Where do clincial psychologist work

[jimmy87]

Hi
I was wondering where do clinical psychologists work? what is there work environment like? are there any clinical psychologist who can share their experience..Please

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[paramour]

Short answer: Anywhere they want just about. Environment depends upon their location.

Helpful, eh?

 

[PsyDr]

clinical psychologists work in a wide range of work environments including:

-private practices (individual & groups)
-military installations
-police depts
-hospitals
-physician's practices (individual and group)
-prisons
-court rooms
-research facilities
-universities
-community colleges
-school districts
-court rooms
-corporations in several different industries and of varying sizes
-etc.


the individual's experience will widely vary with where they work.

some will never see patients, some will only see them once, some will see the same 20 patients for many years, some will have high intensity jobs, some will have low intensity jobs, some will make $300k, some will make $30k, some teach, all will eventually deal with difficult ppl, etc.

 

[jimmy87]

Thank you once again..
are you guys aware of clinical neuropsychology..How will i be able to pursue that??
sorry for tons of questions...

 

[PsyDr]

there are several posts about neuropsych, i suggest you search for them in here for better info.

briefly it requires:
APA approved PhD/PsyD (5-7 yrs)
APA approved internship (1yr)
2 year post doc in neuro


10 yrs min


also you should know that you do not have a great say in where you go for internship (i.e., you get placed) or neuro post doc.

 

[erg923]

Here is brief rambling I sent to a friend who was interested in neuro. I copy and pasted it.

To call your self a "neuropsychologist" one must have a doctorate in clinical or counseling psych and a 2 year post-doc fellowship in neuropsychology (internship year plus 2 more). So many times this takes 8-10 years post bachelors. Neuropsych training and preparation typically starts during grad school itself. Many clinical psychology doctoral programs have specializations, or tracks, within their curriculum. Neuropsychology is one of these. During your doctorate you will take extra courses in psychological and cognitive assessment and several courses in neuroscience, functional neuroanatomy, and behavioral neurology. Your clincial training will also focus on neuropsychology during grad school, and although you will certainly be trained in therpay as well, most of your practicum hours will be focused on assessment and neuropsychology. To be competitive for those post docs after grad school you must have had the prerequisite didactic training in neuroscience/neuroantomy and behavioral neurology (which you will receive in your doctoral program if they have a neuro track specialization) and you must have had a predoctoral internship that was at least 50% neuropsych. I always like to stress that those psychologists who "attempt" to practice neuropsychology without appropriate training (which is unethical by the way) are simply doing "testing" and presenting a list of scores. They are not doing true assessment or true neuropsychology (ie., pulling all the info together to make a coherent diagnostic picture). Giving a test and getting a score is easy, we learn that in grad school. The hard part is interpreting the pattern of the 30 different tests you have given and deciphering what areas of the brain they indicate are malfunctioning and what neurological/neurodegenerative disease presents in this manner. You have to know what functional neuroanatomical systems your tests are tapping into, and what cognitive/neurological abnormalities are present in neurological illnesses or injury. This allows for differential diagnosis of conditions, which is what true neuropsychology is about. It is not just about measuring IQ and saying someones memory is below average. Any psychologist can do that! Advanced training in brain-behavior relationships and the ability to identify disease pattern through integrative assessment is what makes a neuropsychologist a "neuropsychologist."

 

[jimmy87]

Thank you very much....It helps a lot..
Would you happen to know any schools that have specialized track as you said for neuropsychology....
I'm really sorry for being a pain and asking a lot of questions..

 

[erg923]

Some good neuropsych programs:

University of Florida, University of South Florida, University of Houston, University of Georgia, University of Arizona, University of Kentucky, University of Connecticut, University of Pittsburgh, Pen State, Queens College,Wayne State University, University of Cincinnati, Ohio University, Indiana University, Univerity of Texas-Austin, University of Oklahoma, UCSD. Nova Southeatern Univesrity (Ph.D. or Psy.D)

These are all Ph.D programs however. Maybe some else can suggests Psy.D that have a hx of producing neuropsychologists.
Check http://www.div40.org/training/index.html for an official list.

 

[BellaPsyD]

the individual's experience will widely vary with where they work.

some will never see patients, some will only see them once, some will see the same 20 patients for many years, some will have high intensity jobs, some will have low intensity jobs, some will make $300k, some will make $30k, some teach, all will eventually deal with difficult ppl, etc.

who makes 300k?

 

[erg923]

Probably forensic dudes/dudettes who only do assessments, depositions, and testimony. I don't really know..thats my guess.

 

[Ollie123]

Probably forensic dudes/dudettes who only do assessments, depositions, and testimony. I don't really know..thats my guess.

That or the massively successful academics.

The "average" may be low, but the high is pretty frikkin high for academia. I know one prof who has to be pulling in at least that much, probably more. That said, you have to be in like, the top 1% of the already hyper-competitive academic field

 

[BellaPsyD]

I think neuro makes a lot as well?

 

[PsyDr]

i am basing my statement on personal acquaintances.


one is clinical
one if forensic
one is neuro

two are purely clinical
one is academic.

these are NOT the norm, but just incredibly good business ppl. and they are willing to do things that 99.999% of psychologists are not (work 90 hrs/wk, travel 300 days/yr, etc.)

 

[erg923]

i am basing my statement on personal acquaintances.


one is clinical
one if forensic
one is neuro

two are purely clinical
one is academic.

these are NOT the norm, but just incredibly good business ppl. and they are willing to do things that 99.999% of psychologists are not (work 90 hrs/wk, travel 300 days/yr, etc.)

Um...no thanks.....

 

[PsyDr]

yup, it is definitely not for everybody.