In addition to providing solutions and a process for change (Ephesians 4:22-24), Scriptures describe life resulting from applying the solutions it provides.

So, What is the Difference between Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy?

The answer is simple: Psychotherapy is based on scientific theory and Christian counseling is based on Biblical fact. Biblical counseling is the oldest and most reliable form of counseling in the world dating back thousands of years. Christian counseling has been consistently proven to work – psychotherapy has not. Moreover, Biblical counseling is less expensive than psychotherapy, usually requires only two to six months of weekly sessions, and seldom involves prescribing expensive pharmaceutical drugs.

For more about Christian counseling go to www.lifepointecounseling.com.

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Counseling Careers Mean Stability and Opportunity

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

A recent report lists professionals in counseling and social work as the eighth most sought after U.S. job candidates, enjoying a median annual salary of between $35,000 and $45,000. This unique fusion of grounded scientific knowledge and passionate human interaction is fast becoming the career opportunity of the new decade.

Counseling Career Profile
Counseling is a blanket career title that represents a variety of specialty categories. Counselors traditionally work with patients to identify, manage, and treat the mental, emotional, and psychological challenges they face daily. Just a few of the problems counselors seek to rectify include:
• addictions and substance abuse
• family, parenting, and marital problems
• suicidal tendencies
• stress management
• self-esteem issues
• aging and mental and emotional health

Typical working environments for counselors include hospitals, medical facilities, schools, or clinics. They may work for a professional group or in a self-employed capacity. Some continue on to become researchers and teachers, preparing the next generation of counselors for service to the community.

A Needed Career
To discover the unique benefit of choosing counseling as your profession, you need look no further than at a 2006 National College Health Assessment survey. This survey, conducted on U.S. campuses, reported that 35 percent of students reported feeling functionally depressed at least once in the previous year and that about 10 percent of those surveyed seriously considered suicide. In short, the demand for counselors may be far greater than expected.

Inside Higher Ed, a Web site dedicated to trends on global college campuses, echoes this sentiment. It cites a report by the American College Counseling Association that placed the number of college counseling directors at 91.5 percent who have noticed an increase in students with severe psychological problems. And that’s just at the collegiate level. The truth is that qualified counselors are needed in virtually every age and socioeconomic category.

Counseling in the Numbers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, counselors held about 635,000 jobs in 2006. Overall employment of counselors is projected to grow by 21 percent for all specialties combined through 2016. The hot counseling niches for employment opportunity through 2016 should be substance abuse and behavioral disorders at 34 percent growth, mental health at 30 percent, and marriage and family therapy at 30 percent.

As with most service industries, annual salaries for counselors vary by experience and specialty. In 2007, these specialties earned the following annual median salaries:
• Substance abuse and behavioral disorder: $35,580
• Mental health counselors: $36,000
• Marriage and family therapists: $43,600
• Educational, vocational, and school counselors: $49,450

To Enter This Career Path
Potential counselors usually complete a highly selective process of education and licensure that meets standards established by state and federal governments. An undergraduate degree in counseling, psychology, or similar humanities-based field of study can be the first step, followed by a master’s degree in a complimentary field. Once your graduate work has begun, you’ll typically choose an area of specialty such as elementary or secondary school counseling, rehabilitation counseling, or career counseling. In the end, certification with the National Board for Certified Counselors is also highly recommended.

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Mental health: the weight of its own

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Most people always neglect their mental healths; we are always in line and are concerned with the wounds, diseases, or the physical pain that we encounter. We neglect that aside from our physical health there is also an existing mental health that we have to watch out for.

Mental health diseases of its form are generally curable, but it will take a lot of patience and courage to continue and to ritually take the medications prescribed by the doctor though there are some health supplements that may also help. Aside from the medication that will help us cure the disease, of course factors affecting the mind and the emotions are always there lingering with us, memories that can affect and change the mental status of the person. Rehabilitation therapy is also helpful to resolve this problem and working together with the medication can be a great success.

There are basic symptoms of mental health disorders that can be seen in a person, which if neglected will just result in a serious mental health illness. One of this and the most common form is depression. All of us have experienced depression from different views in life, at the job, family, friends, things, achievements, studies, love life etc. It can be seen at every person to be depressed once at their lives, but depression longer than the usual may be a great sign for a clinical mental disorder. Depression taking minimum of 6 months and taking up to years can be a mental disorder we have to pay attention or else various factors can lead this to irreversible brain malfunction.

Taking a deep and very informative patient and mental health education is a must and is very important to all of us. Not only to know the diseases around it but also for us to know the identifiable factors that we can observe in one person. Let us always remember that whatever your creed, race, sex and nationality you are not immunized and protected against mental health illnesses. So you should be better be aware than sorry. The early the diagnosis of such diseases the good the prognosis is to be able to return to its previous mental health status.

These are such important aspects that we have to take care as with our physical health and should never be out focused and just be ignored.

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How Should a Forensic Psychologist Handle Evidence in a Criminal Proceeding?

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

The field of psychology is very wide and you will find that many people like to have careers in these different branches of psychology. One of the more popular areas of interest is that of forensic psychology. To be successful in this area of psychology you should first have an understanding of what a forensic psychologist is and what they need to do.

To state very briefly a forensic psychologist is a psychologist who is trained to give accurate facts to the various legal branches that are looking for facts that are applicable to the cases that they are working on. With the information that a forensic psychologist will be able to give, the different branches of the law can make sure that no abuse of power occurs.

For the various individuals who wish to become forensic psychologists there are many things that they will need to learn. During their undergraduate years the person who wants to become a forensic psychologist should learn all areas of psychology. They must also be prepared to work hard in all aspects of their study.

Whilst learning clinical or counseling psychology is an option, taking this course of study will enhance your base of knowledge and give you the grounding that may be needed to deal with the various situations that could arise for a forensic psychologist. Once the doctorate level of study has finished, you should begin studying to become a forensic psychologist.

In general you can expect the study period to continue for about 7 or so years. After this period has finished and you have some experience in dealing with people and their behavioral patterns, you can then begin to specialize in forensic psychology. The knowledge that you can get in these areas of study will let you gain a good job in the highly competitive field of forensic psychology.

Once you have become a forensic psychologist you have the responsibility of making sure that the facts in various cases that you are handling are dealt with in a manner that will help justice be served. Even if you are not giving evidence in a criminal proceeding it is still important that a forensic psychologist have all of the facts on hand. They should be able to give these facts clearly and accurately.

As a forensic psychologist you can see the best way for civil matters to brought to a close. The information that you prepare and present, are the final arbitrators of matters that would otherwise take the courts long years to determine.

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