Learn About Being a Psychologist

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Updated June 6, 2025

What does a psychologist do?

A psychologist is a clinical professional with expertise in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of mental health conditions. Some duties psychologists typically have are:

Determining goals for psychotherapy
Performing diagnostic evaluations for patients
Understanding a patient’s needs
Devising and implementing psychotherapeutic plans
Providing consultation to patients and groups
Attending program development

Average salary

Psychologists are generally paid an annual salary as opposed to an hourly wage. Their exact salary can differ depending on regional factors, their certifications, any areas of specialization and their chosen work environment. For the most up-to-date salary information from Indeed, click on the salary link.

Common salary in the U.S.: $105,042 per year
Some salaries range from $25,000 to $180,000 per year.

Psychologist requirements

Becoming a psychologist takes years of education and clinical training. Before they can practice, psychologists in the U.S. are required to have a doctorate’s degree in psychology and undergo a clinical training period.

Education

Many psychologists complete a bachelor’s degree in psychology or behavioral healthcare. These courses teach the fundamentals of human behavior from a scientific perspective, which will prepare the psychologist for their graduate education. After completing their undergraduate degree, psychologists must earn a master’s degree and a doctorate. Psychology students who wish to become psychologists in a clinical setting earn a Psy.D., which is a doctorate in clinical psychology.

Training

Psychologists must complete a clinical training period working with practicing psychologists to be eligible to earn their own psychology license. This training period is in place to ensure that a psychologist has experience actively working with psychological patients outside of their academic education. The training period’s length will vary depending on the state a psychologist works in, but it’s usually around 3,000 hours of supervised experience or roughly two years.

Certifications

To practice psychology in a clinical setting in the U.S., a psychologist must become licensed in their state. Every state has a unique process for becoming licensed, though they typically involve having graduated from an accredited psychology doctoral program, earning a certain number of clinical practice hours and passing tests to validate a psychologist’s knowledge of a state’s particular medical regulations and medication laws.

Skills

An effective psychologist will need strong interpersonal skills. Some of the most important skills for a psychologist to master include:

Clinical psychological knowledge

Psychologists must maintain a vast and comprehensive understanding of their field. A psychologist must possess in-depth knowledge of current clinical theories and mental health disorders.

Empathy

Psychologists work with patients who often experience significant behavioral issues. Patients in these situations may experience fear or isolation. Psychologists must remain empathetic in these situations to their patients to make them feel understood and confident with their treatment.

Interpersonal skills

Patients may find it a challenge to communicate their situation to a psychologist initially. A psychologist must be skilled in developing effective communication methods with resistant or challenging patients.

Problem-solving skills

Psychologists analyze the mental health conditions of their patients to construct treatment plans and provide psychotherapy. A psychologist must be a strong problem-solver to determine the likely source of a patient’s ailments and provide treatment that best matches a patient’s needs.

Psychologist work environment

Psychologists work in schools, therapy clinics, general hospitals and government organizations. Many psychologists open their own private practices. It is not uncommon for a psychologist to simultaneously work in multiple locations to maximize the time they spend with patients. Private practice psychologists can usually choose their own schedules, but psychologists working with other organizations generally work business hours every weekday.

How to become a psychologist

You can follow these general steps to become a psychologist:

1. Earn a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree.

Psychologists in the U.S. are required to have earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree before enrolling in their psychology doctoral program. Although there are no strict requirements for what these degrees must be, students almost always earn their degrees in psychology, behavioral healthcare or a related field, as these degrees help a psychology student get into a doctorate program more easily.

2. Earn a doctorate.

After graduating from their master’s program, psychologists are required to earn a doctorate in psychology. Practicing psychologists earn a Psy.D., which is a doctorate specializing in training a psychologist for working in a clinical setting. Alternatively, a psychologist may earn a Ph.D. in psychology.

3. Complete clinical psychology training.

After graduating from a doctoral program, a psychologist is required to undergo a period of clinical training before they’re eligible to earn their state psychology license. The length of this training period varies depending on the state the psychologist is attempting to earn their license in.

4. Obtain a state psychology license.

Upon completion of your clinical training period, you must acquire a license to practice psychology in a clinical setting in your state. Every state has its own licensing requirements, but they typically involve having completed a certain number of clinical training hours and passing an examination of your knowledge of psychology and laws and regulations. After earning a state psychology license, a psychologist will be prepared to start their search for a psychologist position or to start their own private practice.

Psychologist job description example

Happy Minds Psychotherapy in Missoula is looking to hire a new psychologist to join our staff. The ideal candidate will be dedicated to helping people work through some of the most difficult experiences in their lives with empathy and care. You should be comfortable working with patients on a personal level and providing psychotherapy treatments for mental health conditions of all levels of severity. You will work with staff psychiatrists to implement comprehensive patient plans. A doctorate in psychology is required, and all applicants must be licensed to practice psychology in the state of Montana.

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