6 Steps to Becoming a Clinical Psychologist

Working as a clinical psychologist allows you to help patients challenged by mental health issues.

If you're interested in becoming a clinical psychologist, there are several steps you need to take to reach your goal.

Keep reading to find out what education, licensure, and training are necessary to build your career in clinical psychology.

What Is a Clinical Psychologist?

A clinical psychologist is a professional who evaluates, diagnoses, and treats individuals who are dealing with emotional, behavioral, or mental disorders.

Individuals seeking assistance from clinical psychologists might need short-term care or require comprehensive treatments for more severe conditions.

Depending on the state, treatments might include medications.

What Does a Clinical Psychologist Do?

Clinical psychologists' roles and responsibilities can vary depending on the training they receive.

Common responsibilities include:

• observe and interview patients
• deliver diagnostic tests
• provide psychotherapy to individuals, families, and groups
• develop programs for behavior modification
• assist patients with program implementation
• work with various cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic populations

Clinical psychologists may also conduct and implement research on clinical psychological processes and stay on top of clinical psychology legal and regulatory issues.

What Are Clinical Psychologist Specializations?

Clinical psychologists can take their careers in different directions depending on their chosen specialization.

Here are just a few clinical psychologist specializations:

• forensic psychology
• school/educational psychology
• child psychology, a clinical psychologist, and a psychiatrist.

The clinical psychologist typically works with patients who have mental health challenges and doesn't usually prescribe medications.

The counseling psychologist generally listens to and provides tools for patients without mental health challenges who have personal, work, or family problems.

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who works with mental health patients and treats them through psychotherapy (counseling), medication, psychoanalysis, and sometimes hospitalization.

Step 1: Get the Right Education

The process of becoming a clinical psychologist starts with meeting all necessary educational requirements.

Earn an Undergraduate Degree

The first step in becoming a clinical psychologist is earning your bachelor's degree.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), it's preferred that students secure their undergraduate degree in psychology, but related fields are also okay.

In a bachelor's degree program, students learn foundational psychology principles like research, observation, and how the mind works in certain scenarios and environments.

Students can find traditional on-campus programs or complete their psychology bachelor's degree completely online.

Earn a Master's Degree

According to the APA, the next step after earning a bachelor's degree in psychology is usually to earn a master's degree in the field.

If you know for sure that clinical psychology is your field of choice, consider earning your master's degree in clinical psychology.

This type of program helps students learn how to provide professional support to patients struggling with mental and behavioral challenges.

You can find a lot of online master's degrees in psychology and a few programs offering an online clinical psychology master's degree.

Earn a Doctoral Degree

The APA notes that not all doctoral programs require a master's degree in psychology to gain admission. Some programs admit bachelor's degree holders.

Whether you choose to enroll in a doctoral degree program after earning your bachelor's or master's degree, pursuing your Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is your next step.

The Psy.D. is a clinical degree that focuses on practice and requires students to pass an examination. Clinical psychologists must complete a one-year internship as a part of their program.

The Ph.D. is a research degree that requires the completion of a dissertation instead of an examination and is usually designed for psychologists who focus on academia.

There are online Psy.D. Psychology programs that focus on clinical psychology. These programs often explore neuropsychology, evidence-based practice, clinical supervision, psychopathy, and more.

Step 2: Gain Postdoctoral/Preprofessional Experience

While enrolled in graduate programs, it's common for psychology students to get experience under the supervision of a doctoral psychologist.

But even after graduating with a doctoral degree, individuals interested in working as clinical psychologists usually also have to get preprofessional experience via a postdoctoral fellowship.

For individuals interested in clinical psychologist licensure, this typically means getting at least one year of supervised postdoctoral experience.

Taking part in a postdoctoral fellowship offers the chance to get specialized training for those interested in specialty credentials.

The APA offers a platform to search for accredited postdoctoral fellowships in clinical psychology by state and degree type.

Step 3: Secure Licensure for Clinical Psychologists

Licensure is required in most states to use the title 'psychologist.' Practicing independently requires licensure in the place of work for all states and the District of Columbia.

While laws for licensure vary from state to state, clinical psychologists typically need a doctorate in psychology, a one-year internship, and one or two years of supervised experience.

They also need to pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP), which is divided into two exams: Part 1-Knowledge and Part 2-Skills.

EPPP Exam (Part 1-Knowledge)

The EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) focuses on important psychological theories in areas that include cognition, affect, development, general knowledge of intervention, and research.

The exam consists of eight content areas:

• Biological Bases of Behavior
• Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior
• Social and Cultural Bases of Behavior
• Growth and Lifespan Development
• Assessment and Diagnosis
• Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision
• Research Methods and Statistics
• Ethical/Legal/Professional Issues

EPPP Exam (Part 2-Skills)

The EPPP (Part 2-Skills) focuses on assessing candidates' skills. In other words, they apply their knowledge to their professional decision-making and activities.

The exam explores applied, real-world situations that psychologists encounter in practice and consists of the following content areas:

• Scientific Orientation
• Assessment and Intervention
• Relational Competence
• Professionalism
• Ethical Practice
• Collaboration, Consultation, Supervision

While the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) test is in place in all U.S. states and territories as well as Canadian provinces, EPPP (Part 2-Skills) is available in jurisdictions that require the exam.

In jurisdictions that require both exams, candidates must pass both in sequence to secure licensure.

Step 4: Get Board Certified (Optional)

Once you've secured licensure, you're all set to practice as a psychologist.

Having a background and training in clinical psychology is typically enough to get started. However, some employers may require certification if you choose to work within an area of specialty.

If you need to get board certified or want to take this next step to more easily compete against other candidates, you can consider a couple of options.

The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) offers certification for clinical psychology and other specialties like forensic psychology, counseling, geropsychology, and rehabilitation.

Individuals interested in working in the neuropsychology specialty can get certified through the ABPP or The American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology.

Step 5: Start Your Career as a Clinical Psychologist

When you're ready to begin searching for jobs, it's good to look in the most popular work establishments for clinical psychologists.

May 2022 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that clinical and counseling psychologists most often work in healthcare practitioner offices and outpatient care centers.

Other places they work include offices of physicians, individual and family services, psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals, and general medical and surgical hospitals.

Clinical Psychologist Job Outlook

According to the BLS, employment for all psychologists is expected to grow faster than average from 2022 to 2032. Specifically, employment for clinical and counseling psychologists is projected to jump 11% over that period.

The reason for this growth is the expected increase in people turning to psychologists to receive assistance with their problems.

Step 6: Complete Clinical Psychologist Continuing Education

Depending on the state in which you secure licensure to practice as a psychologist, you might be required to complete continuing education courses to keep your license.

It's best to check with your state's psychology board to find out how many hours of continuing education credits are needed and at what frequency they must be completed.

Your state's psychology board can also help you find approved continuing education courses that successfully meet state requirements.

Take Steps to Become a Clinical Psychologist

If you're serious about becoming a clinical psychologist, now's the time to get started. Find a great on-campus or online psychology degree program and begin the steps needed to become a clinical psychologist today.