Rehabilitation psychologists help people to maintain healthy, comfortable, and happy lives by addressing physical or psychological issues they may be undergoing. They offer ongoing support and treatment to help make problems less bearable and in some cases, they remove the problem entirely.
Everyone in life endures challenges, but for those with disabilities—day to day life can be exceptionally demanding. Your job will be to assess and diagnose patients. Then, you will be responsible for devising a treatment plan that suits the needs of each patient. You’ll want to ensure that they have a support network in place. Supportive people can be family, friends, or paraprofessionals. They will assist in the treatment process on the days where you aren’t scheduled for a session.
If you’re interested in becoming a rehabilitation psychologist, you may consider getting your online rehabilitation psychology degree at Faulkner’s. They are an accredited online school and they offer courses for this degree. Taking classes from home will afford you more time to be with your family or friends, tackle household chores, and lounge on your couch with your laptop while learning. And to mention, the ease of not having to commute back and forth to school every day can be appealing.
When selecting your classes, you’ll want to consider what area of rehabilitation psychology you want to work in. For those aspiring to work with people suffering from Substance Use Disorder, students will want to take addiction or substance abuse courses. A good way to start off is to major in general psychology and selecting rehabilitation psychology as your minor.
If your preferred area of expertise is working with people having physical discomfort, learning about treatment for scoliosis will be useful. You’ll be interested to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to help people bearing the burden of back pain, muscle spasms, and in severe cases, deformities. Scoliosis can be debilitating and you’ll be able to help people who are in immense pain.
After you obtain your bachelor’s degree, you can try finding an internship or entry-level job while furthering your education. The next step is taking a master’s program. Most jobs in this specific field require a doctoral degree—the highest degree one achieves in college. This can be tedious and time-consuming, albeit rewarding. At the end of the day, you’re pursuing your desire to help others. There’s no time limit on the feeling you’ll experience when you ease the suffering of another human being.
Usually, a bachelor’s degree can be completed in four years of attending rehabilitation psychology schooling full-time. A master’s degree can take another two to three years. While, getting a Ph.D. takes roughly five to eight years in total, including your dissertation and the final exam.
Since the highest-paying job positions usually require a doctoral degree, it’s your choice if you want to commit to so many years of schooling. If that is too much for your current lifestyle, there’s no need to sweat it. The degree program you choose is up to you. You can opt to get a bachelor’s degree online and work at a lower-paying job in this field. You’ll still be working on cases and helping people in need.
Now that you know the basics of how to become a rehabilitation psychologist, you can decide if you want to move forward. If you’re still interested, find out when the next semester starts. Speak to the school and select your courses. Of course, you’ll need to decide if you want to attend online classes part-time or full-time first.
Once you’ve reached a conclusion, ask the school any questions you may have regarding courses, the degree itself, and if they help students find internships or job placement following graduation. They will guide you in the right direction, allowing you to take the first steps toward your new career.