There are so many different subfields of psychology, all of which offer such great help to patients with a wide spectrum of disorders, disabilities, and different life experiences. The basic definition of psychology is “the study of mental processes and behavior to describe, predict, explain, control, change, and influence us as humans”. Before this paper, I had no idea how many there were. There are hundreds of different subfields in psychology. The three that caught my eye were military psychologists, clinical psychologists, and consumer psychologists. All three of these subfields play an important role in the day-to-day lives of people. A military psychologist specializes mainly in service members but their families as well.
I actually have experience with this as I myself am an army veteran. Military psychologists play a huge role in many service members’ lives, whether a soldier is going through a rough patch with their significant other, to dealing with the horrors of war. I saw firsthand so many of my colleagues go to speak with military psychologists. They have such a unique job because they work with soldiers who have seen loads of combat as well as privates fresh out of basic training. However, all of their patients share one thing, they decided that at any given point if their country asked them, they would lay down their lives to protect our freedoms. A degree of selflessness that can really present a challenge to identifying problems that a normal psychologist would not have to face. That is definitely quite a change in the demographic that most psychologists treat.
Military psychologists fall under two major perspectives, the humanistic perspective as well as introspection. Humanistic because there is a definite focus on “what motivates a person, how are they growing as a person, and what motivates them to have positive behavior”. Soldiers are accustomed to discipline and setting their sights on goals which makes it easier to relate to them. Introspection because we have all led a different life from one another, therefore “people have different life experiences”. Just like the military, no two people are the same. Clinical psychologists are the boots on the ground. They are in the trenches so to speak, at the very forefront of psychology. They see patients on a daily basis and are responsible for helping patients with behavioral, emotional, and mental disorders.
