Understanding the Role and Impact of Psychologists: A Comprehensive Analysis in Social Science

In this analysis we will discuss about social science and below are the summaries point:- A psychologist studies physiological states, cognitive processes, and behavior, observing how individuals relate to each other and their environment. The essay aims to analyze the foundation, development, and changes in the psychologist profession, including policy, regulation, job market, and societal impact. Psychologists assess and treat mental health issues, offering services such as evaluation, therapy, and support for various psychological disorders.

Running head: SOCIAL SCIENCE
Social Science
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIAL SCIENCE
A psychologist refers to an individual who studies normal as well as abnormal
physiological states, emotional, cognitive as well as social processes along with behavior of an
individual by observing, interpreting as well as interpreting how individuals relate to one another
as well as their environment. Generally, in order to pursue this degree a person needs to have a
graduation degree in psychology. However, in majority of the jurisdiction, members of other
behavioral professions like counselors as well as psychologists also possess the potential to
evaluate, diagnose, treat, and study psychological processes. The aim of this essay is to
demonstrate knowledge , understanding and critical analysis of the foundation, development and
changes of the psychologist profession, with particular focus on Policy and Regulation,
occupational closure strategies, status and power position in relation to the mentioned profession,
the job market and society. The paper will discuss the chief duties, responsibilities and tasks of
the mentioned occupation along with the types of services provided by it. Along with this, a
brief analysis of literatures relevant to the psychologist profession will also be performed
focusing on the historical emergence as well as development of the profession. This will be
followed by a critical analysis of the relevant policies as well as legislation associated with the
psychologist profession in UK. Along with this, the impact of the emergence, development and
changes of the chosen profession on the society will also be discussed. Finally the success and
downfalls evidenced by the psychologist profession will be discussed in this report.
In this paragraph description of the chief duties, responsibilities and task of the
psychologist profession along with the type of service provided by the psychologists in UK has
been discussed. The profession of a psychologist can be segregated into several types that
include child psychologist, clinical philologist, counseling psychologist, forensic Psychologist
and others. However, the chief duty of a psychologist operating at any of the above mentioned

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field is to assess the mental state of the client and provide him or her with short term help.
According to Swinsonand Stringer 2018, the chief role of the psychologist is to assess, diagnose
as well as treat physiological issues or behavioral dysfunction resulting from or is associated
with both physical and mental health. Their chief responsibilities are to eliminate psychological
issues of the patient through proper assessment, goal setting and therapy. The chief services
provided by the mentioned occupational group include evaluation as well as treatment for
attention or behavior related issues, academic difficulties or developmental disorders including
autism, social and emotional difficulties, including depression and anxiety.
In this paragraph, analysis of literatures relevant to the psychologist profession has been
performed focusing on the historical emergence as well as development of the profession. When
it comes to the history of the psychologist profession, philosophical interest in the human mind
as well as behavior dates back to the ancient civilization of Persia, Greece, china, India and
Egypt. According to Farrell and Woods (2017) till the 1870s psychology was considered to be
the part of philosophy. According to Tod and Eubank (2017) Psychology first got developed as
an independent scientific discipline In Germany and United state. Wilhelm Wundt, in
Leipzig Germany was the 1st individual who founded a laboratory dedicated exclusively to
psychological research. Tsahaeva et al. (2016) stated that, Wundt was also the first individual
who referred himself as a psychologist. The profession of psychologist chiefly emerged in order
to treat individuals who were suffering from psychological issues and demonstrating unusual
behaviors. According to Brennan and Houde (2017) prior to the emergence of the mentioned
profession, individuals with psychological disorders were kept social isolated and was
discriminated by the society. As a result of this, a good number of individuals suffering from
psychological issues have lost their life. The mentioned profession was developed to eliminate

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the emerging social issue. Teo (2015) stated that the gradual development of the study of human
psychology can be considered as a major reason behind the emergence of the operational group.
In the 1890’s, Sigmund Freudian eminent psychologist had formulated his theory on
psychoanalysis. Psychology was divided into two chief schools namely functionalism,
psychoanalysis and structuralism and functionalism. This professional field within a very limited
time period gained attention in the society. However, initially a social stigma was associated with
the professions and individuals who used to take psychological help were treated differently in
UK. However with the emergence of time, the thought process of the society has got changed to
a great extent.
In this paragraph, critical analysis of the policy and legislation associated with the
profession of psychologist has been performed. When it comes to the profession of a
psychologist, he or she needs to focus on the four principles of ethics that includes respect,
competence, responsibility and integrity. Each of these principles is described by a set of key
values along with a set of standards that needs to be followed by any psychologists exercising
this profession in UK. As a psychologist it is highly crucial for an individual to maintain the
confidentiality of the healthcare service users. The information shared by the health care service
users to the psychologist should not be shared with unauthorized individual or sources. Secondly,
before initiating a particular therapy it is highly crucial for the psychologist to proceed with the
consent of the patients as well as their family members. When it comes to the legal
considerations associated with the profession associated with the mentioned profession three
chief legislation includes Data Protection Act 1998, Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Health and
Safety at Work Act 1974 (Bps.org.uk. 2019). According to the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct
along with the HCPC Standards of Proficiency, psychologists needs to value the development as

