Community Service Ideas for Psychology Students

There is a great demand for a quality internship, volunteering opportunity or community service program amongst Psychology students as such opportunities are vital to practice one’s theoretical skills and implement it on a regular basis. 

Most students prefer to gain solid field experience that fulfills their requirements and provides them ample practice and enables them to be outstanding post graduation. This guide is intended to help students studying Psychology to better understand the community service process, to locate relevant organisations and to provide pre-professional opportunities to job-seekers. 

We will also introduce you to some great ideas that will give you a place to start. If you are keen to engage in community service, but do not know where to start, this article will guide you in the right direction.  If you want to learn about how to contribute towards the society as a young psychology major or want to hone your skills or implement your theoretical knowledge in real life, read ahead. 

We hope you are more knowledgeable about your community service options after reading this article. 

What is Community Service? 

Community service is doing unpaid work that is intended to help the needy and serve local communities. The goal of community service is to uplift downtrodden communities and to improve their lives. By doing community service you can help minority communities such as children, women, transgenders and the elderly. You can even help endangered animals! 

There are various reasons why people decide to participate in community service. Some genuinely enjoy helping others, some want to create a positive impact in the lives of members of the local community and some want to gain work experience. Work experience is important when applying to colleges, especially colleges abroad. By demonstrating their work experience, they can show their leadership skills, communication skills and many more. Most people come to use because they are interested in gaining hands-on experience, that will put them in a good stead when applying to colleges. 

Why Should Psychology Majors Engage in Community Service? 

7.5 percent of India’s population is suffering from mental illness according to a report published by WHO. This is an area where as a young student you can help create a much-needed positive impact. 

Moreover, it is very important for psychology students to demonstrate empathy, communication and emotional intelligence. Engaging in community service can enable students to develop these skills and practice them whilst also serving the community to create a positive impact. 

Community service provides you a platform to develop industry-specific skill such as: 

• Empathy 
• Effective communication 
• Problem-solving 
• Emotional Intelligence 
• People Skills 

Here are a few ideas that will help you get started: 

Try these Community Service Activities 

1. Start an online club on crucial topics like mental health, body shaming, exam anxiety, or domestic violence. 
2. Intern with a professional  expert like a psychologist or a therapist. 
3. Identify non-profits that focus on health and mental health for disadvantaged communities in urban and rural areas. 
4. Spreading information through social media about interlinked issues such as body positivity and mental health. You can even spread awareness about mental health amongst adolescents and teenagers like teenstogether does. 
5. Organise a social media campaign to bust the misinformation surrounding COVID-19’s impact on one’s mental health. Spread information on social media about mental health issues to destigmatise it. 
6. Provide free therapy sessions if you are qualified to do so.
7. Volunteer at a crisis helpline to listen to those in need. 
8. Sign up to write letters, create cards or send postcards to senior citizens living in care facilities who have had to self-isolate during the crisis.
9. Volunteer at crisis centres that aim to answer texts/calls from people experiencing a crisis. Training will be provided.  
10. Start a podcast or write a book. Take inspiration from Ahana and Zahabiya who started Little Big Problems. 
11. Organise drop-in sessions online about mental health issues. 
12. Create an Instagram page that lists details of therapists to contact and how much they charge.
13. Conduct a primary research and publish the findings 

Organisations You Can Work With 

TribesforGOOD – A social enterprise that offers various types of structured community service programs. If you want to create change, but do not know how to, TribesforGOOD can help you. 

Mithra Trust – The purpose of this organisation is to provide mental health information ad tools in a way that a trusted friend would. They provide lots of opportunities for volunteers like you to engage in. 

Aasra Foundation – Aasra Foundation is a suicide prevention and counselling NGO that provides many volunteering opportunities as well. 

Minds Foundation – Their vision is to create a world that fosters a shared approach to mental wellness – in which anyone, anywhere, can access the resources they deserve. They offer a variety of community service opportunities as well. 

The Live Love Laugh Foundation – The Live Love Laugh Foundation aims to reduce the stigma around mental health and to spread awareness about it. It also aspires to change the way people perceive Mental Health.  

So…. 

Brainstorm. Pick and Choose. Implement. Learn and Develop. 

Brainstorm what you want to do and when. Pick and choose the ideas that you more relate to. Implement those ideas by working with relevant organisations. Learn and develop from your community service experience. 

We hope that this article has provided you with some ideas that you can hopefully benefit from. You are already in a better position if you feel the compelling need to engage in community service and put your skills to use. We hope you will be in a much better position after using the resources available in this article. 

Check out our article on 50+ Virtual Community Service Ideas That Will Make You Stand Out from the Crowd