psychologists working with international community

[psychgirl05]

I've recently had the "omg what am I going to do with my life moment" and started thinking about my interests. I want to be a psychologist, focusing more on assessment/therapy. And I also love history/poly sci and learning about other countries/international issues. So this got me wondering, does a job exist for psychologists to work for, say the UN? or maybe some other international human rights organization? And does anyone know any professors doing research on this?
Thanks!

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[leavingprov]

I've recently had the "omg what am I going to do with my life moment" and started thinking about my interests. I want to be a psychologist, focusing more on assessment/therapy. And I also love history/poly sci and learning about other countries/international issues. So this got me wondering, does a job exist for psychologists to work for, say the UN? or maybe some other international human rights organization? And does anyone know any professors doing research on this?
Thanks!

One professor at my school has done work/consulting for the UN as well as a variety of other international humanitarian agencies. A lot of her work focuses on trauma, crisis work, etc. Bear in mind that she is at a professional (psy.d.) program and so most of her work, teaching, and interests relate to being a practitioner rather than to the production of original research.

I think if you search around at other programs you'll find a number of professors in this line of work. You may want to think about a specific area of interest within the broader 'international work' category, as there is a big difference between populations such as torture survivors and, say, cross-cultural/national differences in symptomology of anxiety.

Another relevant degree is the MPH, especially if you are interested in international health psychology or community-level interventions.

 

[aagman01]

UN...wow!

It is surprising how difficult it seems it is to find jobs internationally.

I heard there is a group that hires psychs around the world. Sterling International or something of that sort? I did a brief google search, but apparently I am off a bit on the name.

Does anybody know the name of this organization (and perhaps some background information on the organization).

Also, I heard the UK has been hiring American trained psychs quite a bit. Does anyone know anything about that?

Lastly, how difficult is it for Americans to get internships in Canada? Apparently, Canadian sites can no longer be APA endorsed. However, I think they can remain APPIC sites. Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks!

 

[Shatani]

UN...wow!

It is surprising how difficult it seems it is to find jobs internationally.

I heard there is a group that hires psychs around the world. Sterling International or something of that sort? I did a brief google search, but apparently I am off a bit on the name.

Does anybody know the name of this organization (and perhaps some background information on the organization).

Also, I heard the UK has been hiring American trained psychs quite a bit. Does anyone know anything about that?

Lastly, how difficult is it for Americans to get internships in Canada? Apparently, Canadian sites can no longer be APA endorsed. However, I think they can remain APPIC sites. Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks!

a graduate of my program came back to speak in one of my classes and she works in the UK. she totally made me want to move (more than i wanted to move already!)...she said that an american psych can do quite well over there, especially if they are interested in assessment because british psychs arent trained the way we are and there is less focus on administration and interpretation of assessment batteries. also, she said that working within the universal health system was interesting, but having a private practice is superb!

she said, getting licensed over there was a little bit of a hassle because (like me) she didnt do an empirical dissertation. so she had to adapt her work and gather a sample and do it quantitative/qualitative style. it didnt take much work, it just seemed rather pointless to have her just bang out some subpar crap just so they can say she did it.