The Profession of Clinical Psychologist

Everyone who is young and pondering future employment forms a romantic idea of the job they will have in any profession. This happens because we are generally uniformed about our future occupations and the jobs presented in the popular media are idealized depictions. For example, a psychologist is often depicted as a warm, accepting psychotherapist who works alone in a nice paneled office. During therapy sessions, the psychologist usually says something wise at a key moment that compels the client to reveal a long-repressed trauma. The client then moves psychologically from uncertainty and unhappiness to self-understanding and happiness.

Although this is not a negative depiction of the profession, it is very limited and unrealistic. Psychologists train and work in a wide variety of settings, not just private psychotherapy practice. In addition, although many psychologists may eventually work in private practice, the odds of training predominantly in an outpatient, private practice setting is small. Most graduate students are trained in University clinics and institutions, such as state hospitals, community mental health clinics and medical centers. Following graduate school, psychologists work in these settings and private practice clinics.

The depictions of the success of psychological intereventions and psychotherapy is romanticised and extreme. Most success in psychotherapy is small in comparison to how it is depicted in the media and it never happens as an acute change in the client as a result of the therapist's remarkable wisdom. Many interventions of psychologists are not just clever observations in a private psychotherapy office. A psychologist is just as likely to administer tests, conduct intake interviews or spend the afternoon filling out forms for the insurance company, as conduct individual therapy sessions. Some of these other activities are just as interesting as therapy but many are not, and these represent the dull parts of psychology practice.

The other source of information about psychologists is the venerable introductory psychology course. These courses are taught in high school and undergraduate college. Psychology is an intrinsically interesting area of study. What could be more interesting than people? The courses present all the fascinating facts and theories of psychology. The genuine intellectual attraction of Psychology leads people to believe that the professional practice of psychology is just as interesting. Of course, the clinical application of psychology in everyday practice is not as interesting and fun as the intellectual study of psychology. This is true of many professions. Unfortunately many people decide to apply to graduate school because they want to continue the study of Psychology and not because they want to be psychologists. Unfortunately, the intrinsically interesting undergraduate psychology course fosters this and it is not until years later that the student separates the study of Psychology from the educational experiences that are designed to train professional psychologists.

If your interest in psychology is based on these factors then it is likely you have a romanticized idea of professional psychologists. The best way to learn about psychology and whether you should be a psychologist is to talk to a few professional psychologists and find out what they do each day. Find out what the jobs are like in various settings, such as institutions and clinics. Ask them about the work schedule, the clients they see, the salary to expect in their clinic. Are these psychologists optimistic about their jobs in these settings? Another excellent method to learn about psychology practice is to work or volunteer in a clinic or hospital.

Do not choose your profession based on an idealized view of it.

The fundamental question you must answer for yourself: Why am I going to graduate school? Although the question sounds simple, think hard and genuinely form a response.

The BA degree in Psychology qualifies you for very few jobs and virtually no upward job mobility. What do you imagine yourself doing as a psychologist? Which topics in Psychology excited you the most? If they were not the clinical topics, then clinical psychology practice will probably not interest you.

In general, psychologists make a salary that is in the low average range of professional salaries. There is also a ceiling on their earnings because of the nature of most psychology jobs. Psychologists have little upward mobility because most clinics and mental health institutions have few levels of management. Private practice income only increases if the psychologist works more hours, develops an increasing supply of clients and these clients have insurance coverage for mental health services. In general, the current environment of managed care means that psychologists work more hours for less compensation. The paperwork burden has also increased.

How important is money to you? You are likely now unmarried and living in an apartment; money may not seem important. After you have 40-60K in educational loans, three children and a mortgage, how important will money be to you then?

These are realistic considerations demanding hard choices. You must weigh your interest in practicing psychology against the difficulties of making a living at this profession. The first step is to place you general interest in Psychology to the sidelines and focus on the occupation of psychologist.

Here is the usual course of training and practice of a psychologist:

• Psychologists usually learn about psychology in undergraduate school. This is the setting where psychology is first taught. As high schools increase their offerings of psychology, more people will hear about it there. Usually the psychology course is introductory. Many people also acquire an interest from working in counseling or mental health settings.
  
  
• Virtually all psychologists were Psychology majors in college. However, this is not absolutely necessary and many psychologists majored in other fields, such as Biology, Sociology and other social sciences.
  
  
• While in college, psychologists usually engage in two activities that enhance their education and likelihood of admission to graduate school. They usually work as a research assistant for faculty members and they work in clinical settings. The clinical work may be a part-time job or part of an internship in the undergraduate program. Such part-time clinical positions that are part of the program are also called "practica".
  
