What Do Intern Psychologists Do?

Psychology graduates must learn functional skills to taste success from the beginning of their careers. An internship is the best way to learn how to apply academic knowledge in a professional setup. If you do thorough research, you will know that the current world offers a series of psychology internship opportunities. This write-up discusses what a psychology intern needs to do and how the experience helps him/her.

How Does Doing an Internship Help Psychology Students?

An internship is always about practicing skills that you have learnt academically. You will learn how to apply your classroom knowledge to assist with research and to manage your clients’ problems. The time you spend as an intern will teach you a range of administrative tasks and therapy techniques. Evaluating client issues and interpreting research data will become much easier.

You will also develop essential soft skills such as communication and time management. Your emotional intelligence will increase, which will improve your problem-solving abilities significantly. You will develop the confidence required to operate as a practitioner.

If you do your internship under the best psychologist in India, your resume will automatically gain some brownie points. Connecting with professionals will become easier, and you will not need to wait much for good job opportunities. As the internship will allow you to explore multiple specialisations, you will know which discipline you are most passionate about.

Psychology Interns as Research Assistants

The primary job of this tribe is supporting senior researchers by completing tasks like data collection, literature reviews, data analysis, etc.

When you work as a psychology research intern, you will need to spend a large share of your time searching for research papers and surveys. You will have to read all the documents carefully and jot down the essential points. Your seniors may require you to set up online surveys and other social experiments and prepare materials based on the findings.

Recruiting and preparing participants for various studies will also be a part of your job. If the study involves interviews, you will be assigned the job of transcribing them as your seniors ask the participants various questions. You will also need to enter data, create graphs and charts, and do statistical analysis of collected data.

Psychology Interns as Counselling Assistants

If your psychology internship involves working as a counselling assistant, you will work directly with patients. Throughout your internship, you will be under a team of licensed and experienced psychologists. Your primary job will be planning and conducting therapy sessions. You may need to treat individuals, families, and groups and provide them with effective crisis support.

You will note down patient intakes from the initial therapy session and carry out psychological tests as advised by your seniors. Your job will also include observing patients’ behaviour and informing the senior psychologists. All these will assist them in diagnosing the disorder and planning effective treatments.

Once you have details of the treatment plan, you will be required to implement the various therapeutic techniques you have learnt in classrooms. If you are assisting a big name like Dr. Dipti Yadav, you will learn the nitty-gritty of all the techniques. She will also clear all your doubts through practical experience.

Psychology Interns as Assistant Child Counsellors

The primary job of an assistant child counsellor is to conduct the following psychological tests and procedures:

• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children to assess cognitive abilities
• Child Behaviour Checklist to assess behaviour
• The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children to diagnose anxiety disorders in children
• Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test to assess IQ
• Draw a Person test to assess personality
• Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism to diagnose autism, and more

You will have to note the patient intake from the above tests. Use the info to identify issues like emotional issues, developmental delays, and learning difficulties. For a correct diagnosis, you will also need to observe the patient. The senior psychologists will check your diagnosis and give his/her input. Following the final diagnosis, your seniors will create a treatment plan and share it with you.

Children with cognitive, developmental, and behavioural abnormalities require a combination of psychological and physical therapies. You will be responsible for conducting various psychological therapies prescribed by your senior. These include mindfulness, play therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, etc. As an intern, you will always have a senior psychologist supervising and guiding you.

Child psychology also involves educating the parents, as they are the ones looking after the child for most of the day. So, as an assistant child counsellor, you will have to be involved in the process of teaching parents about the following:

• The psychological disorder a particular child has
• Promoting child development despite the existing problems
• Parenting strategies
• Effects of family dynamics on kids’ mental health

Psychology Interns as HR Trainees

Psychology has a massive role in human resource management. It goes beyond managing documentation, managing databases, and organising interviews. So, it’s common for psychology interns to work as HR trainees. As an intern psychologist in an HR role, you will be responsible for talent management using behavioural science.

Your focus in this role will be on recruitment using various screening procedures (primarily psychometrics). Additionally, you will be a part of the training team. You will teach the fresh recruits the art of communication and stress management.

Interns are also involved in the employee engagement and performance management procedures. You will have a big role to play in drafting retention strategies for the company you are working for. When required, you may need to organise counselling sessions for the employees. They may be individual sessions and group sessions. Last, but not least, your seniors will expect you to improve the workplace environment.

Conclusion

If you wish to become the best psychologist in India, apply to Wellbeing Help for your internship after completing your degree in psychology. There, you will work under established psychological counsellors such as Dr. Dipti Yadav. The experience you gather from the internship will let you excel as a psychologist, irrespective of the field you choose.

About Author

The author is an experienced psychologist and has been practicing in India for more than two decades. Over the years, he has helped thousands of children, young adults, and adults beat psychological issues and lead normal lives.