In 10 years, there are many things I am hoping to accomplish. I hope to be married, possibly have a child, travel outside of the country. However, as far as my career is concerned, I plan on being in school working toward my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. With this, I want to be a therapist/counselor working with people of various ages ranging from adolescence to adulthood. Clinical Psychology is a branch of psychology that studies, analyzes, and treats mental, behavioral, and emotional illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, etc. In order to become a licensed therapist, I need to spend several years in school obtaining my BA in Psychology and continue to get my MA in Clinical Psychology. Depending on where I decide to study, I would need to complete an internship that lasts at least a year. After the internships, I would spend an additional 5 to 8 years completing my doctoral program. …show more content…
Salaries for Clinical Psychologists nationally can range from $46,417 to $125,127 depending on experience and location. The average entrance level salary for a licensed Clinical Psychologist is $67,000 according to payscale.com. The states that offer the best salary and the most jobs in this field are New York and California. The cost of living in New York City is outrageous, even with a six figure salary, the best I could do to achieve the lifestyle I want would be a one or two bedroom apartment or condo. California’s living expenses are not ridiculous, but the climate in that state is always fluctuating, so I do not believe that would be ideal for me. Regardless, I would be willing to live almost anywhere if the job was worth
The choices we make early in life have an enormous impact on our future. I have always known that I wanted to directly impact people’s lives and my personal experiences have set me on the school-counseling path. In the future, I would love to influence another generation of students to soar for their dreams.
The 10 percent that make the lowest at below $39,200, the median pay is at $68,640, and the highest pay with the highest education is $87,330. The average annual salary for a clinical psychologist is $66,810 (“What Are the Starting Salaries of Psychologist?”). This will vary depending on the psychology field you are in, where you work, and how well you manage your hours. The salaries will also vary in what state you are working in as well. In Oklahoma the average is $66,000 and in New York the average is $87,000 (“Clinical+Psychologist Salary in United States”). Normally the bigger the state and the higher population is where your pay will
What applied clinical problem would you most like to focus on in your PsyD studies and in the PsyD Clinical Psychology dissertation/doctoral project? Tell us something about your knowledge of the relevant theory and concepts, research, and the application of that scholarship to clinical practice.
I believe that I have many skills and experiences that will allow for me to be a great counselor. I have seen first hand, experienced first hand, and learned to deal with things first hand. I experience anxiety, but have learned how to cope and deal with it. It is not always easy when there are so many things that can be thrown at you through life. I have a lot of motivation, qualities, experiences, and goals that I can bring to counseling.
After these two things, that person needs to take the MCAT, or the Medical College Admission Test, in order to gain admission to a medical school to finish their graduate school and get the M.D. they need to practice. Once they receive their M.D. they have to do a residency program that involves 1,000 hours of internship, mostly unpaid. After these 1,000 hours are completed, the person who accomplished these things has to go to a board, and get the board’s certification in order to be licensed and begin their practice. Becoming a psychiatrist takes a lot of time, money, and patience, but it is highly rewarding in the end. Through this research paper, I have realized some of the potential drawbacks, but I have also found many new benefits of this field that I had not previously noticed. This research paper helped me see that this is something that I would like to pursue, even though it will not be
Education Needed In order to start a career in mental health counseling, you will need to have a master’s degree in counseling or a similar field, complete two years of post master’s clinical work, and pass a national licensure or certification test. (“Facts About,” n.d.).
There are many professional pathways within psychology that an individual may apply themselves to for their career. These include: clinical, forensic, health, and educational psychology. The professional career pathway within applied psychology which will be discussed in this essay is the field of clinical psychology. Clinical psychology aims to reduce the amount of psychological distress an individual experiences and enhance the promotion of psychological well-being. Clinical psychologists attend to both mental and physical health problems including addiction, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties and relationship issues in order to help individuals resolve their problems. Clinical psychologists predominantly work within hospitals, mental health groups and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Clinical | Careers, 2016).
