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Useful experience for psychologists includes work with:

• community groups and recovering mental health clients living in the community
• criminal offenders 
• support agencies such as Samaritans Aotearoa/New Zealand or Youthline.

Other useful experience includes: 

• social work, court, or probation services  
• teaching or research in related fields.

Psychologists who work with individual clients may do some or all of the following:

• assess clients' problems and strengths through interviews and observation
• carry out tests that measure mental performance and personality type
• develop treatment plans to help clients with self-development and overcoming problems
• help clients understand themselves, their needs and their motivations
• provide treatment by carrying out psychological therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Psychologists who work with groups and for organisations may do some or all of the following:

• develop, evaluate, or run group therapy programmes such as anger-management workshops
• provide counselling and advice to people or organisations
• provide expert opinion to courts
• assess children and parents on behalf of government agencies
• design and run programmes to reduce criminal offending
• be part of rehabilitation teams working with people who have brain injuries or neurological disorders.

High demand for psychologists

Clinical psychologist, Educational psychologist, Organisational psychologist and "Psychologist nec" (not elsewhere classified) appear on Immigration New Zealand's Green List. This means the Government is actively encouraging skilled psychologists from overseas to work in New Zealand.

Opportunities for psychologists are good due to:

• increasing demand for psychologists in New Zealand and globally
• the limited number of people who are accepted into, or graduate from, psychology courses each year.

According to the Census, 2,663 psychologists worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Types of employers varied

Psychologists can work for a range of employers, including:

• district health boards
• government departments such as Department of Corrections, Ministry of Education, Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children, ACC and the New Zealand Defence Force
• iwi organisations
• private sector organisations
• addiction, trauma and abuse centres
• universities and polytechnics, as lecturers, advisers and counsellors.

Psychologists can also be self-employed in private psychology consultancies.

Institute of Organisational Psychology

www.organisationalpsychology.nz

New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPS)

(04) 473 4884 - www.psychology.org.nz

NZ College of Clinical Psychologists (NZCCP)

(04) 801 6088 - office@nzccp.co.nz - www.nzccp.co.nz 

Psychologists can move into research, teaching, policy development, clinical, advisory, or managerial roles.

Psychologists can specialise in a number of roles, including:

Clinical Psychologist

Clinical psychologists assess and treat people's behavioural and mental health problems.

Community Psychologist

Community psychologists assess and improve the ways people and their communities affect each other.

Educational and Developmental Psychologist

Educational and developmental psychologists work with students, parents, educators and mental health services to develop supportive environments for students with learning difficulties.

Forensic Psychologist

Forensic psychologists provide assessment, intervention, research and opinions in legal and criminal court proceedings. They also assess and treat prisoners.

Health Psychologist

Health psychologists assist people to manage diseases they suffer from and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Organisational Psychologist

Organisational psychologists help organisations to achieve their goals through areas such as staff recruitment and development, safety and wellbeing, conflict resolution and workforce planning.

Psychologist and Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA)

Psychologist and board-certified behaviour analysts work to reduce challenging behaviours, or to increase skills to improve a person’s quality of life.

Sports Psychologist

Sports psychologists work with sportspeople to help them succeed in their sport.

• NZ Psychological Society website - find out more about psychology specialisations

Psychologists need to be:

• able to relate to people from a range of cultures and backgrounds
• caring, patient and non-judgemental
• adaptable
• able to influence others
• able to keep information private
• able to work well under pressure
• good at making decisions.