Other Psychological Services
No classification system describing the services offered by psychologists can take account of every area in which the application of psychological knowledge has been found to have practical benefits. However, in this section a number of additional areas in which some Chartered Psychologists offer services are described. Some have their origins in developing areas of applied research (for example, health psychology, sport psychology and market, social and consumer research), or are research services themselves.
Psychotherapy is not listed as a separate category, as psychotherapy represents an area in which Chartered Psychologists who have qualified in a variety of other areas offer a range of psychological and therapeutic services which are also offered by members of other professions (e.g. psychiatry). Therefore, to find Chartered Psychologists offering psychotherapy, look under the other headings, such as clinical psychology, counselling psychology and educational psychology.
Sport and exercise psychology involves the application of psychological principles to scientific research and practice in sport and exercise contexts. The majority of sport and exercise psychologists work within Higher Education, and their research and/or consultancies with athletes and exercisers run alongside teaching and administrative commitments. Increasingly, full-time positions are becoming available for sport and exercise psychologists to provide support for individual athletes, teams and sports organisations through, for example, financial support from sporting governing bodies or professional sports teams. In exercise settings, practitioners might be involved in the GP exercise referral or cardiac rehabilitation schemes. Although consultancy work may be office based, it is equally likely that sport and exercise psychologists will work in field settings such as team premises, youth academies, competition venues, clinical rehabilitation and recreational exercise settings.
Psychologists working to provide and use commercial research services are employed in a research executive capacity by market and social research agencies and as research advisers in-house by manufacturing and service companies, government departments and other organizations. They are concerned to:
All applications of psychology have their bases in fundamental scientific research. Some Chartered Psychologists (many of whom may be employed in academic posts within the universities) offer their services as research psychologists to help clients solve practical problems, often within their particular area of expertise. For instance, a motor manufacturer or a government department may commission a research psychologist to investigate and then advise on aspects of vehicle safety. Almost all psychologists are engaged in some aspect of research, but this section lists psychologists who see their primary role as providing applied research and consultancy services in their particular area of expertise.
As part of their individual entries, research psychologists will detail their particular areas of expertise, which may be quite specialized (e.g. advice on human factors in sick building syndrome) or more general (e.g. environmental psychology or economic psychology).