What does a chief psychologist do?
Chief psychologist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chief psychologist resumes:
- Provide psychological therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder, deficit/hyperactive disorder, specific learning disorder and others mental diagnosis.
- Provide consultation regarding appropriate placement/treatment of juveniles in the DJJ system.
Chief psychologist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 36% of Chief Psychologists are proficient in Mental Health, Clinical Psychology, and Group Therapy. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Integrity.
We break down the percentage of Chief Psychologists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Mental Health, 36%
Advise and assist administrators and clinical staff appropriately handle mental health student emergencies.
- Clinical Psychology, 14%
Presented a workshop for junior clinical practice students in clinical psychology.
- Group Therapy, 8%
Provided individual and group therapy for substance abusers.
- Risk Assessments, 6%
Supervised Psychology Practicum students on the completion of comprehensive intake evaluations and suicide risk assessments in a high paced clinical environment.
- Psychological Services, 6%
Provide professional psychological services to chronically emotionally maladjusted patients and their families.
- Clinical Services, 5%
Provided direct clinical services and assessments of committed residents, on call crisis coverage and crisis intervention.
"mental health," "clinical psychology," and "group therapy" are among the most common skills that chief psychologists use at work. You can find even more chief psychologist responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a chief psychologist to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "psychologists must examine the information they collect and draw logical conclusions." Additionally, a chief psychologist resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "devised treatment plans for hospitalized in-patients with severe mental illness by using applied behavioral analysis. "
Communication skills. Many chief psychologist duties rely on communication skills. "psychologists must have strong communication skills because they spend much of their time listening to and speaking with patients or describing their research.," so a chief psychologist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways chief psychologist responsibilities rely on communication skills: "experienced in stress management techniques, conflict resolution skills, and communication skills development. "
Integrity. chief psychologists are also known for integrity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to chief psychologist responsibilities, because "psychologists must keep patients’ problems in confidence, and patients must be able to trust psychologists’ expertise in treating sensitive problems." A chief psychologist resume example shows how integrity is used in the workplace: "manage all aspects of small business/ private practice ownership in alignment with ethical guidelines. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain chief psychologist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a chief psychologist rely on this skill, as "psychologists study and help individuals, so they must be able to work well with clients, patients, and other professionals." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what chief psychologists do: "lead psychotherapy groups focusing on interpersonal skills and offender rehabilitation. "
Patience. Another common skill required for chief psychologist responsibilities is "patience." This skill comes up in the duties of chief psychologists all the time, as "psychologists must demonstrate patience, because conducting research or treating patients may take a long time." An excerpt from a real chief psychologist resume shows how this skill is central to what a chief psychologist does: "interviewed patients and their families to collect full information on patience's case. "
Problem-solving skills. Lastly, "problem-solving skills" is an important element of what a chief psychologist does. Chief psychologist responsibilities require this skill because "psychologists need problem-solving skills to collect information, design research, evaluate programs, and find treatments or solutions to mental and behavioral problems." This resume example highlights how chief psychologist duties rely on this skill: "focus on conflict resolution, trauma, and restoring respect, rekindling romance and/or moving relationships to the next level. "
The three companies that hire the most chief psychologists are:
- Hackensack Meridian Health2 chief psychologists jobs
- Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare1 chief psychologists jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable chief psychologist resume templates
Build a professional chief psychologist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your chief psychologist resume.
Compare different chief psychologists
Chief psychologist vs. Clinical fellow
Clinical fellows are doctoral-level health professionals whose interest focuses on biomedical research. They take part in protocol-based clinical research and laboratory research. Their significant role in research leads them to a higher academic degree. Usually, they conduct research for 2-3 hours. They have completed their general residency, and train in health specialties like oncology or cardiology. They examine and treat patients, execute medical procedures, and complete patient charts.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a chief psychologist are more likely to require skills like "clinical psychology," "risk assessments," "psychological services," and "behavior problems." On the other hand, a job as a clinical fellow requires skills like "patients," "veterans," "autism," and "surgery." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that clinical fellows earn slightly differ from chief psychologists. In particular, clinical fellows are 14.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a chief psychologist. Additionally, they're 8.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief psychologist vs. Eating disorder specialist
Clinical psychology interns are responsible for assisting the clinical psychology staff by utilizing their academic knowledge to practical applications. A clinical psychology intern observes the daily operations in a health care facility, shadows medical staff, and prepares reports for clinical psychology processes or psychological research. The interns perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, including responding to the patients' inquiries and concerns, joining psychology professionals on conducting counseling and therapies, and interpreting patients' behaviors and practices.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that chief psychologist responsibilities requires skills like "mental health," "clinical psychology," "group therapy," and "risk assessments." But an eating disorder specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "rehabilitation," "eating disorders," "community organizations," and "community resources."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Eating disorder specialists tend to reach higher levels of education than chief psychologists. In fact, they're 8.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 8.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief psychologist vs. Clinical psychology internship
Provosts have a hefty set of educational requirements, including a master's degree in an educational field, tenure as a college or university academic professor, and, in some cases, the prerequisite of a doctorate: all necessary for the $151K yearly salary. Those who choose this career path will be called upon as the university's chief academic officer under the president to create and implement academic priorities as well as allocate resources that will support those priorities.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a chief psychologist is likely to be skilled in "group therapy," "behavior problems," "clinical services," and "clinical supervision," while a typical clinical psychology internship is skilled in "patients," "group therapy sessions," "behavioral interventions," and "family therapy."
Clinical psychology interns typically earn higher educational levels compared to chief psychologists. Specifically, they're 10.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 24.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief psychologist vs. Psychology associate
Types of chief psychologist
Updated January 8, 2025
