The Main Differences Between Psychopedagogists And Psychologists

One of the most common issues in psychology consultations is related to the doubts that parents face in their children’s education. Most of them do not require therapy, but simply a professional response that alleviates the parents’ insecurity. In these cases, many parents do not know exactly which professionals to look for, and do not understand the differences between psychopedagogists and psychologists.

Most parents go to a pediatrician, but the best option is to see a child psychologist. Others, however, go to school for help and find a psychologist who is generally more focused on children’s training and development issues. In some schools we can find a psychopedagogue.

Many people confuse the work of a psychologist with that of a psychopedagogue. It is true that, in some respects, the line of work that separates both professions is very thin, but even so we are talking about different professions. These two disciplines are more united in the academic environment, where they usually work side by side, complementing and combining different competences to solve possible problems in the teaching and learning processes.

Both disciplines study the human being and their ultimate goal is intervention, so we find difficulties when it comes to differentiating between them. Throughout this article, we will list the main similarities and differences between psychopedagogists and psychologists, two professions that have been so closely linked since their creation. In fact, in the composition of the two words we can find the same morpheme: “psycho”.

The main difference between psychology and psychopedagogy is that psychology takes a broader view that involves all aspects of life, while psychopedagogy pays specific attention to the learning process.

Professional skills in different work environments

The psychopedagogist works at different points, such as guidance and psychopedagogical intervention.  This professional is able to use a set of knowledge, methodologies and theoretical principles that allow the implementation of preventive, corrective or support actions from multiple models, areas and principles, addressing different contexts.

Among the various areas of psychopedagogical intervention, there is guidance in teaching-learning processes, which focuses on the acquisition of learning techniques and strategies and on the development of metacognitive and motivational strategies. In this approach to the different profiles of the professions, we will try to clarify the different guidelines and objectives of the two disciplines (Palacio, López and Nieto, 2006).

With regard to professional skills, the psychopedagogist works by preventing, detecting and treating problems related to learning, regardless of the age of the person affected. In addition, it works with educational programs and different techniques to facilitate the teaching process.

On the other hand, the psychologist is a professional oriented towards a more global knowledge and at the same time specific to the person. Their qualifications are very broad, even if we limit ourselves exclusively to the educational field: they range from managing emotions and thoughts to managing interpersonal relationships.

Main differences between educational psychologists and psychologists

The professional profiles of these two disciplines have some aspects in common, but there are also differences between psychopedagogists and psychologists.

The work of the psychopedagogist focuses on learning, the underlying processes and their behavior. However, there are some specialists in this discipline who work within companies to improve the quality of life of organizations and their employees.

The work of the psychopedagogist is also closely related to integration, supporting children and adolescents with difficulties and monitoring children who live in problematic homes.

One of the tasks that the psychologist addresses in these areas is the detection of divergent or conflicting behaviors in children, establishing the treatment and guidelines to be followed for its correction. If they affect personality areas, support with medication and joint work with a psychiatrist may be necessary.

In the school environment, the main function of the psychopedagogue is to intervene in the practice of guidance, using specific strategies to achieve concrete results. There are two basic methods in psychopedagogical intervention: the clinical method and the consultation method.

Psychologists, on the other hand, deal with more areas such as affectivity, the evolutionary stages of human development, behavior, personality, vocation, work and social phenomena. In contrast, the psychopedagogist is an expert in a person’s lifelong learning processes.

If our problem is specific to the educational environment, it will be convenient to use the professional help of a psychopedagogist, but if the problem is related to our psychological processes, it will be more appropriate to seek a psychologist.

In any case, we hope that you have a little better understanding of the differences between educational psychologists and psychologists and that you feel more comfortable seeking help from the right professional when you need it.