Coursework along this path demands both education and psychology due to the nature of the work. There are mental health components and educational aspects. The masters degree in psychology requires at least two years of full-time graduate study and usually includes practical experience in an applied setting and a thesis based on personal research that is original. Getting accepted into graduate programs for psychology can be full of competition. School psychologists must meet credential and licensing requirements for individual states. These vary state by state. The licensing varies by type of position and is based on professional competence through training and experience. Some states require continuing education for renewal of licenses. According to Landrum and Davis (2009) “right now twenty-nine states recognize the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) designation on a national level” (p.73). Credentials transfer from state to state in this case and new credential exams do not have to be taken when moving from one of these states to another. Requirements for the NCSP include completion of sixty graduate semester hours in school psychology, a twelve hundred hour internship (six hundred hours in school setting), and a passing score on the National School Psychology exam.
Once that is achieved you can then complete the application for licensure. The board will evaluate your application and if everything looks in order you will be eligible to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). Depending on the results of your test scores, you will be able to become licensed or not.
With my compassionate spirit and my gift of wisdom, I was naturally drawn towards psychology. My initial thoughts with what I wanted to do with a psychology major would be to be a therapist. More specifically, be a therapist for troubled teenagers. In high school, I was fortunate enough to have a group of friends that supported me and a close-knit family so when problems arose, I was never alone.
I am interested in being a school psychologist for a variety of reasons. First, I believe that my background in working with children and families, and my B.A. in psychology are essential combinations that will be helpful in my pursuit of the degree. Second, I would like to work with children in a variety of educational situations, such as those in need of special education classes and those in talented and gifted programs. Third, I believe it is essential to work directly with the entire family system, not just the child. The child's progress depends on the home environment and the academic environment equally. This academic environment includes all professions (i.e., teachers,
Before postgraduate work can be started, the student must receive a bachelor’s in psychology and fulfill the requirements listed for the psychology program they wish to enter. Once a bachelor’s degree is achieved, a psychology major has the choice of either obtaining their master's or their doctorate. When earning a master’s a student is accepted into the college of his or her choice, and usually completes the program within 2 years, or longer. If a master's is earned, the student may go on to become an assistant in a clinical setting underneath someone who has a doctorate in psychology, but they will not be able to do any high level of work. If a student chooses to obtain a doctorate they are again, accepted into the program of their choice, although admission is very competitive. Once accepted into the doctorate program the student serves about 2-4 years where they receive training and guidance in a hospital setting, but it all depends on the program they enter. Having a doctorate in psychology will open the doors for soon-to-be clinical psychologists, and offers a higher job title, certification, and higher pay. Whether a student chooses a master's or a doctorate, a large amount of psychology classes must be taken. More than likely when a student is an a doctorate program, they are required to fulfill a 1-2 year internal ship of professional experience, as cited from
With almost any career in psychology i would be working in an office but with health psychology i could also work in a hospital or a clinic. As a psychologist i would have to set a schedule based on when patients are available. This means my hours could be flexible or somewhat annoying. Psychology can be used and done in almost any location so i would not be limited to one specific geographic location. It is actually recommended to relocate for work.
With basketball completely out of the equation, my quintessential career path would be to become some sort of counselor. Before jumping to conclusions assuming a counselor is someone who just sits back with a pen and notepad all day giving the occasional “how does that make you feel”, a lot of things need to be taken into consideration about how much time, and effort and strenuous work is required to pursue this career path. A counselor (depending on what field) is typically someone who uses therapeutic techniques to help patients strengthen existing qualities and skills used in everyday life. Ideally I would like to become a school counselor to begin coping with the minds of the youth, then hopefully move on from there. In order to do so
To become a psychiatrist, first requires a four year college education with a B.S.degree and to complete the pre-medical curriculum. Many students will major in a science subject such as chemistry, but that is not a requirement. Some pre-psych undergraduates will major in psychology, for example. After completing the pre-medical program and graduating from college, the student will attend a four year medical program and earn an MD degree. The student will have to pass the first two stages of the medical license exam also. This qualifies the graduate for a preliminary medical license in every state. The student will then have to apply for a medical residency in psychiatry. This is a three year program. The student will work long hours and see a vast number of patients and become familiar with all of the diagnostic categories and current treatment methods, the residencies pay a small salary, just enough to live on. After completing the residency (actually, after completing a year or two of it, depending on the state), then passing the next stage of the license exam, the