Adolescent Health

Adolescent psychology is a subspecialty of general psychology that can open new vistas of career opportunities for students who have a natural interest in kids and youth. Such a specialty can also be useful for those who desire to work primarily with adults, simply because several of the adults who seek the services of a child psychologist will have troubles with their own kids or are seeking psychotherapy for childhood traumas. Due to the fact families are the basic developing blocks of society, expertise in child and adolescent psychology becomes a constructive asset when looking for jobs in several sectors of the workplace.

Career prospects for those who elect to study child and adolescent psychology are wide ranging and encompass individual, team and group environments at diverse levels of administration. The public tends to typecast child and adolescent psychologists as counselors, but counseling careers are only the visible tip of the chance iceberg.

Skilled psychologists frequently work in managed care or government settings at both residential and outpatient facilities. Hospitals and schools employ child psychologists for consultation services. Individuals who have a background in child psychology, but may possibly not yet have board certification, are still valued as support staff. Juvenile court settings, rehabilitation centers and group homes associated with court-directed youth services also hire men and women trained in child and adolescent psychology.

A various avenue for job prospects lies in the field of scientific investigation. The accumulation of knowledge is ongoing and new treatments for mental illnesses should be tested. Investigation may involve conducting clinical trials, or it may possibly involve searching existing literature. Such jobs are most frequent in a university environment. When the results of a study are published in professional journals, the articles need editing by someone trained psychological termonology.

In the political and public sectors, a background in child and adolescent psychology can lead to jobs as advocates and lobbyists for child mental health policies, regulations and laws. Community activists usually work toward the prevention and treatment of negative issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, peer victimization, abortion, teen pregnancy and poverty.

The employment prospect for somebody who is skilled in child and adolescent psychology is fairly optimistic. According the US Department of Health and Human Services, the United States has experienced severe workforce shortages in the mental wellness professions. The shortages are specially acute in rural areas. Recent studies indicate that the need to have for these skills will continue to grow.

The working environments for child psychologists are just as varied as the job opportunities, ranging from individual work to collaborative team efforts, from field assignments with travel to cloistered office cubicles, from rural to urban, from public to private, and from high to low pay. As of January, 2010, the average salary for a mental wellness counselor in the US was ,000 a Behavioral Specialist Consultant, ,000 and a Director of Clinical Services averaged ,000. Child and adolescent psychology students have a virtual kaleidoscope of selections and opportunities available in the field of child and adolescent psychology.