Clinical Psychologists assess and treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. These disorders range from short-term crises, such as difficulties resulting from adolescent rebellion, to more severe, chronic conditions, such as schizophrenia. Some clinical psychologists treat specific problems exclusively, such as phobias or clinical depression. Others focus on specific populations: youngsters, ethnic minority groups, gays and lesbians and the elderly, for instance.

Cognitive Psychologists are interested in thought processes, especially relationships among learning, memory, and perception. As researchers, they focus primarily on mental processes that influence the acquisition and use of knowledge as well as the ability to reason, the process by which people generate logical and coherent ideas, evaluate situations and reach conclusions.

Community Psychologists strengthen existing social support networks and stimulate the formation of new networks to effect social change. The goal of community psychologists is to help individuals and their neighborhoods or communities to grow, develop and plan for the future. They often work in mental health agencies, state governments and private organizations.

Counseling Psychologists help people accommodate to change or make changes in their lifestyle. For example, they provide vocational and career assessment and guidance or help someone come to terms with the death of a loved one. They help students adjust to college and help people to stop smoking or overeating. They also consult with physicians on physical problems that have underlying psychological causes.

Educational Psychologists concentrate on the conditions under which effective teaching and learning take place. They consider a variety of factors, such as human abilities, student motivation and the effect on the classroom of the diversity of race, ethnicity and culture.

Engineering Psychologists conduct research on how people work best with machines. For example, how can a computer be designed to prevent fatigue and eye strain? What arrangement of an assembly line makes production most efficient? What is a reasonable workload? Most engineering psychologists work in industry, but some are employed by the government, particularly the Department of Defence. They are often known as human factors specialists.

Experimental/General Psychologists use the experimental approach to identify and understand basic elements of behavior and mental processes. They focus on basic research issues and their interests often overlap with fields outside psychology (e.g., biology, computer science, mathematics, sociology). Areas of study for experimental psychologists include motivation, thinking, attention, learning and memory, sensory and perceptual processes, physiology, genetics and neurology.

Forensic Psychologists apply psychological principles to legal issues. Their expertise is often essential in court. They can, for example, help a judge decide which parent should have custody of a child or evaluate a defendant's mental competence to stand trial. Some forensic psychologists are trained in both psychology and the law.

Health Psychologists are interested in how biological, psychological and social factors affect health and illness. They also develop health care strategies that foster emotional and physical well-being. Health psychologists team up with medical personnel in private practice and in hospitals to provide patients with complete health care. Health psychologists also investigate issues that affect a large segment of society and they develop and implement programs to deal with these problems. Examples are teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet.

Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychologists apply psychological principles and research methods to the workplace in the interest of improving productivity and the quality of work life. Many I/O psychologists serve as human resources specialists, who help organizations with staffing, training and employee development and management in such areas as strategic planning, quality management and coping with organizational change.

Rehabilitation Psychologists have also become more involved in public health programs to prevent disabilities, especially those caused by violence and substance abuse. They also testify in court as expert witnesses about the causes and effects of a disability and a person's rehabilitation needs

School Psychologists work directly with public and private schools. They assess and counsel students, consult with parents and school staff and conduct behavioral interventions when appropriate. Some school districts employ a full-time school psychologist.

Social Psychologists study how a person's mental life and behavior are shaped by interactions with other people. They are interested in all aspects of interpersonal relationships, including both individual and group influences ; they seek ways to improve such interactions. For example, their research helps us understand how people form attitudes toward others and when these attitudes are harmful?as in the case of prejudice?they suggest ways to change them. Social psychologists are found in a variety of settings from academic institutions (where they teach and conduct research) to advertising agencies (where they study consumer attitudes and preferences) to businesses and government agencies (where they help with a variety of problems in organization and management).

Sports Psychologists help athletes refine their focus on competition goals, become more motivated, and learn to deal with the anxiety and fear of failure that often accompany competition. The field is growing as sports of all kinds become more and more competitive and attract younger children.