How to hire a rehabilitation psychologist

How to hire a rehabilitation psychologist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step rehabilitation psychologist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a rehabilitation psychologist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new rehabilitation psychologist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the rehabilitation psychologist you need to hire. Certain rehabilitation psychologist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect rehabilitation psychologist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents rehabilitation psychologist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Rehabilitation Psychologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Rehabilitation Psychologist	Psychologists study cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior by observing, interpreting, and recording how people relate to one another and their environments.	$25-55
   Psychotherapist	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.	$20-53
   Psychologist	Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas... Show more	$32-66

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Rehabilitation
   • Patient Care
   • Behavior Management
   • Pain Management
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Psychological Services
   • Psychological Assessments
   • CBT

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide outpatient neuropsychological evaluations to inform and guide rehabilitation treatment planning.
   • Provide witness testimony regarding the care and progress of patients in the psychosocial rehabilitation program.
   • Develop cognitive behaviorally-base educational module for post-surgery patients.
   • Develop cognitive behaviorally-base educational module for post-surgery patients.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your rehabilitation psychologist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A rehabilitation psychologist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, rehabilitation psychologists' average salary in hawaii is 53% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level rehabilitation psychologists 53% less than senior-level rehabilitation psychologists.
   • Certifications. A rehabilitation psychologist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a rehabilitation psychologist's salary.

   Average rehabilitation psychologist salary

   $79,499yearly

   $38.22 hourly rate

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   Entry-level rehabilitation psychologist salary

   $54,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

4. Writing a rehabilitation psychologist job description

   A rehabilitation psychologist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a rehabilitation psychologist job description:

   Rehabilitation psychologist job description example

   Are you seeking greater fulfillment in your clinical career? As a Rehabilitation Psychologist at Bancroft, you will be a supportive member of our clinical team committed to helping individuals living with Traumatic Brain Injuries and other neurological disorders. Working closely together with your team and families, you'll empower individuals to realize their best life.
   
   The Rehabilitation Psychologist provides direct, consultative, and supportive assessment and therapeutic services in rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology to persons served, and outpatients to enhance individual potential for learning, quality of life and independence and to meet the specific rehabilitation needs of persons served.
   
   This position will be providing services at our Mount Laurel, NJ location. The hours will be Monday-Thursday 8:30a-5:00pm.
   Responsibilities:
   
   How You Can Make a Real Impact:
   
   Provides direct and consultative psychological and neuropsychological services, including assessment, treatment, and intervention in accordance with regulations, standards, and guidelines defined by the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), N.J. State Board of Psychology and Code of Ethical Practice, Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Individual Program Plan (IPP), and established Bancroft policies and procedures.
   Conducts diagnostic assessments and develops intervention plans for individual persons served, as needed or as assigned:
   As needed, determines the need for therapeutic intervention, level of intellectual functioning, communication abilities, achievement performance, adaptive behavior, and other cognitive functions;
   Reviews assessments of persons served, administers standardized testing, performs formal and informal testing, performs clinical observations, conducts specialized screenings, interprets behavior data graphs and assessment results, and provides recommendations for service delivery;
   Provides reassessment of persons served, focusing on targeted areas of need at established intervals;
   Plans and develops goals specific to psychological therapy and treatment services that are clinically relevant, achievable, measurable, and will be effectively utilized in each individual's rehabilitation program.
   Provides direct psychological therapy, treatment services, and intervention to persons served:
   Provides individual and group psychotherapy;
   Plans and schedules frequency and duration of sessions in accordance with individual needs;
   Utilizes appropriate therapeutic techniques based on the diagnostic, cognitive, psychological, communication, physical abilities, and learning capacity of the individual served;
   Prompts and/or assists each person in the achievement of goals while actively encouraging the independence and competency of each person within his/her ability level;
   Utilizes a system of documentation that is professional, efficient, accountable, and conforms to federal and state regulations and Bancroft policies and procedures; develops and maintains progress reports, session notes, treatment summary reports, etc.;
   Provides training on a variety of topics and specific to rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology to staff members regarding the implementation and monitoring of treatment plans, behavior plans, cognitive remediation plans, etc.;
   May accompany persons served to psychiatric/neurological medical appointments in tandem with Nurse, residential direct care staff, parents/guardians, etc.
   Provides crisis intervention, as needed, through counseling, de-escalation techniques, staff support, and assistance. May determine need for physical restraint, operating in accordance with approved DDD regulations. May provide on-call services to residential persons served.
   Provides consultative services in rehabilitation to Trans-Disciplinary Team (TDT) and other staff members, persons served family members, and residential direct care givers (both within and outside of the Bancroft organization):
   Effectively utilizes available psychological therapy, treatment, cognitive, behavioral, physical, and developmental information of individuals served
   
   There will be opportunities to complete outpatient neuropsychological evaluations for adults and older adults, in addition to psychotherapy, as part of this position if that is of interest to the applicant
   
   Qualifications:
   
   What You'll Love About Bancroft:
   
   Meaningful Purpose: We truly make a difference in the lives of others, which inspires us to be better people, and gives us purpose.
   Outstanding Benefits: We offer competitive salaries, retirement savings program, generous paid time off, medical and dental insurance, and more
   Opportunities for Professional Development and Career Advancement
   Involvement with Student Training
   Working with a Strong, Transdisciplinary Team, including Board Certified Psychologists
   
   Education & Experience:
   
   Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology, Counseling, Psychology, or a related psychological field required for current licensure by the State of New Jersey.
   
   EEO Statement:
   
   Bancroft is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and supports diversity, equity and inclusion in its hiring and employment practices, so that every team member can feel a true sense of belonging, and maximize their unique potential. To this end, all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
   
   #CLIN

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find rehabilitation psychologists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your rehabilitation psychologist job on Zippia to find and recruit rehabilitation psychologist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting rehabilitation psychologists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new rehabilitation psychologist

   Once you've decided on a perfect rehabilitation psychologist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new rehabilitation psychologist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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