Clinical psychologist vs clinical fellow

The differences between clinical psychologists and clinical fellows can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a clinical psychologist and a clinical fellow. Additionally, a clinical psychologist has an average salary of $97,659, which is higher than the $69,060 average annual salary of a clinical fellow.

The top three skills for a clinical psychologist include patients, rehabilitation and clinical psychology. The most important skills for a clinical fellow are patients, veterans, and autism.

Clinical psychologist vs clinical fellow overview

	Clinical Psychologist	Clinical Fellow
Yearly salary	$97,659	$69,060
Hourly rate	$46.95	$33.20
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	69,762	59,094
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a clinical psychologist do?

A clinical psychologist is a healthcare professional who treats patients with various mental disorders through one-on-one or group settings. Clinical psychologists assist their patients in identifying their psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues so that a plan of action is created to help patients achieve personal and social development. To create a patient treatment plan, clinical psychologists must interview their patients who have different mental problems. They also collaborate with professionals such as social workers, nurses, and occupational therapists to provide the right treatment to their patients.

What does a clinical fellow do?

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.

Clinical psychologist vs clinical fellow salary

Clinical psychologists and clinical fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Psychologist	Clinical Fellow
Average salary	$97,659	$69,060
Salary range	Between $72,000 And $132,000	Between $52,000 And $90,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Idaho
Best paying company	Kaiser Permanente	Genentech
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between clinical psychologist and clinical fellow education

There are a few differences between a clinical psychologist and a clinical fellow in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Psychologist	Clinical Fellow
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Clinical Psychology	Speech-Language Pathology
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Clinical psychologist vs clinical fellow demographics

Here are the differences between clinical psychologists' and clinical fellows' demographics:

	Clinical Psychologist	Clinical Fellow
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between clinical psychologist and clinical fellow duties and responsibilities

Clinical psychologist example responsibilities.

Manage high-utilizing patients with chronic health and behavioral health concerns to reduce inappropriate medical utilization and to promote better functional outcomes.
Supervise by Amanda Quayle, PsyD.
Utilize CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing techniques.
Provide CBT, DBT and psychodynamic-orient psychotherapy to adolescent and adult clients.
Intern with Dr. Ann-Marie Tripp-Pendelton, PsyD, in a therapeutic capacity.
Collaborate with a team of social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists to develop individualize treatment plans for war veterans.

Clinical fellow example responsibilities.

Level of therapy provide included acute and subacute, as well as long-term rehabilitation at the hospital's skil nursing center.
Evaluate and treat patients suffering from neurological disorders and brain injury.
Evaluate, personalize, and carry out cognitive-linguistic and dysphagia rehabilitation for geriatric clients.
Collaborate on interdisciplinary team comprise of psychiatry, neurology, nursing/case manager, and neuropsychology.
Provide clinical consults with goal of minimizing unnecessary tests and procedures and increasing patients' participation in health care decisions
Develop, monitor and maintain patient individualize treatment plans base on principles of ABA and in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team.

Clinical psychologist vs clinical fellow skills

Common clinical psychologist skills

Patients, 16%
Rehabilitation, 7%
Clinical Psychology, 6%
Group Therapy, 5%
Veterans, 5%
Patient Care, 5%

Common clinical fellow skills

Patients, 13%
Veterans, 10%
Autism, 9%
Surgery, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
Group Therapy, 5%

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Clinical Psychologist vs Clinical Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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