Psychology

PSYCHOLOGY Psychologists study the human mind and human behavior. There are many different kinds of psychologists, including clinical psychologists, health psychologists, neuropsychologists and geropsychologists.

Clinical psychologists interview patients and administer diagnostic tests. They give individual, family, or group psychotherapy. They also design behavior modification programs based on their observations. They rehabilitate and treat people that are emotionally disturbed, in personal crisis, or addicted to drugs and illegal substances. Psychologists hold about 166,000 jobs, and forty percent of those were for educational institutions.

The average income of all psychologists is $48,050 a year. Over fifty percent of all psychologists make between $36,570 and $70,870 a year. The highest average income is from psychologists working in offices of other healthcare practitioners, and the lowest average income is from psychologists working in state governmental institutions. Most psychologists start of making around $45,000 dollars.

One half of psychologists are self-employed, about 5 times the average for professional workers.

A photo of a group conducting psychotherapy.

English: Group Rorschach used by the Office of Str...

Penn campus

Opportunities for employment for those with only a bachelor's degree are severely limited. The employment of psychologists is growing at a normal rate. Employment in health care is growing fastest in outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment clinics A doctoral degree is usually required for employment as a licensed clinical or counseling psychologist. Psychologists that have a Ph. D. are qualified for a variety of teaching, research, clinical, and counseling positions. Clinical psychologists usually must have completed the Ph. D. or Psy. D. Requirements and served an internship. Psychologists must also be licensed and certified, and must abide by local state laws and regulations. Clinical psychologists usually require a doctorate in psychology, completion of an approved internship, and 1 to 2 years of professional experience. They must also be emotionally stable, mature, and able to deal affectively with people. Some requirements of the Boston...