Occupational fields of psychologists
The job market for psychologists is extremely diverse. More than half of all psychologists work in the field of clinical psychology and psychotherapy (e.g., in their own practice, in general hospitals, psychiatric, psychotherapeutic or psychosomatic clinics and outpatient clinics, in rehabilitation clinics, counseling centers, addiction support facilities or in care for the disabled and elderly). Psychologists prepare diagnoses and expert reports, carry out psychological therapies and work on health promotion programs (for example, stress management). They support patients with chronic illnesses, design measures for rehabilitation after accidents and heart attacks, or care for trauma victims. In addition, clinical and educational psychologists counsel, among others, the long-term unemployed, migrants, conspicuous youth or drug addicts.
Psychologists in the field of work, industrial and organizational psychology work primarily in commercial enterprises, but also in government agencies or the German armed forces. Their tasks include analyzing work processes in organizations and companies, selecting employees, conducting training courses and developing methods of personnel management. Another area of work is in the field of social and occupational medicine, for example in the prevention of workplace-related health impairments (occupational health).
Psychologists also work in the penal system and prepare expert reports for court proceedings. Traffic psychologists examine people's fitness to drive or work on the design of road traffic in order to reduce the risk of accidents. Opinion research institutes and specialist publishers also employ psychologists. Educational psychologists work in the school psychology service of the federal states, in children's and young people's homes, and also in family, study, health and educational counseling. Relatively new is the field of media and leisure psychology, in which, for example, the effects of television consumption or people's leisure behavior are studied.
Last but not least, a growing number of psychologists are active in science and research at universities and research institutions such as Max Planck Institutes, where the ability and willingness to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration is increasingly in demand, e.g., in working groups in which psychologists conduct research together with brain researchers, neurologists, psychiatrists, and neurobiologists.
A large proportion of graduates who have obtained their psychology diploma or master's degree take part in further training measures to acquire special qualifications for specific fields of application. For example, after graduation, many clinical psychologists complete several years of additional training to become 'psychological psychotherapists' in order to obtain a license to practice medicine for the independent diagnosis and therapy of people with psychological problems and disorders. The additional training to become a psychological psychotherapist has been regulated by law since 1999 and is conducted at state-approved university and non-university training institutes for a fee. In addition to a one-year psychiatric training year, this course includes 4200 hours of training in theory and practice and concludes with a state examination. At the TUD, this additional training is offered by the Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. There is also special training to become a psychotherapist for children and adolescents.