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Creo que la psicología es importante para la salud mental.

Creo que la psicología es importante para la salud mental.
I believe that psychology is important for mental health.
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Questions & Answers about Creo que la psicología es importante para la salud mental.

Why do we need que after Creo? Why can’t I say «Creo la psicología es importante…»?

In Spanish, when creer is followed by a full sentence (a clause with its own verb), you almost always need que:

  • Creo que la psicología es importante. = I think (that) psychology is important.

Here, que works like English “that” introducing the clause “la psicología es importante”.

If you remove que, the sentence is ungrammatical:

  • ❌ Creo la psicología es importante.

You can use creer + noun or pronoun without que:

  • Creo en la psicología. = I believe in psychology.
  • Creo tu historia. = I believe your story.

But as soon as there’s a verb (es), you need que: creo que…

Why is it «es importante» and not «sea importante»? Doesn’t «creer que» often use the subjunctive?

With creer que, the mood (indicative vs. subjunctive) depends on whether the speaker is expressing belief (certainty/probability) or doubt/denial:

  • Affirmation / belief → Indicative

    • Creo que la psicología es importante.
      I think / I believe psychology is important.
      → You’re stating your opinion as something you accept as true, so es (indicative) is used.

  • Negation / doubt → Subjunctive

    • No creo que la psicología sea importante.
      I don’t think psychology is important.
      → You doubt or deny the idea, so sea (subjunctive) is used.

So in this sentence, because the speaker does believe the statement, es importante (indicative) is correct.

Why is it «la psicología» with la? Could I just say «psicología es importante»?

In Spanish, when talking about a field of study or a discipline as the subject of the sentence, it’s very common (and usually more natural) to use the definite article:

  • La psicología es importante. = Psychology is important.
  • La medicina es difícil. = Medicine is difficult.
  • La historia es fascinante. = History is fascinating.

You can sometimes omit the article, especially in certain expressions or titles, but here:

  • ❌ Psicología es importante.
    sounds ungrammatical or at least very odd in standard Spanish.

So la psicología is the normal, natural form.

Why is «psicología» feminine (with la)? Is there a rule?

Psicología is feminine because:

  1. Its dictionary form is la psicología.
  2. Many nouns ending in -ía that refer to sciences, fields of study, shops, or general abstract concepts are feminine:
    • la biología, la sociología, la filosofía
    • la economía, la teoría
    • la panadería (bakery), la librería (bookstore)

So you say:

  • la psicología, esta psicología, toda la psicología, etc.
Why is it «para la salud mental» and not «por la salud mental»?

Para and por are both often translated as “for”, but they’re used differently.

Here, para expresses benefit / purpose:

  • …es importante para la salud mental.
    = …is important for (for the benefit of / in relation to) mental health.

Por would usually sound wrong here, because por tends to express:

  • cause/reason: por estrés (because of stress)
  • means: por teléfono (by phone)
  • exchange: por diez dólares (for ten dollars)
  • movement: por el parque (through the park)

Compare:

  • Es importante para la salud mental.
    → It benefits mental health.
  • Estoy preocupado por mi salud mental.
    → I’m worried about my mental health (it is the cause of my worry).
Why do we say «salud mental» and not something like «mente saludable» or «mental salud»?

Salud mental is a fixed, standard expression in Spanish, just like “mental health” is in English:

  • salud mental = mental health (the standard phrase)
  • salud física = physical health
  • salud emocional = emotional health

You wouldn’t say:

  • ❌ mental salud (wrong word order)
  • ❌ mente saludable (sounds like “a healthy mind” as a specific mind, not the concept of “mental health” as an area).

If you want “a healthy mind”, you can say:

  • una mente saludable / una mente sana.

But the concept/field in this sentence is la salud mental.

Can I say «Pienso que la psicología es importante…» instead of «Creo que…»? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

  • Pienso que la psicología es importante para la salud mental.

In most everyday contexts, creer que and pensar que can both mean “to think that / to believe that” and are interchangeable.

Subtle differences:

  • creer que often leans slightly more toward belief/opinion.
  • pensar que can sound a bit more like reasoned thought / consideration.

But in casual speech, this nuance is usually small, and both are very common and natural here.

Could I drop que and say «Creo la psicología es importante…» like in English “I think psychology is important”?

No. In Spanish this is incorrect:

  • ❌ Creo la psicología es importante…

When creer is followed by a clause with its own verb (es), you must use que:

  • ✅ Creo que la psicología es importante…

Think of que here as a required connector, much more obligatory than “that” in English.

What does the accent on «psicología» do? How is it pronounced?

The accent mark in psicología shows where the stress goes:

  • Without an accent, psicologia (if it existed) would normally be stressed on the second-to-last syllable: psi-co-LO-gia.
  • With the accent, psicología is stressed on the last syllable:
    psi-co-lo-GÍ-a.

Pronunciation guide (Latin American Spanish):

  • psi – like “see” with a very soft or almost silent p at the start.
  • co – like “koh” (as in “cope” without the ending p).
  • lo – like “loh”.
  • gí – like “hee” (the g before í sounds like English h).
  • a – like “ah”.

So roughly: see-koh-lo-HEE-ah.

Why is there no yo? Could I say «Yo creo que…»?

You can say either:

  • Creo que la psicología es importante…
  • Yo creo que la psicología es importante…

Both are grammatically correct.

In Spanish, the verb ending (-o in creo) already tells us the subject is yo, so the pronoun is often omitted.

We usually add yo when we want to:

  • emphasize the subject:
    • Yo creo que… (as opposed to other people).
  • contrast with someone else’s opinion:
    • Tú piensas eso, pero yo creo que…

In a neutral statement, Creo que… without yo is more typical and natural.

Why doesn’t «importante» change form? Should it agree with psicología?

Importante is an adjective that has the same form for masculine and feminine:

  • el libro importante
  • la idea importante
  • los libros importantes
  • las ideas importantes

It only changes for number, not for gender:

  • singular: importante
  • plural: importantes

In your sentence:

  • la psicología → singular, feminine
  • es importante → singular adjective → importante (correct form)
Can I change the word order, like «Creo que es importante la psicología para la salud mental»?

Yes, you can say:

  • Creo que es importante la psicología para la salud mental.

This is still grammatically correct. However:

  • Creo que la psicología es importante para la salud mental.
    is more neutral and natural word order.

The version «es importante la psicología…» puts a bit more emphasis on “es importante”, sometimes used for stylistic or rhetorical effect. In normal conversation or writing, the original word order is preferred.