School Psychology

In “School Psychology: A Forgotten Branch of Psychology”, Steven R. Shaw discusses the aspects of the field of school psychology. This branch of professional psychology deals with many components that students, from birth to 21 years of age, and their guardians might have concerns or struggles with, such as mental health or learning disabilities. These professionals usually work in an educational environment and collaborate with teachers, parents, policy-makers, and others to create an optimal and safe learning environment for the community. Despite this, the field of school psychology faces a severe shortage as of 2024.

     Shaw also discusses the positives and negatives of working as a school psychologist.  Since school psychologists do not need to pursue a doctorate degree, they can be perceived as having a lower professional status compared to that of clinical psychology. There are also fewer programs to study school psychology than clinical psychology, making it difficult for some students to know that it is even an option. On the positive side, school psychologists actually report having a higher median income than clinical psychologists. There is also a lot of career flexibility, partly due to the shortage of school psychologists making them essential in many professional environments. This career also presents an interesting field of research with a wide variety of subjects to consider.

     Overall, school psychology is a very important branch of psychology that is often forgotten despite the many positives.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/how-to-do-academia/202403/school-psychology-a-forgotten-branch-of-psychology?amp