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Elderly Depression And The Psychologist

For many a first time consumer of mental health services, finding a psychologist is a daunting task. Sure, they are easy enough to find in the phone book, but how do you know that the person you might be choosing at random is really good? For that matter, what exactly is a psychologist?

In simplest terms, a psychologist concerns her or himself with the behavior and development of the person, as well as the study of personal feelings and thought patterns, and, for lack of a better term, human behavior. While doctors will have gone through medical school and gotten a doctoral degree in medicine, a psychologist will have a doctoral degree in psychology. Not everyone who graduates with a doctorate in psychology will be able to hang out a shingle and practice psychology. Instead, the government has formed a regulatory body that has developed rather stringent licensing requirements for anyone wanting to work as a clinical psychologist. It requires supervised internships and also a supervised practice period of two years full time.

Even though psychologists may have the same kind of education, they do not all prefer to go into general practice, but more often than not they will seek to specialize. Some will choose adolescent and family therapy settings while others will specialize in elderly depression. Still others may decide to not go into practice at all but to instead pursue clinical research. Whenever possible, you will be wise to pick a psychologist that specializes in the group you are currently representing, in this case this being the specialist in elder care.

Even as a lot of training and governmental supervision is part and parcel of the successful psychologist’s professional makeup, this health care provider is not able to prescribe medication. Thus, she or he will most commonly seek out a good working relationship with your primary car physician who does have the power to prescribe medication, but who does not have the background and training in human behavior and mental development to adequately treat you and your depression.

Working together, these two healthcare professionals have the power to cure the whole person, not just with medication but also by encouraging you to make healthy lifestyle choices, let go of unhealthy patterns, and in some cases also prevent you from taking medications that may counteract one another. In other cases, a psychologist may also work together with your home healthcare provider to ensure that nursing assistants and home health nurses will help you with your nutrition and with exercise, while at the same time contacting perhaps a social services organization to ensure that you will receive transportation to your appointments and maybe also to social activities in which you are interested. In some cases, your psychologist may also suggest referrals to other medical professionals; this is especially crucial if you have other medical conditions that become known during therapy. For example, if it becomes obvious that you are suffering from hearing loss, the psychologist may refer you to an ear, nose and throat specialist to have a look at your ears and to possibly fit you for a hearing aid.