How Many Years Does it Take to Become a Clinical Psychologist?
- The first step in becoming a clinical psychologist is to enroll in a psychology graduate program. Because of keen competition in the clinical psychology field, there's no way to be sure that an applicant will be admitted. Having the required documents can help to ensure admittance. For consideration, the applicant must submit grade point average (GPA), letters of recommendation, a personal statement and related fieldwork experience. The program also may require the applicant to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and may also require a specific number of credits in psychology.
- Graduates with a Ph.D. in psychology receive a Doctorate of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology. The Ph.D. program focuses heavily on research, preparing the student for areas such as teaching, researching and practitioner. Students are taught about the varying problems with mental health and related mental health treatments. This program entails a vast amount of research, requiring students to take courses in statistics and experimental design. By performing research drawn from experiments, the student uses this research as the basis for his dissertation. Ph.D. graduate programs usually take a minimum of five years to complete. An internship at a hospital, clinic or mental health facility also is usually required in the fifth or sixth year of study.
- Graduates with a Psy.D. in psychology receive a Doctorate of Psychology. Psy.D. psychology programs focus heavily on the practicing side of psychology. Students are trained to work in clinical environments; this includes providing family therapy or working with mentally unstable patients in mental hospitals. Psy.D programs were implemented as an alternative to the Ph.D. program. They are tailored for individuals who want to study and practice psychology but do not want to undergo the substantial research required by the Ph.D. program. It can take four to five years to complete the Psy.D. graduate program.
- A psychologist must be licensed by the state to practice psychology. He must also be licensed if he wants to have a private practice. In most states, to be eligible for licensing, two years of supervised practice must be completed after receiving the Psy.D. or Ph.D degree. Many states also require the graduate to successfully complete a multiple-choice examination and present a board of psychologists with a case study.
- The American Psychological Association (APA) recognizes clinical, counseling, industrial-organizational and school psychologists as the four major specialties of psychology. All are required to pass the same licensing exam to practice as a psychologist, and all are given the title "psychologist" by the state.