How important it is to have excellent general awareness to become a Psychologist?

Hi There,

General awareness is a necessity in any field, whether you are working or you at home. One must be aware of their surroundings and what all is happening there.

But as a Psychologists, whereby you are going to deal with the mental health of the client, general awareness is a must.
More importantly, you need to be aware of issues that are happening and remedies suggested by the government institutes or courts.

Also you should be aware of the helplines available incase you would have to refer a client.
Be aware also of how other therapists are dealing with a similar kind of case.
So joining a group of clinicians and keeping aware of the discussions is important. Sometimes keeping the case anonymous, you can ask for help too in dealing with the clients.

Also as apart of a casual discussion with the client which is also a part of the therapy, you need to be aware of whats happening.

Hope this helps.

Wish you good luck.............

Dear Aspirant,

why-is-the-study-of-psychology-important_b3d92494-1b55-4cc1-8c8c-762cbe0740cd.jpg1400x788 176 KB

Thanks for posting your query at www.careerguide.com. I am sure your question is answered by experts a but I am trying to offer you alternate perspective to your concern.

You asked, How important it is to have excellent general awareness to become a Psychologist? What do you mean by "general awareness"?

I divide general awareness in two parts, self-awareness and awareness of outer world. Both are important for psychologists. "Self-awareness" is understanding self. It is about having a clear perception of your strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions. Self-awareness allows us to understand other people, how they perceive us, our attitude and our responses to them in the moment.

"General Awareness of outer world" is understanding culturally valued knowledge available in the society. Being a Psychologist, apart from psychology specialization it is important to understand and aware of people mentalities and awareness in specific domains such as spirituality, current affairs, religion, health and recreation, arts and science. It also crucial to have objective view of general awareness. With my experience I realized that people's thoughts, behaviors are rooted in religion, culture and social norms. Therefore, a psychologist need to understand diverse religions, cultural and social norms.

In addition to these, I would like to mention here that for practicing psychologist, general awareness of recent researches and updates within specific domain of psychology is most important. There are researches related to application of psychology in various fields such as sports, health, fashion, corporate etc. and one should be aware of them.

Hope I have answered your question. If you want to discuss this concern, feel free to talk with me. I would be happy to have conversation with you and help you develop a perspective and take informed decision about your career.

Best Wishes for your bright career!
Apurva Kumar Pandya, PhD

Dear Aspirant,

General Awareness definitely is a must for any professional.

Psychologist who counsels people for their psychological behaviours, definitely needs to be aware of the happenings around.

I agree with Dr. Pandya. It is very important for any professional who is dealing with public and people to be generally aware of maximum things since they affect the person's decision making, attitude, thinking, etc.

Best wishes