20.07.2016
This year, a new specialty “Psychology of professional activity” was opened at NSUEU with the specialization “Psychological support of professional activity in extreme conditions.” The head of the Department of Psychology of Extreme Activities, Viktor Kolyshkin, talks about its advantages and employment opportunities for graduates.
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— Why did this specialty appear?
Modern man often finds himself in various unfavorable and sometimes extreme situations. As a result, he develops fear, anxiety, anxiety - precursors to depression, which most often causes suicide. Any extreme situations lead first to psycho-emotional stress, and then to pronounced stress. And these are not just deviations in health, but also so-called “borderline conditions”. Since this is not yet an obvious pathology, it falls out of the sight of doctors; psychophysiologists and clinical psychologists deal with it. In general, it is paradoxical, but true - there are no specialists in Russia who assess and predict the state of the human body in extreme conditions. It is precisely for this reason that our department filled this, in general, empty niche, and began to train such personnel.
There can be many causes of stress: emergency situations and human factors... How do they affect the human condition and how do your graduates help combat the consequences?
It is no secret, for example, that a modern leader is characterized by a state of emotional tension, which manifests itself in various conflict situations and stress. For this reason, the following paradox arises: with vacant positions in leadership positions (mainly lower and middle management), there are no people willing to take them. And this indicates the problem of professional selection and training. Our specialists can also solve it.
As for man-made disasters, unfortunately, man has not yet learned how to prevent them. We can only eliminate their consequences, including carrying out work to provide psychological assistance to people who suffered and survived in the disaster zone, bringing them out of post-traumatic stress. This condition is statistically observed in 20% of people who have suffered various disasters and those who eliminated their consequences. And the task of our psychologists is to help those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
In general, the structure of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (especially beyond the Urals) is experiencing an acute shortage of specialists who know methods for assessing the mental (psychophysiological) state of a person caught in extreme environmental conditions, and methods for managing this state. Our department produces just such specialists.
Until recently, the solution to such problems was dealt with by clinical psychologists - specialists in assessing the human condition, preventing various mental disorders, rehabilitating people with stress disorders, etc.
- You mentioned clinical psychologists. Isn't their training the prerogative of medical universities?
After receiving higher medical education, a person becomes a psychologist in medical psychology. And this is completely different - their task is to work with people who are already in a state of pathology. Our graduates work with people who are not yet in a state of pathology, but are no longer healthy. Their professional competencies include assessment, diagnosis, forecasting, prevention and correction of the functional state of the human body, its borderline states. And that is not all. They are engaged in psychodiagnostics and training of work teams, formation and psychological support of sports teams and other micro groups, adaptation, prevention, rehabilitation of emergency workers and people affected by emergency situations, and much more.
To make it clear what our graduates can do in this rare but important specialty, it is enough to list only some of the disciplines of our specialization: “Psychological correction and rehabilitation”, “Sleep, hypnosis and their mechanisms”, “Psychology of lies and printing research personality”, “Psychophysiological mechanisms of memory in extreme environmental conditions”, “Lateral mechanisms of information processing in extreme environmental conditions”, “Psychological prevention of professional personality deformation in extreme environmental conditions”, “Management of a person’s functional state using biofeedback”.
By the way, these disciplines are not included in the curriculum for training our bachelors in "". Their task is completely different - to understand why a person develops certain disorders, but they do not know methods for managing and correcting these disorders. In other words, they cannot affect humans. A bachelor's degree in "Psychophysiology" is a greatly reduced analogue of the specialization "Psychological support of professional activities in extreme conditions."
- Where can your graduates work?
As practice shows, if a student is successful in his studies, he will definitely find a job in his profession after graduation. Our best graduates work in psychoneurological dispensaries, various recruitment agencies and personnel departments, employment services, research and consulting organizations, and various educational centers that provide psychological counseling to individuals and organizations. Many guys work in services that help people who find themselves in extreme, stressful situations or who have experienced such situations to return to normal.
