Faculty Discuss Career Pathways, Focused Training, for Articles in “New England Psychologist”

New England Psychologist, an independent news source for psychologists in the region, connected with two members of the William James College faculty for recent articles about careers in psychology.

Dr. Joseph Toomey, associate chair of the Clinical Psychology Department and director of the Forensic Psychology concentration, spoke about how to approach decision making around choosing a clinical specialization.

The American Psychological Association (APA)recognizes several clinical specializations, subspecialities and proficiencies. Some specialties require a student to know their path before applying to graduate school, while others are chosen during post-doctoral training. For some, making a selection is an easy task while, for others, the decision takes some mulling over. Among the advice he offered, Toomey suggested students choose an APA accredited program and do their research on what the specialization they are considering entails.

“...go to the definitions and explanations, it gives you a better sense for what it actually is," he said, " I am a forensic psychologist and there are huge misconceptions about what that is."

Forensic Psychology is one of several concentrations or areas of emphasis students enrolled in degree programs at William James College can elect to gain focused understanding of a particular area.

Dr. Suzanne Devlin, chair of the Organizational and Leadership Psychology Department, discussed the field of industrial-occupational (I-O) psychology, which applies psychological research to the workplace. Citing a publication from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the article notes that organizational psychology is among the fastest growing fields in psychology. This growth is expected to continue as businesses evolve with changes brought on by the pandemic.

“I-O psychologists help an organization find and live their values in a more humanized workplace,” Devlin said. She later added, to succeed in this field, students must be value/ethics driven, change-oriented and dedicated to social justice. “Most important is to want to change the organization for the better.”

Both articles, which are linked below, were published in the most October 2021 edition. The articles are available only to subscribers of New England Psychologist.

Related:

• “Choosing a specialty can be challenging decision,” Catherine Robertson Souter. October 3rd, 2021. New England Psychologist, subscriber content.
• “Industrial-occupational psychology is fastest growing field,” Phyllis Hanlon. October 3rd, 2021. New England Psychologist, subscriber content.

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