  
• Psychologists then apply to graduate school. The path to graduate school varies from person to person. Most psychologists apply to graduate school during the senior year of college. Many do not get into a graduate program from this application. A large number of psychologists apply after working in the field with a Bachelor's degree. Some may apply to and attend a Masters program, work for a few years, then attend a doctoral program.
  
  
• While in graduate school, psychologists discover which specialty area and work setting they find attractive. They focus on this area while participating in a general course of training. These specialties include Family Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Child Psychology and Neuropsychology. Training consists of coursework, clinical practica and research requirements.
  
  
• As part of graduate training, psychologists apply to and attend a full-time internship for one year. Graduate students apply for the internship in much the same way as they applied to graduate school itself. The major difference is that the internship application process includes a matching of the internship applicant with the internship program.
  
  
• Most psychologists complete and defend the dissertation at this point. Many complete the dissertation during the internship year. Most psychologists start working at approximately the same time they complete the dissertation. As a result, they may apply for jobs during the internship year or soon after completion of it.
  
  
• The final stage in becoming a psychologist is to acquire a license. States vary considerably in their requirements for a license. Fortunately, most psychologists can get a temporary permit to work while they apply for the license. Many states do not allow this and psychologists must work in some supervised capacity until they get the license. The basic requirements for the license includes the appropriate educational program, an internship, some amount of postdoctoral clinical experience and an acceptable score on the national licensing examination.

As you can see, this is quite an undertaking. The time from graduate school admission to licensure is a minimum of five years. The average is approximately seven years. Investigate all these aspects of the professional thoroughly before you decide to take this path.

Evaluate your genuine academic and research skills.

Here are the skills you will need to perform well in graduate school. High proficiency on these skills will make you an attractive candidate.

1) Writing skills. The ability to construct high-quality expository prose is one of the most important skills in graduate school. Take a writing composition course in the English department as an undergraduate. Take it seriously and work hard. The writing skills you learn will be an asset in any occupation. In graduate school, you will be expected to write expository prose at the level of a true scholar. Purchase the Style Manual of the American Psychological Association. This is the style in which you will write your class papers, dissertation and research reports.

2) Investigational Reading. You have probably not thought much about Reading as a skill. The type of reading you do in graduate school is the highest level of comprehension and analysis of prose. When you read a textbook, you will be expected to remember more and genuinely understand the material. You will also read a considerable number of journal articles.

3) Public Speaking. It is unlikely you have done much public speaking in your time as an undergraduate. However, in graduate school, you will make presentations in classes and conferences. You will also make a formal dissertation proposal and defense that involves a very well-designed presentation.

4) Research Design and Statistics. Most programs require some previous experience and training in statistics, research design and data management. All PhD programs require the completion of an empirical dissertation and other research projects. Some PsyD programs require considerable knowledge of research design and statistics even if the student is not required to conduct a dissertation.

5) Computer Skills. If you can program a computer or design web pages, you will have a major edge in applying to graduate school. Obviously the mediation of research and scholarship by computers suggests that the better your computer skills, the more attractive you will be to the programs.

Evaluate your social and clinical skills.

In order to work as a psychologist, you must be psychologically and socially mature. Psychologists obviously interact with a broad spectrum of clients. These clients include those with some of the most severe psychological disorders. You will be trained in clinical skills in graduate school. However, you should have some practical clinical experiences that include training in some clinical skills.

1) Interviewing. Psychologists interview clients as part of personality, diagnostic and intellectual assessment. Interviews are also a component of most psychotherapy. You can acquire interviewing skills in virtually any clinical setting.

2) Assessment skills. This refers to knowledge in tests of personality and intellectual abilities and report writing. Most applicants do not have much previous experience in assessment. If you work for the intake unit of a mental health clinic or hospital, you may get some experience administering tests and writing psychological reports.

3) Psychotherapy and Counseling Skills. If you worked in any clinical setting, you probably received some training in therapy. This experience is usually confined to the clinical population that was treated by the clinic. It is unusual for applicants to have clinical experience among a wide range of clients.

4) General maturity and interpersonal skills. These skills refer to abilities you have to interact with people in general.

Psychologists do a lot of listening. If you cannot quietly listen to clients, you will have difficulty interviewing and engaging in most forms of psychotherapy.

You must be sufficiently mature to genuinely place yourself in the life position of someone else. You must be able to inhibit the tendency to intrude your own personality into the interactions with your clients. You must develop understanding and knowledge of how families and social systems work that are unlike your own family or immediate social setting. If you have difficulty interacting with others and cannot genuinely understand the life situation of other people then you should reconsider a career in Clinical Psychology.

Although the scholarly investigation of Psychology may be very stimulating and interesting, the everyday life of a practicing clinical psychologist requires many abilities that are not appreciated until you begin working.