As a licensed clinical psychologist, you have the responsibility of assisting people with mental health and behavioral issues. You may find employment in hospitals, clinics and mental health facilities, universities, the business industry or set up your own private practice. There are a large number of different areas of specialization for careers in this field so job prospects are good. For example, you could choose to specialize in children or adults, educational psychology or counseling, research, experimental, rehabilitation, applied or addiction psychology. You could also specialize in behavioral analysis, be a legal consultant, or specialize in psychotherapy, learning disabilities, gender-specific psychology, family psychology, trauma psychology or criminal psychology. This partial list gives you an idea of the breadth of possibilities. If you want to start a career in psychology, understand that you need to be prepared both personally and professionally to provide effective psychological services.
Here are some of the steps you need to be aware of in order to become a licensed clinical psychologist.
- Determine if you have the disposition to become an effective psychologist. You must like working with people and have an interest in the workings of the human mind to work in a career in psychology. You must be observant, patient and have the ability to remain calm, objective and level headed. You must be willing to put in the long hours to finish your education, as well as put in the time and effort to make your practice a success. A career in psychology requires that you constantly learn, grow and update yourself with the developments in the field.
- Prepare yourself in high school. The fact is, competition to get into a good college is high and you will need to keep your grade point average high. Psychology is a science with emphasis placed on analysis and critical, objective thinking. Math and science classes are critical to this process. Talk to your high school psychologist or counselor about your options and about the various possible career choices.
- Get your bachelor’s degree in psychology from a school accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). A psychology degree will take at least four years to complete. If you have another degree, you may still become a psychologist, but you may need to compensate by taking extra science units, so look at the different graduate schools of psychology to ensure you have achieved all of the pre-requisites and you are eligible for admission. A high Grade Point Average (GPA) is critical for application to a master’s or doctoral program.
- Get your master’s degree. Throughout your college career, talk to as many practicing psychologists as possible and look into opportunities to shadow a practicing psychologist. Find a mentor in the field to guide you in your choices. In general, a master’s degree will take at least two years to complete.
- Get your PhD or PsyD. After achieving your bachelor’s degree, you can apply directly for a position in a doctoral program, or, get a master’s degree first. Clinical psychologist doctoral degree programs are some of the most competitive to get into. In a doctoral program, you will need to write a dissertation on a unique, research-based and innovative subject determined by your advisor and your dissertation committee. You can choose your advisor and committee based on the interests you have developed as an undergraduate. The doctoral program may take more than four years to complete—much depends on your program, your dissertation topic and your advisors.
- Take your internships seriously. These will be supervised and you need to meet a minimum number of hours or years. These supervised experiences are required for licensure.
- Prepare for, take and pass a licensure exam. This is the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP), which is a computer-based testing (CBT) exam. Various states, provinces and territories have additional requirements. In general, the requirements are:
- Completion of a doctoral or master’s degree in psychology or a closely related area.
- A period of supervised experience providing psychological services. This experience must be under the direct supervision of a licensed psychologist. A minimum of two years of supervised experience is required.
- A passing grade on the EPPP, administered by the Association of State and Provincial Boards of Psychology. Approximately 80% of those taking the test for the first time are expected to pass.
There is expected growth in the psychological health industry as a whole.
- Overall, about 1/3 of psychologists are self-employed. They are primarily private practitioners and independent consultants.
- In general, the best prospects are for those with a doctoral degree. Those with a master’s degree may also have excellent prospects in certain areas such as business and industry.
- Growth is expected in all areas of clinical psychology and ranges from 11-26%, with variations by particular specialty.
- Earnings vary depending on the setting: For example, here is some salary information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The current mean annual wages for clinical, counseling and school psychologists range from approximately $68,000 to $87,000.
- The mean annual wages for industrial-organizational psychologists range from approximately $70,000 to $159,000.
- For all other psychologists, the mean annual wages range from approximately $83,000-$110,000.
There are a few more things to keep in mind. Licensed clinical psychologists are required to go through counseling and/or therapy themselves as part of the degree program. This is important in order to ensure that the licensed psychologist is able to provide the best counseling services possible.
Clinical psychology can be an exceptionally rewarding—but demanding—career. If you work these jobs, you will have to dedicate yourself to long hours of study, self-reflection and practice. Given the variety of opportunities, these long hours can result in a career that satisfies your goals and provides an important service for others.