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What is a clinical psychologist-licensed and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Jim Sliwinski Ph.D.
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Clinical psychologists are licensed professionals certified to provide direct services to patients. These services include identifying psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues and monitoring the patient's progress through regular therapy sessions.

They also offer guidance to the patient's caregivers, among others. Their goal is to help the patient identify their issues, overcome them and become better.

A clinical psychologist administers and interprets cognitive and personality tests. They diagnose mental illness, creates treatment plans, and conducts psychotherapy.

Clinical Psychologists work in various facilities, like hospitals, government agencies, outpatient centers, and social service settings. Many are self-employed, working in their own private practice offices. Others partner with other mental health professionals.

They are well-versed in conducting research and publishing research findings in related journals. A clinical psychologist holds doctoral degrees. However, they do not prescribe drugs as only a psychiatrist is authorized to do that.

What general advice would you give to a clinical psychologist-licensed?

Dr. Jim Sliwinski Ph.D.Dr. Jim Sliwinski Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Defiance College

I encourage all undergraduate psychology majors to consider graduate school. A bachelor's degree in psychology is becoming much more of a pre-professional program. That's not to say that there are not many jobs out there for individuals who only have a bachelor's, but full-time jobs, with benefits, are becoming harder to come by.
ScoreClinical Psychologist-LicensedUS Average
Salary
7.5

Avg. Salary $96,135

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
8.6

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.6
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.20%

Asian 3.34%

Black or African American 6.18%

Hispanic or Latino 10.44%

Unknown 3.44%

White 76.39%

Gender

female 69.17%

male 30.83%

Age - 42
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42
Stress level
8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
7.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Clinical psychologist-licensed career paths

Key steps to become a clinical psychologist-licensed

  1. Explore clinical psychologist-licensed education requirements

    Most common clinical psychologist-licensed degrees

    Doctorate

    44.7 %

    Bachelor's

    34.9 %

    Master's

    18.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific clinical psychologist-licensed skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Rehabilitation12.96%
    Patients12.70%
    Family Therapy10.77%
    Group Therapy8.62%
    Mental Illness7.38%
  3. Complete relevant clinical psychologist-licensed training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clinical psychologist-licenseds learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a clinical psychologist-licensed based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clinical psychologist-licensed resumes.
  4. Research clinical psychologist-licensed duties and responsibilities

    • Provide individual and family psychotherapy for adult and geriatric nursing-home patients including crisis intervention, treatment planning, and medical consultations.
    • Provide parent-support and training for parents with toddlers or young children recently diagnose with an autism spectrum disorder.
    • Provide psychological screening, evaluation, and treatment for individuals in rehabilitation and nursing home settings.
    • Generate positive results from recommendations such as decreasing PRN usage, minimizing require staff observations, and discharging previously problematic patients.
  5. Prepare your clinical psychologist-licensed resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clinical psychologist-licensed resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a clinical psychologist-licensed resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable clinical psychologist-licensed resume templates

    Build a professional clinical psychologist-licensed resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your clinical psychologist-licensed resume.
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
    Clinical Psychologist-Licensed Resume
  6. Apply for clinical psychologist-licensed jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a clinical psychologist-licensed job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first clinical psychologist-licensed job

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Average clinical psychologist-licensed salary

The average clinical psychologist-licensed salary in the United States is $96,135 per year or $46 per hour. Clinical psychologist-licensed salaries range between $71,000 and $129,000 per year.

Average clinical psychologist-licensed salary
$96,135 Yearly
$46.22 hourly

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How do clinical psychologist-licenseds rate their job?

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Clinical psychologist-licensed reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2021
Pros

My practice is very diverse. I have been treating patients for over 32 years in various countries working with indigenous cultures treating the chronically compromise. I truly love my work we just integrated and many fields and disciplines of Medicine


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2020
Pros

Variety, supporting kids, testing and analyzing, teams.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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