4SOCIAL SCIENCE
well as maintenance of high standards of competence in their practice as well as the one
significance of working within the recognized limits of their knowledge, skill, training, education
as well as experience (Bps.org.uk 2019).
In this paragraph the impact of the mentioned profession on the society has been
discussed. According to Houde (2017) in this era of increasing psychology disorder in UK, the
profession of psychologists plays a major role in the society. Psychology is considered to be the
study of the relationship between mental processes as well as behavior or the science of behavior
in the whole process. Considering the fact that the society is facing disasters both man-made and
natural, this situation exposes individuals into a huge amount of psychological as well as
psychological suffering. Challenges in day to day life situations that include relationships,
psychological disorders, bereavement as well as choosing career can affect any individual in the
society. Therefore, psychologists are required to help individuals bounce back to their normal
life functioning.
Considering the increasing psychological issues in UK, the psychologist profession in
UK is found immense demand in this era. According to Farrell and Woods (2017) in the field of
psychology Engineering psychology and clinical psychology is considered to be currently
amongst the top highest paying job in UK. The job of engineering psychologists is to focus on
enhancing the machinery, technology and workplace environment in order to increase the human
behavior. This field of the mentioned occupation group has gained huge demand due to the high
competiveness in business industries in UK. Clinical psychologist profession has also achieved
success in this era due to high amount of psychological issues In the nation. According to a
recent survey, one out of four four people in the UK experience a psychological health issue each
year and one in six in England report experiencing a ordinary mental health issue (Tsahaeva et

5SOCIAL SCIENCE
al. 2016). The downfall period for this profession was during the 80s and 90s. During the
mentioned time period, Social stigma related to seeking psychological health services was the
perception that an individual who opt for psychological treatment or is diagnosed with a mental
health concern, such as depression, is undesirable or socially unacceptable.
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the profession has come a long way
and have experienced both criticism as well as success. However, in this era of increasing
psychological issues, it is highly crucial to well maintain the mentioned occupational group. In
the following paragraph, recommendation to maintain and develop the psychologist profession
has been discussed.
1. Considering the fact that instead of the policies and procedures mentioned in the
paper, a good number of cases are evidenced where the privacy and confidentiality of
the health care service users has been breached, it is highly crucial for both the local
and federal government to impose strict legislation so that organizations can impose
immediate action in order to deal with the issues (Brennan and Houde 2017).
2. Each and every health organizations should be compelled to provide their
professionals with effective training in order to enhance as well as maintain their
skill in the mentioned profession.
3. Along with this, regular monitoring and evaluation of the training is also required in
order to ensure high quality services to the patients.

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Reference List
Bps.org.uk., 2019. BPS Code of Human Research Ethics (2nd edition, 2014) | BPS. [online]
Bps.org.uk. Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-human-research-
ethics-2nd-edition-2014 [Accessed 13 Mar. 2019].
Bps.org.uk., 2019. Practice guidlines. [online] Available at:
https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/bps.org.uk/files/Policy/Policy%20-%20Files/BPS%20Practice
%20Guidelines%20(Third%20Edition).pdf [Accessed 13 Mar. 2019].
Brennan, J.F. and Houde, K.A., 2017. History and systems of psychology. Cambridge University
Press.
Farrell, P. and Woods, K., 2017. Consultation and the Role of the School Psychologist. The
International Handbook of Consultation in Educational Settings, pp.217.
Swinson, J. and Stringer, P., 2018. How to become an educational psychologist. Routledge.
Teo, T., 2015. Critical psychology: A geography of intellectual engagement and
resistance. American Psychologist, 70(3), pp.243.
Tod, D. and Eubank, M., 2017. How to Become a Sport and Exercise Psychologist. Routledge.
Tsahaeva, A.A., Aminova, J.K., Aminov, U.K., Gasanova, P.G. and Daudova, D.M., 2016.
Emotional burn-out of the young psychologist while performing job functions. European Journal
of Natural History, (3), pp.136-139.