BY : MOHAMAD ASHAARI BIN AWAB K.B,P.A

Psychological Officers, Counsellors, Clinical Psychological Officers and Psychiatrists all aim to help individuals overcome psychological problems. There is no doubt that all these careers are involved in treating mental health issues and require a deep understanding of emotions, thoughts and behavior but in fact these three positions have different roles.

At Universiti Putra Malaysia, the employment of psychological officers is divided into two categories, namely Counseling Psychological Officers (Counselors) and Clinical Psychological Officers, each of which has a different educational background and training.

Counseling Psychology Officers (Counselors) are responsible for providing emotional support, developing interpersonal skills and helping individuals achieve personal objectives. Counselors are also involved in conducting counseling interventions for healthy populations where they aim to prevent mental illness, manage challenges in life and maintain personal well-being through individual or group counseling sessions. This means that counseling focuses on those who are healthy and do not have mental illness. They are placed in UPM's Counseling Division, UPM Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Hospital's Counseling & Medical Social Work Unit (HSAAS), Human Resource Services Division, UPM Registrar's Office and also at the Bintulu Campus.

Clinical psychologists are officers who are directly involved in the treatment of mental patients and often collaborate with psychiatrists in treating patients holistically. Clinical psychologists also focus on psychotherapy treatment. In terms of therapy, clinical psychologists aim for three main goals, which are to help patients realize and understand the cause of problems, help patients learn techniques and strategies to deal with the problem, and increase internal strength and help empower themselves to avoid relapse. They are placed under the Department of Psychiatry HSAAS UPM.

Psychiatrists are Medical Officers with a doctor of medicine (MD) degree and a Master's Degree specializing in psychiatry. Psychiatrists treat severe mental illness (Severe mental illness) compared to clinical psychologists. Among the types of mental illness are Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and severe depression. Psychiatrists diagnose illnesses and plan various comprehensive treatment plans for serious mental illnesses including medication, psychotherapy and electroconvulsive treatment. They are placed under the Department of Psychiatry HSAAS UPM.

In other words, counselors focus on emotional and interpersonal aspects, Clinical Psychologists focus on research and treatment of the mental side, while psychiatrists focus more on treating severe mental problems through medication.

Date of Input: 30/08/2023 | Updated: 30/08/2023 | ayna