August 27 – Psychologist’s Day – The importance of psychology

“As psychologists, we know that the fight for consolidation of the profession is hard, we still have a lot to do. However, it is gratifying to look back and observe how many victories have already been achieved. I am sure that, supported by solid theories, we will gain more and more space in this current world that lacks a consistent explanation of human action” (Pedro Baratti).

Hello friends!

Pedro Baratti wrote an excellent text on his blog – Analysis of Behavior in Daily Life called The Importance of Psychology: fundamentals of consolidating the psychologist’s performance. With his permission, I reproduce the text below:

The Importance of Psychology: foundations for the consolidation of the psychologist’s performance

Today, August 27th, is Psychologist’s Day. Undoubtedly, there have been many achievements over these few hundred years of existence of the profession, but there is much more to conquer. Unfortunately, the psychologist’s work suffers from numerous problems, ranging from completely wrong sayings still present in society, such as “psychologists are crazy”, to internal problems involving clashes within the theoretical field of psychology itself. But after all, what does the work of the psychologist consist of?

Initially, it is necessary to make some remarks about psychologies. That’s right, you didn’t read wrong! It’s not about psychology, it’s about psychologys🇧🇷 Unlike other fields of knowledge such as biology, physics and chemistry that have existed for more than a thousand years, so-called scientific psychology dates back to 1879 (at least for most academics) with the creation of the first laboratory of psychology in Leipzig, by Wilhelm Wundt.

It so happens that even today there is no consensus on what psychology would be and what would be its object of study. In this way, different authors have different perspectives on what psychology is and how to study it, developing different theoretical approaches, such as: Behavior Analysis, Behavioral-Cognitive, Existential-Humanistic, Psychoanalysis, and countless others.

Even though there is no consensus on what to study in psychology, a common premise involves all approaches regarding the psychologist’s performance: the absence of values in psychological practice is essential. Well, what does this mean? It means that personal beliefs do not matter during professional practice, the performance must be guided by ethical respect and always aiming at the well-being of its clients.

In short, what is good for the psychologist will not necessarily be good for the client/patient. Thus, a psychologist with strong religious convictions when exercising clinical activity, and assisting a homosexual, for example, will not guide their consultations based on their values of right or wrong. And vice versa, when the psychologist is homosexual, and assists a client with strong religious convictions, he will not be guided by his values of right or wrong, but by the theoretical basis he uses.

In a similar way is the work of the psychologist in institutions or organizations. So, when a Flamengo psychologist, used to numerous victories, provides services to clubs like Vasco da Gama, he needs to leave his personal values aside (laughs… forgive the joke, but I couldn’t miss this one).

With the exception of this absence of value judgments, psychological practice is extremely plural, with numerous conceptually supported forms and methodologies. But of course, as in every profession, there are professionals and professionals, it is not uncommon in psychology for some of them to take advantage of the existing theoretical diversity to launch practices that are at least questionable.

When looking for a psychologist’s work, it is essential to know what are the guidelines that he uses as a theoretical reference, that is, what are the sayings that underlie his practice. It is precisely the theoretical framework that legitimizes psychology as a profession, because without it it would just be a group of people daydreaming about the world based on “guesses”.

About psychological theory and practice, there is a common mistake, confusing the field of work of the psychologist with the approach used by him. Thus, fields of action such as school psychology or sports psychology gain the status of their own theoretical approaches. What actually happens is that the psychologist’s action will be different depending on his professional practice. The goals in acting are different depending on the area in which the psychologist works, it is obvious that the clinical psychologist will have a different posture from a forensic psychologist.

To facilitate visualization, imagine a psychologist who uses Behavior Analysis as a theoretical foundation. This behavior analyst can work in different professional fields, such as: clinical psychology, sports psychology, social psychology, school psychology, organizational psychology, forensic psychology, among others, and always using the concepts of Behavior Analysis.

Where there is a presence of human beings, it is up to the psychologist to act, that’s all! Citing these numerous areas of activity, the reader may ask: “Okay, but what is the psychologist for?” The psychologist will carry out a technical reading, based on the theory he adopts to legitimize his performance. In the case of the behavior analyst, in very general terms, the behavior in its entirety will be analyzed, seeking to identify the “causes” of the behavior from its roots, that is, taking the behavior as the relation of the activities of the human being with the environment. where he is inserted (believe me… there is a lot, a lot of complexity even involved in this simple sentence).

So, returning again to the question: what is the psychologist for? It serves to help your client in troubled moments of life, it serves to help the client to understand that despite these moments there is still life. It serves to build a more productive organizational environment in the financial aspect, and especially in the emotional aspect. It serves to help top athletes stand firm in the face of difficulties and pressures, and helps them keep their heads up when everyone else is down. It serves to optimize student learning and maximize teacher teaching. Together with public agents, it serves to build a fairer and more solidary society, based on sustainable public policies.

As psychologists, we know that the fight for consolidation of the profession is hard, we still have a lot to do. However, it is gratifying to look back and observe how many victories have already been achieved. I am certain that, supported by solid theories, we will gain more and more space in today’s world, which lacks a consistent explanation of human action. With the great technological advances of the exact sciences, we had powerful instruments in our hands, we have energy sources that can light up cities or make entire cities disappear. It has been said for some time that psychology is the profession of the future, I believe it is the profession of the present, because without it I fear there would be no future worth living for!