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What does a clinical psychologist-licensed do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Jim Sliwinski Ph.D.
What does a clinical psychologist-licensed do

A licensed clinical psychologist specializes in diagnosing and treating various emotional, behavioral, and psychological issues. Part of their job is to conduct initial interviews and assessments to identify the patients' needs, study their medical history, coordinate with fellow health care professionals, develop intervention and treatment plans, and provide regular counseling sessions, monitoring the patients' progress. They may also conduct research and analyses, assess the clients' risks, and work together with the clients' families to ensure the client's welfare.

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Clinical psychologist-licensed responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real clinical psychologist-licensed resumes:

  • 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.
  • Conduct psychological and psychoeducational testing evaluations for disability and vocational rehabilitation.
  • Provide cognitive behavioral treatment for members with PTSD from combat and sexual assault.
  • Administer and interpret psychometric tests including the WAIS-IV, WISC-V, WMS-IV, and WRAT-IV.
  • Supervise by Stacy Berlin, Psy.D.
  • Supervise by: Avital Cohen, Psy.D.
  • Conduct psychological and psychoeducational testing evaluations for disability and vocational rehabilitation.

Clinical psychologist-licensed skills and personality traits

We calculated that 13% of Clinical Psychologist-Licenseds are proficient in Rehabilitation, Patients, and Family Therapy. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Integrity, and Patience.

We break down the percentage of Clinical Psychologist-Licenseds that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Rehabilitation, 13%

    Provided psychological screening, evaluation, and treatment for individuals in rehabilitation and nursing home settings.

  • Patients, 13%

    Provided individual and family psychotherapy for adult and geriatric nursing-home patients including crisis intervention, treatment planning, and medical consultations.

  • Family Therapy, 11%

    Provided individual and family therapy for adults and adolescents in a private group practice within a larger medical practice

  • Group Therapy, 9%

    Group therapy and Support groups for unrelated individuals experiencing serious mental illness.

  • Mental Illness, 7%

    Conduct individual and group psychotherapy with adults suffering from serious mental illness.

  • Social Work, 7%

    Supervised unlicensed social workers and psychologists in a cognitive-behavioral program for inmates with co-occurring disorders.

"rehabilitation," "patients," and "family therapy" are among the most common skills that clinical psychologist-licenseds use at work. You can find even more clinical psychologist-licensed responsibilities below, including:

Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a clinical psychologist-licensed 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 clinical psychologist-licensed resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "assisted families develop and implement naturalized applied behavior analysis programs within their natural environment. "

Integrity. Another essential skill to perform clinical psychologist-licensed duties is integrity. Clinical psychologist-licenseds responsibilities require that "psychologists must keep patients’ problems in confidence, and patients must be able to trust psychologists’ expertise in treating sensitive problems." Clinical psychologist-licenseds also use integrity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "perform program integrity reviews for accuracy of billing and care provided to patients. "

Patience. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of clinical psychologist-licenseds is patience. This skill is critical to many everyday clinical psychologist-licensed duties, as "psychologists must demonstrate patience, because conducting research or treating patients may take a long time." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "interviewed patients and their families to collect full information on patience's case. "

Communication skills. For certain clinical psychologist-licensed responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a clinical psychologist-licensed rely on this skill, as "psychologists must have strong communication skills because they spend much of their time listening to and speaking with patients or describing their research." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what clinical psychologist-licenseds do: "experience in advising and treating elderly patients with mental health strong communication and interpersonal skills excellent team player. "

Interpersonal skills. Another crucial skill for a clinical psychologist-licensed to carry out their responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." A big part of what clinical psychologist-licenseds relies on this skill, since "psychologists study and help individuals, so they must be able to work well with clients, patients, and other professionals." How this skill relates to clinical psychologist-licensed duties can be seen in an example from a clinical psychologist-licensed resume snippet: "lead psychotherapy groups focusing on interpersonal skills and offender rehabilitation. "

Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to clinical psychologist-licensed responsibilities. Much of what a clinical psychologist-licensed does relies on this skill, seeing as "psychologists need problem-solving skills to collect information, design research, evaluate programs, and find treatments or solutions to mental and behavioral problems." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of clinical psychologist-licenseds: "provided psychotherapy for qualifying workers' compensation claimants with focus on pain management, trauma resolution, ptsd. "

See the full list of clinical psychologist-licensed skills

The three companies that hire the most clinical psychologist-licenseds are:

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Compare different clinical psychologist-licenseds

Clinical psychologist-licensed vs. Marriage and family therapist

Marriage and family therapists are health professionals who are licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders of married couples and families. These therapists are required to treat patients with issues such as child and adolescent behavioral problems, depression and anxiety, and marital conflicts. They must observe the interaction of people within units while evaluating and resolving their issues with relationships. Marriage and family therapists must also guide their clients to go through transitional crises such as divorce or death.

