My neighbour’s daughter is sure taking her time with finishing uni. I actually thought she was done with it at the end of last year, but it seems she’s back for more – fourth year psychology, no less. According to her mum, Amanda has finally settled on the goal of going into clinical psych rather than pursuing anthropology (her other major).
That’s good news, I suppose, considering how much uni costs these days and the fact that Amanda has been vacillating between subjects for the past half decade. Becoming a clinical psychologist, from what I’ve heard, isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but she must be doing pretty well to have been accepted into fourth year. I understand that it’s quite a competitive field.
Here on the Mornington Peninsula, mental health services are readily available. I know a few people who’ve used them; there’s definitely a market for it. I wonder if Amanda is going to specialise in a particular area. Is that a thing in psychology? You’d think it would be – like working with kids, for example, or people with terminal illnesses.
I have a friend whose cousin is studying to be a psychiatrist. Mornington being the small community that it is, word gets around about whose family member is doing what. From what I can tell, there’s a clear differentiation between psychiatry and psychology, with the former being a medical doctor who’s able to prescribe drugs. Still, telling the two professions apart is a pretty hard call for a layperson – there seems to be a fair bit of crossover.
My neighbour tells me that Amanda is really keen to work with allied health practitioners such as dietitians, social workers and massage therapists. This makes sense to me – mental health, surely, is a holistic thing that incorporates the body and the social sphere as well as the mind. Even the anthropology probably won’t go astray. Understanding the many facets of what makes up a person, a group of people and earthly life in general has got to be an asset for anyone working in the field of improving wellbeing.