Are you a kid or teenager meeting a clinical psychologist soon? Or maybe you are thinking about doing it… and you are wondering… what is a clinical psychologist? and what do they do? Here you can find out more about me and the way I work.
Hi! I’m Dr Angie Randell
Hi! My name is Angie, I am a clinical psychologist.
Lots of people don’t know much about what a clinical psychologist is. You can think of me as being a bit like a doctor, and a bit like a teacher… but, well… different from both.
…I am like a doctor
So… the doctor you might be used to seeing is a medical doctor. You will go see them to help you when something does not feel good in your body. I am a bit like that too, but people come to see me more about feelings that don’t feel good – like being really worried and scared, or being super angry, or super sad. They also come to see me about thoughts that don’t feel good– like worries that keep coming into their heads, or thinking they aren’t smart or thinking no one likes them.
It might also be situations that don’t feel good – like maybe it’s hard to make friends or maybe it’s hard to fit in to a new school. Lastly it might be about actions people are doing which are making life tough, like fighting with people, or not getting to school very much. So, really, I see people about a lot of different things. Maybe the easiest way to think of it is that I am like a “thoughts-and-feelings doctor”, and in my job I help people with difficult things that they are going through in their mind and in the real world.
Oh… something important I should let you know… your doctor might give you medicine, or even needles sometimes too. I do not use medicines or needles. Instead, we will talk, and play, maybe do some drawing, or worksheets too, as we work together.
…I am like a teacher
Oh yeah, I am a bit like a teacher too… but as for being like a teacher… well… your teacher at school probably wants you to learn about writing, reading, and maths… but I don’t teach about those things at all! When people want to feel better about their thoughts and feelings, they might need to learn a bit more about how thoughts and feelings work in their mind. So sometimes I do a bit of teaching about the human mind. I teach about how our mind really tries hard to solve problems… but weirdly, by doing that, it sometimes causes extra problems! The cool thing is you can be the boss of your mind, and I can teach you how.
… but you’re the expert!
You will teach me things too, about what it’s like to be YOU. Because you are the expert on that! I am always interested to learn about you…. I am interested to find out what you really like to do, what you are good at, and what is happening for you at home, at school and with your friends…
Say Hi!
If you’re a kid or teenager meeting a clinical psychologist (maybe me?) it’s ok if you reach out to say hi or ask more questions about it. But if you are under 18, please provide your parent’s email address too in the form below and I can reply to both of you.
A bit more about me…
Other links you might like!: