Legal Psychology: Faculty of psychology and/or law?

Psychology approaches several areas of knowledge. It approaches medicine and biology in the research of psychophysiology, neurosciences, neuropsychology. It is close to pedagogy in school and educational psychology and psychopedagogy; of administration and economics in organizational psychology, human resources and, among other approaches, we find the relationship between psychology and law.

A dear reader of our site, who is studying psychology at the faculty, sent us a question about legal psychology. His interest is in working in the forums, especially dealing with families, and his question is whether or not he should, after completing psychology school, also study law.

the law school

At law school, students will learn about laws and legislation, about codes, as well as what they can and should do to defend their clients. When taking the OAB (Bar Association) exam, you can become a lawyer or, if you prefer, you can follow a legal career, taking part in a competition for judge, prosecutor or delegate. Therefore, as in psychology, law graduates have many possibilities for action. To name just a few of them:

– criminal law

– tax law

– administrative law

– labor law

– contract law

– civil law, etc.

In civil law, the lawyer defends the individual interests of a person or group in actions concerning property, business and family relationships. In this large area of ​​law, there are specializations that focus even more on acting, such as specialization in family law.

the faculty of psychology

As we said at the beginning, the Faculty of Psychology is similar to many other areas of knowledge. As it is a broad profession, the recent graduate can also opt for a specialization to deepen the knowledge of a specific area. To be an expert, in psychology, there are two ways:

– do a lato sensu postgraduate course

– take the specialist title test organized by the Federal Council of Psychology

(In order to pass the CFP title test, however, you must have completed a postgraduate degree approved by the MEC and have proven experience of 2 years in a related position).

11 Specializations in Psychology:

Currently, according to the CFP, there are 11 specializations for the psychologist:

– School/Educational Psychology;

– Work and Organizational Psychology;

– Traffic Psychology;

– Sport Psychology;

– Clinical psychology;

– Hospital Psychology;

– Psychopedagogy;

– Psychomotricity;

– Social Psychology;

– Neuropsychology;

– Juridical Psychology.

What is Forensic Psychology?

Legal psychology, in short, is the area of ​​psychology that approaches law, without, of course, being confused with law. That is, the legal psychologist does not fulfill the role that a lawyer fulfills.

Learn more – Legal Psychology: definition, salary and performance

It is important to distinguish between areas of activity. Someone who has a degree in law and psychology – and the appropriate enrollment in the Bar Association and in the Federal Council of Psychology – can act both as a lawyer and as a psychologist. This is a relatively rare professional situation, since the tendency is for the professional to choose only one area of ​​expertise.

However, just as in other areas of psychology that are close to other faculties, having more knowledge is always a good choice.

For example, a psychology professional who works with Human Resources, within a large company, can take a postgraduate degree in administration or even a degree in administration. Perhaps this person will never act, with a formal contract, as an administrator; but the knowledge acquired in this new graduation will expand the knowledge acquired in the faculty of psychology.

In short, having two or more graduations is interesting for the knowledge we can acquire. A degree such as psychology, even if it lasts 5 years, offers the student an overview of all areas of activity. Going back to the HR example, the student may be exposed to management and economics theories in perhaps four or five subjects. This knowledge – although generally sufficient for working in HR – is much less than studying specifically business or economics for four or five years.

With regard to law, in general, the Faculty of Psychology does not offer much knowledge. That is, articles on legal psychology, if they exist, will be very few. That’s why the way to create a career in legal psychology involves getting internships in the area, studying abroad in books and free courses, and taking a postgraduate course recommended by the Federal Council of Psychology.

Bachelor’s Degree in Law: Postgraduate Degree in Legal Psychology

Another question I frequently receive is about having a degree in law and working in the field of legal psychology. Well, to work in the field of psychology – be it legal or not – you must have a degree in psychology. This is because, in order to obtain a license and registration with the Federal Council of Psychology, we must have a degree.

So someone who has a degree in another area, not in psychology, and does a postgraduate degree in psychology (some colleges allow the student to enroll, study and have a postgraduate degree even if they do not have a degree), it will not be It is not possible to work as a psychologist unless you also have a degree in psychology.

To be clear: let’s say there is a vacancy for a legal psychologist in a forum in a city X. A lawyer who has completed a postgraduate degree in legal psychology cannot apply, since, for all intents and purposes, he does not have a degree in psychology . Likewise, for a position that requires training in law, a psychologist specializing in legal psychology cannot apply, as he or she will not have a degree in law or be registered with the OAB.

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