Becoming a Counseling Psychologist: Salaries & Career Outlook

If you are aspiring to become a counseling psychologist, it is a must for you to understand the process involved in how to become one.  

Counseling psychology is considered one of the most popular and prominent specialties in the varied professional psychology field. Master’s or doctoral degree psychology programs are prevalent in many universities, along with a broad range of practices from which students can choose. Once you are through your bachelor’s degree in psychology, you can continue to enroll in a master’s degree in either counseling or psychology. During this course of learning, you can opt for the counseling specialty. You must obtain a Doctor of Philosophy or psychology degree if you are looking forward to pursuing a career as a counseling psychologist.  

Apart from acquiring a doctorate from an accredited school, an individual should have a license to practice from the state, undergo an internship, and have two years of supervised practice before being qualified to function independently as a practicing psychologist. 

Certification through accredited colleges or the American Board of Professional Psychology, or the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology, is another step in furthering one’s counseling psychology career. 

A General Education Path for a Counseling Psychologist

Becoming a counseling psychologist requires several years of education and at least some years of supervised work experience. Here are the steps you need to take to practice as an independent, professional counseling psychologist in the U.S.: 

1. Minimum Education: To begin with, an individual must earn their bachelor’s degree in psychology or a specialization within psychology 
2. Field Experience: After one’s undergraduate degree, it is essential to work under the supervision of a qualified psychologist to gain hands-on experience and training. 
3. Additional Education: In most instances, one is required to have at least a master’s degree or a Ph.D. to qualify for licensure and practice as an independent counseling psychologist. 
4. Licensure: Graduates must meet licensing requirements that vary by state. Most states require a doctorate, while some expect a master’s degree with two years of supervised practice. 
5. Board Certification: Although not a state requirement, employers often prefer or require counseling psychologists who have earned board certification. Even if one intends to practice independently, board certification demonstrates that one has the necessary knowledge and expertise in the field. 

Variations of Counseling Psychology

A counseling psychologist can be instrumental in resolving and helping an individual’s mental illness. The type of psychologist one wants to become depends on one’s preference. Here is a list of varying titles/areas that the counselor can focus on as one of their methods of learning and practicing: 

1. Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytic
   This part of counseling psychology aims at educating the individual about the different aspects of their mind and helping them reach a mental balance. This will help individuals disassociate themselves from the negative factors influencing their current situations/problems. 
2. Behavioral Counseling
   Many individuals have eating disorders, anxiety, panic attacks, or unwanted behaviors. A behavioral counseling psychologist examines and determines the cause of such behavior, counsels the patient in unlearning this undesirable behavior, and guides them in coming out of challenging situations. 
3. Humanistic Counseling
   As the name suggests, humanistic counseling focuses on the individual’s response to life events and how these experiences make them feel. As part of this counseling, the psychologist’s goal is to assist the patient in being mindful of their responses to these life events that can influence/affect them. The humanistic counseling psychologist helps patients create a workaround for their problems and develop solutions individually.
4. Client-centered Counseling
   Client-centered counseling is a derivative of humanistic counseling wherein the client is an expert on their emotions, not the psychologist. The role of the counselor is to help the client to process and consider what the patient is saying. This process does not consist of questioning or interpreting what the patient is saying. 
5. Cognitive Counseling
   Cognitive counseling is aimed at patients or individuals whose alignment of thinking with reality is disrupted or out of sync. This therapy is like reality and acceptance therapy, wherein the individual is guided to resolve their psychological and emotional difficulties by bringing the patient’s thinking patterns in line with reality and resolving their concerns. 
6. Constructionist Counseling
   As the name defines, constructionist counseling is practiced based on solution-focused therapy. It involves understanding the events than the actual events. The counselor helps patients to logically or constructively process their thoughts, feelings, and emotions based on the circumstances and resolve their concerns.  
7. Systemic Counseling
   During systemic counseling, the counselor investigates the individual’s difficulties in building relations or maintaining their role in the family or social network. This psychology practice believes that individual behavior is formed by social influence. 

Being in the behavioral health field and working as a counseling psychologist requires an innate nature to help people with their distress. Given the field of psychology is more aligned with humanity, the job comes in various titles, roles, and responsibilities. Following is a list of some of them: 

Now that how to become a counseling psychologist, the different paths or job titles one can pursue based on individual interests, and variations of a counseling psychologist have been covered, the frequently asked question of how much a counseling psychologist makes or earns while performing different roles or job titles remains to be answered. Counseling psychology is arguably one of the most progressing careers one can choose, and the rewards/salaries from it are also projected to be good. Here is a list of roles or job titles and the average median annual salary one can expect: