A professional psychologist is a member of the organized community of scientific psychology who directs his or her activities toward the task of helping individual, group, or organizational clients with the prevention and remediation of problems in human behavior.
The disciplinary basis for modern professional psychology is
comprehensive systematic psychology from biological psychology, through
the overt and covert processes of individual, interpersonal, group,
intergroup, and organizational processes. The parallel range of
professional skills includes the assessment and regulation of
psychobiological processes, analysis and change of individual behavior,
interpersonal relationships, group and intergroup dynamics, and the
appraisal and planned change of social organizations.
While
this general conception of a professional psychologist is applicable to
all areas of practice, areas of specialization are required due to the
extensive amounts of knowledge and competence that are specific to age,
gender, racial, ethnic, and family groups; institutional settings;
problem types; and methods of assessment and intervention.
