Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
O*NET files this work under Clinical and Counseling Psychologists: people who assess, diagnose, and treat mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests. The skills rated most useful are reading comprehension, social perceptiveness, and writing. You may also need to conduct assessments of patients' risk for harm to self or others. With a code of SIC, this is mostly a job for people drawn to helping, teaching or caring for people. Investigative interests also help, rated 5.6 out of 7. Getting in usually takes graduate school and often five years or more of related experience, a level O*NET calls extensive preparation. People who want helping, teaching or caring for people usually fit better here than those who need hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world.
What they do
Assess, diagnose, and treat mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests. Help individuals with distress or maladjustment understand their problems through their knowledge of case history, interviews with patients, and theory. Provide individual or group counseling services to assist individuals in achieving more effective personal, social, educational, and vocational development and adjustment. May design behavior modification programs and consult with medical personnel regarding the best treatment for patients.
Main tasks
- Conduct assessments of patients' risk for harm to self or others.
- Document patient information including session notes, progress notes, recommendations, and treatment plans.
- Identify psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues and diagnose disorders, using information obtained from interviews, tests, records, or reference materials.
- Write reports on clients and maintain required paperwork.
- Counsel individuals, groups, or families to help them understand problems, deal with crisis situations, define goals, and develop realistic action plans.
- Interact with clients to assist them in gaining insight, defining goals, and planning action to achieve effective personal, social, educational, or vocational development and adjustment.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Social Perceptiveness
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Speaking
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on reading comprehension and social perceptiveness.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You want to work with your hands for most of the day. Realistic rates 1.1 out of 7 here.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SIC takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Post-Doctoral Training. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Case Manager
- Clinical Psychologist
- Counseling Psychologist
- Counselor
- Licensed Clinical Psychologist
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.