What changes do you think will occur in the field of psychology in the next 100 years? Why?
In order to predict where psychology is heading in the next 100 years, I would like to discuss recent changes that are in place within the field currently. There has been a progressive increase over the past several years of “strengths-based psychology”, which entails a focus on the strengths inherent within the client and their environment. These strengths can both empower the client to play an active role in their own treatment and enact change in their personal lives outside of the counseling setting. Strengths-based psychology is considered to be a counseling perspective, rather than a theory of treatment, and therefore can be applied to a number of different theories and models of treatment. Strengths-based psychology shows a marked deviation away from many older schools of psychology, most notably psychoanalysis, as it serves to both place control within the client’s hands and focus on what the client feels they can do to enact change. Whereas clients have oftentimes played a passive role in the counseling setting, we are now seeing where clients are encouraged to be collaborators who are active parties in their treatment. I predict this trend will continue over the next 100 years, and transform traditional therapy into a working partnership between counselor and client.
A second significant change currently taking place is the rise of multicultural counseling; this is particularly apparent in the subfield of assessments. When the first IQ and personality measures were created, they were biased towards those of Caucasian descent whose socioeconomic statuses were middle class and above. Individuals with disabilities were also at a disadvantage when compared to their able-bodied counterparts. These biases resulted in unfair advantage being given to those of the majority culture, and inevitably caused unintended harm with the counseling, career, and academic settings. As of recent, there have been several changes that have begun leveling the playing field; a psychological assessment is now required to be approved, via academic studies with rigorous requirements, for the population upon which it is being administered to. Additionally, several popular measures have been either rewritten or translated into languages other than English; these measures also must meet set requirements, as well as include wording, phrases, and references that align with the nuances of the culture in which they are intended for. Many assessments have also been reworked to allow those with disabilities to complete them, such as by changing worded questions to pictures or providing the questions auditorily for those who cannot read. Changes are also reflected in the DSM-5, which now covers cultural considerations when rendering diagnosis, as well as the most updated version of the ACA Code of Ethics, which indicates that measures that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to the client must be used whenever assessments are utilized. While the field of psychology still has a long way to go in ensuring that measures are not culturally biased, current changes suggest that assessments will only continue to improve over the next 100 years.
This is by no means intended to be an exhaustive list of the changes I predict will occur in the field of psychology; it is my opinion, however, that these are among that are most prevalent as of current, and they will continue to evolve and change over the course of the next 100 years.
FURTHER READING:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cpp.1795
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00456/full
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64076/
https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf
http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org/dsm-5-a-commentary-on-integrating-multicultural-and-strength-based-considerations-into-counseling-training-and-practice/
Assuming that we are looking at the field of psychology in America, in my opinion, psychology will change in three primary ways over the next 100 years. These include an emphasis on technology, neuropsychology, and multicultural awareness. These are areas that have advanced in the last several decades, but I think they will continue to advance and shape what psychology looks like 100 years from now.
Technology has drastically changed the field of psychology. People are now able to access psychological help to a greater scale than ever before. Modes of therapy have transitioned from office to computer. To meet the convenience needs of people over the next 100 years, I think psychological services will rely even more heavily on technology and perhaps less on practitioners themselves. For example, there is currently software being developed that allows people to track their emotional health and it provides feedback accordingly to help them overcome psychological difficulties.
Research over the last few decades has set a strong foundation for the next 100 years of psychology, specifically neuropsychology, the study of the relationship between brain function and behavior, emotion, and cognition. Neuropsychology has taken a field that once relied primarily on theory and has backed it with scientific evidence. Over the next 100 years, psychology will come to rely more on brain-mapping assessments rather than diagnostic assessments to plan treatment. Therapies will likely be oriented around correcting brain function rather than behavior.
As the nation becomes more diverse, psychological practice will have to move away from a "one size fits all" approach. In order to remain effective, psychologists over the next 100 years will need to improve their understanding of the values and beliefs of diverse people groups. What may seem disorderly according to traditional American culture may be normative for another. Furthermore, the preferred methods and modes of psychological help may be different depending on one's cultural background.
Comments
Post a Comment