Education is not the filling of a pot but the lighting of a fire. —W.B. Yeats
Choosing a career path can be confusing but with educationalists helping out, a decision becomes evident soon. Three teaching professionals from Kateel Ashok Pai Memorial Institute of Allied Health Sciences, Shivamogga briefly interacted with 50 II BA students of Psychology on 28th September 2022 from 3 pm to 3:30 pm in the Psychology Laboratory. The resource persons were Dr. Archana Bhat Kallahala, Principal, KAPMI, Kuvempu University, Dr. Sandhya Kaveri, Department of Social Work and Dr. KT Shwetha, PG Department of Psychology, KAPMI, Kuvempu University.
Dr. Sandhya Kaveri, Department of Social Work mentioned that the key to success is to find a career that aligns with one’s personal and professional goals. Enumerating an array of potential careers with a psychology degree including jobs in counselling, marketing, NGOs, Rehabilitation centres, Old age homes and social work, she spoke of career paths like a clinical psychologist, grief counsellor, forensic psychologist, life coach, school counsellor, applied behavioural analyst (ABA), cognitive behavioural therapist, marriage counsellor, family therapist, creative arts therapist etc. For all of this, she mentioned that a master’s degree in psychology, as well as professional certification and licensure are mandatory. She mentioned the programmes offered at Post Graduate Department of Psychology, KAPMI, Kuvempu University.
Dr. Archana Bhat mentioned that as per last year’s statistics, there was a need for over 20,000 clinical psychologists in India. Argentina has the highest number of psychologists and India has a mere 900 clinical psychologists practicing mental healthcare services, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Dr. Archana stressed that Applied Psychology has an even more immense scope as Clinical Psychology, Educational Psychology, Industrial Psychology and Criminal Psychology are gaining greater focus. Typical work settings include hospitals, schools, universities, prisons, mental health clinics and private practices. There are also several sub-specialty areas within Clinical Psychology, including Health Psychology and Neuropsychology.
Dr. KT Shwetha, Director of Anirvedha- Resource Centre for Psychological Well-being, Mangaluru shared her happiness that students from School of Social Work have evinced interest in internship at her Centre since years. She mentioned that the primary purpose of doing an academic internship is to better understand the theories, ideas and practices of the subject matter of Psychology by actively engaging in a "hands-on," work-based, learning experience. Internships are beneficial as one gains valuable work experience, hones skills and helps to explore a career path too. Dr. KT Shwetha accentuated that an internship is a proven way to build up one’s resume. She invited all to Anirvedha- a fully-fledged centre for psychological assessment, therapy and training that aims to work towards positive mental health.
