Table of Contents
Job description
Clinical Psychologists diagnose or evaluate mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests, and formulate and administer programs of treatment.
- Interact with clients to assist them in gaining insight, defining goals, and planning action to achieve effective personal, social, educational, or vocational development and adjustment.
- Identify psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues and diagnose disorders, using information obtained from interviews, tests, records, or reference materials.
- Use a variety of treatment methods, such as psychotherapy, hypnosis, behavior modification, stress reduction therapy, psychodrama, or play therapy.
- Counsel individuals and groups regarding problems, such as stress, substance abuse, or family situations, to modify behavior or to improve personal, social, or vocational adjustment.
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Clinical Psychologists with little to no experience tend to make between $44040 and $58220 while the more experienced ones can earn over $100760 per year.
| Top 5 paying states | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| CA | $52 | $108,350 |
| OR | $50 | $103,870 |
| NJ | $47 | $98,470 |
| DC | $46 | $95,500 |
| HI | $45 | $94,550 |
One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Clinical Psychologist is to move to a higher paying state like CA. Right now, the highest paying states for Clinical Psychologists are CA, OR, NJ, DC and HI.
However, a higher pay at CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at CA might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.
Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Clinical Psychologist is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.
Requirements
We asked other Clinical Psychologists what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a PhD followed by a Post-Doctoral Training.
Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.
| Psychology, General |
| Developmental and Child Psychology |
| Clinical Psychology |
| Counseling Psychology |
| School Psychology |
Pros and Cons
Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Clinical Psychologist.
| PROS |
|---|
| Suitable for people who likes to solve problems mentally |
| Suitable for people who values relationships between co-workers and customers and wants to work in a friendly non-competitive environment |
| This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors. |
| Very good salary |
| CONS |
|---|
| Not suitable for people who likes to follow routines |
| It is very hard to get into this career. Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience is required for this career. |
| Long working hours (More than 40 hours per week) |
What is the job like
78% of Clinical Psychologists said they were satisfied with their job and 88% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.
Is this right for me
You can read more about these career personality types here.
People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..
They also like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others.
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Learn more about Clinical Psychologists
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Related career information
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Additional resources
Last updated: April 28, 2020
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Clinical Psychologists
diagnose or evaluate mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests, and formulate and administer programs of treatment.
