Day in the life of
Clinical Psychologist – Nancy B. Irwin, PsyD, C.Ht.
I feel like I have the best job in the world: I get to watch people heal and grow and attain their goals.
I have a nice balance between a private practice in West Los Angeles and a luxury rehab facility in Malibu. I treat individuals and couples, mostly to overcome trauma and addictions. But I also use hypnosis for test anxiety, sports enhancement, fear of public speaking, smoking cessation, and more.
A typical day for me is about 6 clients (90 minutes for initial sessions and 60 for existing clients), 1-2 logging notes, making collateral calls to family members, returning phone calls, doing free consultations before an intake, following up with existing clients, 1-2 group therapy sessions per week that I lead (trauma and dream analysis), 2-3 treatment team meetings with our clinical staff at the rehab clinic, and 2-4 hours per week supervising a psych intern.
I also get to do continuing education courses (36 hours required every 2 years). I enjoy all of these tremendously, although logging process notes can be tedious, but important if I end up having to testify in court (some clients are court-mandated).
Pros
I have flexibility, treat a diversity of clientele, am always learning more, make good money, and set my own hours.
Cons
I can occasionally get compassion fatigue, but the answer is self-care. The other con is invoicing and billing. Paperwork is not my favorite task, but that actually only takes about 5% of all my work time.
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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.
The Thinker