In general, our graduates scattered to many cities in Russia. For example, one of them in St. Petersburg organized its own consulting agency with a specialization in solving psychological problems. There are also those who have successfully found employment abroad.
If we talk about professions, our graduates work as psychologists, psychophysiologists, clinical psychologists, specialists in assessing the human condition, preventing various mental disorders, rehabilitating people with stress disorders, etc.
You noted that there is a shortage of psychologists in the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. Does this mean that the Ministry of Emergency Situations considers graduates of the Department of Psychology of Extreme Activities of NSUEU as its potential employees?
Yes, the Ministry of Emergency Situations is interested in our graduates. For example, in the regional branch of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Novosibirsk region, a psychological service was organized last summer, and we entered into an agreement on mutually beneficial cooperation. Now our students can undergo internships in this organization with the possibility of subsequent employment. By the way, we also closely cooperate with the Institute of Physiology and Fundamental Medicine of the SB RAS - and this indicates the level of training of our graduates.
- You cannot become a good psychologist without practice. How will your students learn the necessary skills?
For most disciplines studied at our department - we have more than 60 - laboratory work is provided. What is this if not practice? Modern and expensive computer programs for the Center for Psychophysiological Forecasting and Health were purchased - ultra-modern computer diagnostic systems. And future specialists will master the skills of practical use of modern psychophysiological methods, including computer printing, multidimensional scaling of studies of neuronal activity and total brain activity. The training of students specializing in extreme psychology is based on workshops that begin literally from the first semester. Their main feature is their focus on the active participation of students in experiments, that is, the implementation of the principle of “learning through research.” Graduates can also use the acquired knowledge in scientific research. NSUEU has a postgraduate course in psychophysiology, and after graduating from our university you can enter this third level of higher education. Also, students of the Department of Psychology of Extreme Activities undergo internships from the first year not only in our Center for Psychophysiological Forecasting and Health, but also in institutions such as clinical centers and dispensaries, structures of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, agencies for the selection, assessment and management of personnel, institutions for diagnostics and training of labor collectives, sports teams, socio-psychological centers, employment services.
The most common entrance exams:
- Russian language
- Mathematics (basic level)
- Biology - specialized subject, at the choice of the university
- Foreign language - at the choice of the university
This direction will allow you to prove yourself in the extremely popular and profitable professions of a coach (consultant psychologist who helps develop and self-realize in a profession or lifestyle), head hunter (a specialist in finding high-quality and rare professionals), training manager and others. The program is quite new.
Admission exams
To enroll in this program, as in others in the field of psychology, you will have to pass three exams. The first and most important among them is biology; the result in the Russian language is also important. For the third test you can choose a foreign language or mathematics.
Brief description of the specialty
A professional psychologist is preparing to solve the following tasks: psychological support in the field of management, supporting the activities of law enforcement officers, organizing the work of social services, providing psychological assistance. A separate point for graduates is assistance to clients in social and professional realization and identification (so-called coaching).
Large universities in the capital
In vast Moscow, very few universities train specialists in performance psychology; their number does not even reach a dozen. Many of them are proud that students begin to work in their specialty while still studying (approximately one person out of 6-8).
A good theoretical and practical basis will be provided by:
- Moscow City Psychological and Pedagogical University;
- Metropolitan University of Public Administration;
- Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation;
- Moscow University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation;
- Moscow State University named after. M.V. Lomonosov.
Terms and forms of training
The training standard involves training a full-time specialist for five years, which is what most of these universities offer. When adjusting the program for part-time or part-time students, the period of study is usually extended by a year by decision of the academic council of the university.
Subjects studied by students
In addition to general education disciplines, students will become familiar with various areas of psychology, will dwell in detail on the features of psychological counseling and motivational issues, and will go through several practical blocks. Important topics will be ensuring professional activity in extreme and special conditions, conditions of penitentiary institutions, when working in law enforcement agencies and government social services.
Gained knowledge and skills
The result of the training will be a wide range of skills that graduates will be able to apply in practice both in civil (private or public) organizations, and in specialized structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other bodies.
