Why are psychologists so needed

We, as psychologists, want to be able to help people and we’re in a helping profession. Now, I want to just talk a little bit about the context of our practices. An article from the Guardian outlined the cost of mental illness and we’re looking at, across Europe, 4% of GDP per year being lost to the effects of poor mental health.

If you look at Gallup research from 2015 68% of people across companies actively disengaged. There will be some overlap in those datasets, because as this Guardian article highlights, nearly half of these costs are related to lower unemployment and lower productivity. The lower productivity element will be feeding into the disengagement figure as well.

What’s the message here?

There is a massive need for psychologists and for psychological services in our country, across Europe, and across the world. This need has only grown with the impact of the global pandemic.

So, this element of how successful and how can we earn money in psychology? Is there work out there for us in private practice?

Yes! There’s lots of work and lots of need! The main challenge is figuring out how to serve the people we love to serve in ways that allow us to reach them sustainably.

This became more complex owing to the challenges of working face to face during the pandemic. We need to pivot and diversify our practices so we can reach more people, more sustainably.

If you’d like resources and a support network as you navigate this ‘next normal’ in your psychology practice, please join our Facebook group Creating Valuable Psychology Practices.