i want to work at a mental hospital or something like that working with a number of the same people daily, i want to help them become normal or at least try, i want to see why their brains do the things they do, what degree do i need and what are some jobs i could have?
i have been told nuero-psychologist or neuro-psychiatrist
You could try physical therapy, nursing, or even working as a psychiatric technician in a residential treatment setting for the mentally ill. Seriously, you could work at a drug treatment center as a janitor and see the same messed up people every day, ask yourself why the do the things they do, and help them become normal.
A doctoral degree doesn't confer the ability to help people return to normal lives, it does however allow you to fulfill specific roles as a member of the team. Usually, in a hospital setting, it's a multidisciplinary approach to helping someone return to normality or function as effectively as possible. Assuming that Doctors are the only ones that are helping people return to health marginalizes what many others do to help patients. Now, with that said, there are things that doctoral level providers bring to the table that others do not and we are needed for our skills.
So the question really is what kind of persons would you want to work with and what role would you like to take in their recovery?
When I broke my leg recently I was every bit as appreciative of my nurses, corpsmen, and food service persons as I was of my Orthopedic Surgeon. I saw my surgeon twice while in the hospital. Yes, the surgeon cut me open, put a rod in my leg, and did some pretty neat stuff to get me back on my feet in short order. However, when I was recovering, it was the nurses and corpsmen that were making sure I was comfortable and safe. When I was hungry, the food service persons made sure my meals were there and it was what I wanted to eat. I saw these people every day, and they made my recovery much easier. They saw me far more often than my surgeon.
Same goes for mental health treatment on an inpatient ward, the attending Psychiatrist might see a patient once a day for 15-30 minutes, make decisions that are carried out by others who are trained to provide care, medications, take vital signs, and often interact with patients more frequently than physicians and psychologists. We are just part of a team unless you are doing private practice or consulting.
It was a good question, you just need to define what you envision your future role as a health care provider might look like and decide what sacrifices you are willing to make in order to achieve that goal.
