You love psychology field? Surely, you should understand about its history. Here are basic information of history of psychology.

Rudolph Goclenius, a German scholastic philosopher, is credited with conceiving the term “psychology” in the 1590s. The word psychology comes from the Greek word psyche, which means “soul” or “spirit.” Earlier, psychology was also considered a study of the soul. Until the end of the 19th century, psychology was considered to be a part of philosophy.

In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt established a laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany mainly to pay attention to the study of psychology. Later on, William James published his book in 1890 entitled Principles of Psychology, which established a number of practicalities for the sort of questions that psychologists would focus on for years to come. Other important early contributors to the field included Hermann Ebbinghaus, who led the way in studies on memory, and the Russian Ivan Pavlov, who revealed the learning process of classical conditioning. In the meantime, Sigmund Freud, who was qualified as a neurologist and had no recognized training in experimental psychology, established a functional method of psychotherapy known as psychoanalysis.

Freud’s understanding of the mind was largely based on interpretive methods and introspection, but he was predominantly focused on determining mental distress and psychopathology. Freud’s theories proved to be extremely successful. Edward Thorndike and B.F. Skinner were the pioneers who championed the concept of behaviorism. Behaviorism was the leading model in psychology for much of the early 20th century, mainly due to the formation and thriving application of conditioning theories as scientific models of human behavior.

However, over a period of time it became evident that, although behaviorism had made some significant discoveries, it was wanting as a guiding theory of human behavior. Humanistic psychology surfaced in the 1950s and has continued as a retort to positive and scientific approaches to the mind. It lays emphasis on a phenomenological view of human experience and seeks to understand human beings and their behavior by conducting qualitative research.

The history of psychology has evolved and developed considerably over the ages. Its study, research, and findings have greatly helped in understanding both human behavior and the human mindset. They are very valuable and useful for our life to treat and solve psychology problems of human.

When you need the help of a psychologist, psychiatrist or other mental health professional for your health, you maybe will wonder how to choose one that help you meet all your unique needs. The following guides may be useful for you.

A good first step would be to consult with a healthcare professional who knows the answers to these questions. Call the psychology or psychiatry department at a university.

Talk to a psychology instructor at a local community college or contact the behavioral health unit in your local hospital or your community crisis line.

It is important to be familiar with the training, skills and treatment philosophy of the various types of professionals, and then match what you prefer with what a particular treatment provider has to offer.

Also, talk to the representative of an organization which is concerned with issues like yours i.e. marriage, anxiety, depression etc. Their opinions are invaluable, as they are in contact with many different patients and treatment providers who are concerned with the very same issues as you and they have first hand knowledge of the characteristics and qualities of different types of counselors and therapists.

Your 5 main choices of mental health treatment providers are: The marriage and family counselor, the psychologist, the psychiatrist, the professional mental health counselor and the clinical social worker.

The marriage and family counselor has one to two years of graduate training in counseling those with troubled marriages and family problems. He or she will have a masters degree and will likely have done an internship.

The advantage of using these professionals is that you are working with someone who has intense training in this one area of counseling. The disadvantage is that some insurance companies may not cover their services.

The psychologist holds a doctoral degree in psychology. Some consider him or her to be the most highly trained of mental health professionals. The psychologist has approximately 6 years of college training in the psychological sciences; 2 years of upper division in college and 3 to 4 years of post-graduate school.

A psychologist is trained to do counseling, psychotherapy, research and mental X Rays, better known as psychological testing. They practice marriage and family counseling and therapy to eliminate anxiety, depression as well as the entire range of psychological disorders.

The advantages of using a psychologist are that he is the most highly trained in psychological practice, is an expert in providing cutting edge treatment for diverse problems and uses psychological testing to provide revealing information about how your mind works.

Also, in many cases, he or she is a trained mental health researcher, meaning, in this case, the psychologist is trained not to just practice psychology, but also to contribute to it through research.

Another advantage is that their services are covered by almost all insurance companies who provide mental health coverage.

The clinical social worker and professional counselor provide counseling to eliminate family problems and troubles arising from depression, anxiety, agitation and other emotional disorders. They have from one to two years of post-college level training in counseling and mental health.

The social worker holds a masters degree in social work while the professional counselor holds one in counseling. They both must do an internship and pass a comprehensive examination to practice independently.

Psychiatrists have most of their training in medicine, chemistry and the biological sciences. Their central training in psychiatry and mental health is usually received in the 3 year residency in psychiatry.

They hold a doctoral degree in medicine or osteopathy and receive no substantive training in counseling, family therapy, marital therapy or psychological testing.

They are mainly used to prescribe medication and administer occasional electroshock treatments. Their services are covered by all health insurance companies.

As you can see, there is a wide variety of professionals available to treat emotional problems. The one crucial ingredient, however, is the quality of the rapport you have with your provider.

Educational credentials, experience and any history of disciplinary action by your state Board are important facts which you should check to your therapist, then you must make sure that you trust and feel comfortable to have an excellent rapport with your therapist. Like that, you’ll have to start all over again.