Thailand

  History of psychology in Thailand:  In the early 1950s Unesco that focused on researching children opened a research institute in Bangkok. The first mental health facility opened in Bangkok in 1953. Senior psychologists who had gotten simple training from abroad trained the first generation psychologists. Most of the early psychologists in Thailand had degrees in education and language arts and worked with children. The government in 1959 recognized the recognition of the psychologist job title. Chiang Mai University had the first bachelors program and Mahidol University became the first to adopt a masters program in clinical psychology. Chulalongkorn University, the most respected in Thailand, placed emphasis on a psychology program and started offering a doctoral program in 2001.  Early psychology was developed from educational and clinical psychology and is still very popular now. Many Buddhists live in Thailand and the practice of self-awareness and meditation are common. When new techniques were introduced in the 1970s that focused on personal growth it was accepted easily. This did not last long and started to fade. They now focus on client-centered psychology more. Information on teaching research and practice of psychology in Thailand:  There are three organizations that a psychologist can choose to join in Thailand. They are Thai Clinical Psychologist Association, the Thai Psychological Association and the Thai Guidance Counselor Association. Most psychologists in Thailand only have a bachelor’s degree and are located in urban areas. Adolescents are researched more often and they focus on smoking, sexual behavior and drug use within the age group. Specialties that are focused on include experimental psychology, social psychology, educational psychology and counseling psychology. The psychologists in Thailand use American and European intelligence and projective tests because they have been unable to make their own successful.  Recently more people from Thailand that study psychology go abroad and are more connected because of technology so they have to the opportunity to do more, such as, treatment, the promotion of mental health and research. They focus on group therapy and have a program dedicated to the prevention and treatment of AIDS. The psychologists that work with AIDS patients, in either research or counseling are well respected. They have even begun working with countries around their own to help out with psychological services. Thailand had the honor of hosting The Asian Applied Psychology International Regional Conference in 2005. This conference helped to promote psychology in Thailand and get international help. There has recently been a new law introduced by the Thai government to make psychologists get proper training in order to get licensed. The requirements are still not as extensive as other countries but it has helped so far. Prominent Psychologists in Thailand: Works Cited Kimble, Gregory A.; Wertheimer, Michael; White, Charlotte. //Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology. Vol. 2. //Retrieved from http://0- www.netlibrary.com.read.cnu. edu:80/Reader/ Tapanya, S. (2004) Psychology in Thailand. In M.J. Stevens & D. Wedding (Eds.), //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Handbook of International Psychology //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> (pp. 261-271). New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Knowles, M.C. (2006). Report from the asian applied psychology international-regional conference, Bangkok, Thailand. //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Internatioal Journal of Psychology //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-style: normal;">, 41 (5), Retrieved from <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">http://0-web.ebscohost.com. read.cnu.edu:80/ehost/pdf?vid= 8&hid107&sid=dd6b5805-6459- 4125-a1d6-698b7b849552% 40sessionmgr11
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Prasap Ratanakorn was the founder of psychology in Thailand.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sombat Tapanya works at Chiang Mai University. He has conducted training workshops in multiple countries in Southeast Asia. He is one of the main investigators to continue loyalty with a project to help AIDS patients in Northern Thailand.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sompote Iamsupasit wrote //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Theories and Techniques of Behavior Modification. //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> This book is regarded as a classic to the field in which it focuses on.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pramual Dickinson wrote //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Developmental Psychology. //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">This book is well known and respected throughout the psychological community.