Future Challenges to the Field

¶ … future challenges to the field of professional psychology in contemporary society. What does the future hold for the field of psychology? It is always difficult to predict the future, but in the field of psychology, it seems many different things may be in store for the future.

The Internet has become much more than an information tool. Today, it is the key to just about every aspect of life for many people, from shopping to social networking. In the future, it seems possible that psychiatry could move to the Internet, in the form of 24/7 counseling available via credit card online. One company has already attempted to do this, but they are no longer online, but it would seem that as people become more accustomed to using the Internet, services like this would become more common. There is a huge wealth of medical data available online, and psych data as well, so why not online counseling? Two writers note, "A Harris Poll found online information concerning depression to be among the most sought after topics on the World Wide Web" (Fowler & Newman, 2004, p. 125). If people are diagnosing themselves online, it seems that eventually, counseling online would be quite common.

In other areas, it seems that psychology of the future may become much more global in nature, just as so much of everyday life has become globalized today. There will certainly be more international linking and discussion of psychology organizations and individuals, and more awareness and understanding of psychology around the world. Psychology is not as accepted in many countries as it is in the United States, so it appears that a greater awareness of the benefits of psychology could be spread more globally, too.

Many experts believe that psychology will spread into other areas, and that it will continue to grow into separate branches of psychology and psychiatry even more. Psychologists work in other areas, such as heath care and education, and they believe this will continue on a larger scale, too. The two writers continue, "As psychologists move increasingly into the area of general health and primary care, such interdisciplinary work will be even more common" (Fowler & Newman, 2004, p. 125). This interdisciplinary work will blur the lines between psychology, philosophy, and other areas, in addition, many people seem to think.