Students will undergo several types of practice, as a result of which they will gain the following skills:
Who to work with
The salary of an ordinary beginning psychologist is 15-20 thousand rubles. An effective trainer-coach can earn 60-90 thousand rubles, and the salary of a professional and a novice trainer can differ significantly. Business coaching is especially popular at the moment, in which earnings often depend on the personal popularity of the seminar leader. A beginning recruiter or HR specialist (HR manager) can count on 25-30 thousand rubles; for large specialists amounts up to 200 thousand rubles are announced.
Continuing training in the specialty
If a student understands that he is aimed at finding a job outside the country, or wants to improve professionally in his homeland, he should think about enrolling in a graduate school in psychology.
The latter will not only give a more detailed understanding of psychology, but will also allow you to change your specialization if necessary. Those who are interested in future work on scientific and theoretical issues should continue their studies at the master's level. Typically, to enroll in a master's program, you take a comprehensive exam and an interview.
Performance psychology is a relatively new specialty that opens up wide opportunities for students who choose it as their future profession.
The scope of professional training of specialists receiving education in the field of psychology of official activities includes solving complex issues of psychological support in the field of management, official activities of law enforcement agencies, organizing the work of social services, providing psychological assistance and much more. In addition, it includes such an area as providing assistance in social and professional realization.
Where do they teach performance psychology?
Considering the specifics of the profession and its novelty, today there are not many higher educational institutions that teach this specialty: even in the capital the number of such universities does not reach ten.
However, you can find a suitable university both in Moscow and in other regions. In the capital, you can get an education in this specialty at the University of Public Administration, at the universities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and them. M.V. Lomonosov, at the city psychological and pedagogical university and in some others.
In order to enroll in this specialty, as a rule, you need to pass three exams. The first and main one is biology, the second is the Russian language. The third exam can be a foreign language or mathematics.
In most higher educational institutions, full-time studies in this specialty are carried out for five years. In addition to full-time study, students can choose part-time or completely correspondence forms of education.
In addition to general disciplines, students of this specialty during their studies get acquainted with different areas of psychology, study the features of psychological counseling and motivational issues. Much attention is paid to ensuring professional activity in non-standard, extreme conditions, in penitentiary institutions.
Like any other specialty, career psychology involves taking not only a theoretical, but also a practical course, which plays a vital role in professional training.
What they teach in universities
During training in this specialty, students receive the most important skills and abilities that can subsequently be used by them in public or private structures, in specialized structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The list of skills includes:
- conducting interviews to determine the professional suitability of individuals for military service or work in internal affairs bodies;
- drawing up characteristics of employees, analyzing the results of their activities;
- consulting and training staff for maximum effective self-realization in the process of work;
- rehabilitation of persons with injuries received as a result of their work in extreme conditions, or as a result of being in areas of emergency incidents or terrorist actions;
- analysis and forecasting of the psychological situation in the team, development of recommendations for creating a favorable atmosphere;
- providing advice and assistance in matters of vocational guidance;
- conducting interviews with candidates for certain positions;
- teaching psychology in lyceums, universities, and specialized courses.
These are the basic skills that students acquire during their studies. These skills allow many students to find employment in their field of study while still studying. Those who want to work on theoretical and scientific issues in the future continue their studies in the master's program. Students who want professional development or want to work abroad enroll in graduate school.
Employment opportunities for specialists
Graduates with a degree in performance psychology can work in several areas.
The directions are as follows:
- by profession of psychologist (consulting psychologist) in public and private medical institutions, in educational and educational institutions, in centers for providing psychological assistance and in personnel selection services;
- by profession as a psychologist in the field of personnel management (head hunter) in recruiting agencies, in personnel services of enterprises and in private practice;
- by profession as a business trainer or coach in HR departments, in various companies and organizations and in private practice.
The salary of psychologists starts from 15-20 thousand rubles. An effective trainer can earn 60-90 thousand rubles or more. A recruiter or personnel selection specialist receives from 25-30 thousand rubles. The larger and more prestigious the organization, the higher the salary level.