We looked at the average clinical psychologist-licensed salary and compared it with the wages of a marriage and family therapist. Generally speaking, marriage and family therapists are paid $38,279 lower than clinical psychologist-licenseds per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both clinical psychologist-licensed and marriage and family therapist positions are skilled in patients, mental illness, and social work.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a clinical psychologist-licensed are more likely to require skills like "rehabilitation," "family therapy," "group therapy," and "clinical psychology." On the other hand, a job as a marriage and family therapist requires skills like "mft," "group therapy sessions," "child abuse," and "therapeutic services." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Marriage and family therapists tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $60,978. In contrast, clinical psychologist-licenseds make the biggest average salary, $89,177, in the professional industry.marriage and family therapists tend to reach higher levels of education than clinical psychologist-licenseds. In fact, marriage and family therapists are 18.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 42.7% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Clinical psychologist-licensed vs. Licensed professional counselor

A licensed professional counselor is a healthcare professional who specializes in providing therapy and counseling to patients with emotional and mental health issues. They listen to their patients and utilize various techniques to address concerns and help through the healing procedures. Their duties entail conducting interviews and evaluations, performing research and assessments, studying the patients' medical histories, providing consultations, and developing treatment plans that suit every patients' needs. Additionally, a licensed professional counselor monitors and records their patients' progress, adjusting treatments and medications as necessary.

On average, licensed professional counselors earn a $1,460 lower salary than clinical psychologist-licenseds a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Clinical psychologist-licenseds and licensed professional counselors both require similar skills like "rehabilitation," "patients," and "mental illness" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real clinical psychologist-licensed resumes. While clinical psychologist-licensed responsibilities can utilize skills like "family therapy," "group therapy," "crisis management," and "clinical psychology," licensed professional counselors use skills like "lpc," "real estate," "community resources," and "hipaa."

Licensed professional counselors may earn a lower salary than clinical psychologist-licenseds, but licensed professional counselors earn the most pay in the real estate industry with an average salary of $99,425. On the other hand, clinical psychologist-licenseds receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $89,177.In general, licensed professional counselors achieve higher levels of education than clinical psychologist-licenseds. They're 29.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 42.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for clinical psychologist-licenseds in the next 3-5 years?

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

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Defiance College

Advances in technology have been making psychology more accessible. Virtual counseling sessions can be conducted over video chat. Students and researchers can quickly find access to the latest research information, right on their phones. In academia, students have even started taking online quizzes right on their smartphones. As we become more attached and accustomed to relying on our phones, I think we'll begin to see less use of other electronic devices, such as tablets and computers, and greater reliance on our phones to fulfill all of these roles.

Clinical psychologist-licensed vs. Eating disorder specialist

A Psychotherapist's responsibility is to help clients who suffer from symptoms like depression, anxiety, and other behavioral problems. They work with individuals, couples, and families.

On average, eating disorder specialists earn lower salaries than clinical psychologist-licenseds, with a $38,226 difference per year.clinical psychologist-licenseds and eating disorder specialists both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "rehabilitation," "family therapy," and "mental illness," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from clinical psychologist-licensed resumes include skills like "patients," "group therapy," "social work," and "crisis management," whereas an eating disorder specialist is more likely to list skills in "community organizations," "community resources," "substance abuse treatment," and "health professionals. "

Most eating disorder specialists achieve a higher degree level compared to clinical psychologist-licenseds. For example, they're 9.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 42.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Clinical psychologist-licensed vs. Psychotherapist

Psychotherapists typically earn lower pay than clinical psychologist-licenseds. On average, psychotherapists earn a $26,214 lower salary per year.According to resumes from clinical psychologist-licenseds and psychotherapists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "rehabilitation," "patients," and "mental illness. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "family therapy," "group therapy," "clinical psychology," and "apa" are skills that commonly show up on clinical psychologist-licensed resumes. On the other hand, psychotherapists use skills like diagnostic assessments, community resources, home health, and substance abuse disorders on their resumes.The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for psychotherapists, with average annual pay of $67,081. Comparatively, the highest clinical psychologist-licensed annual salary comes from the professional industry.In general, psychotherapists hold higher degree levels compared to clinical psychologist-licenseds. Psychotherapists are 37.2% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 40.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of clinical psychologist-licensed

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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