SOC 19-3033.00Bright outlook

    Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

    Assess, diagnose, and treat mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests.

    Median pay
    $100,580
    Growth
    +11.7%
    Much faster than average
    Openings a year
    4,100
    Typical education
    Doctoral or professional degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $55,170
    Median
    $100,580
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $180,960
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    75,990 people work in this occupation.

    What clinical and counseling psychologists do

    Job Zone 5: Extensive preparation

    Assess, diagnose, and treat mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests. Help individuals with distress or maladjustment understand their problems through their knowledge of case history, interviews with patients, and theory. Provide individual or group counseling services to assist individuals in achieving more effective personal, social, educational, and vocational development and adjustment. May design behavior modification programs and consult with medical personnel regarding the best treatment for patients.

    Most need a graduate degree, such as a master's, PhD, MD or JD.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    1 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    76 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    34 / 100
    Social (S) · strongest
    93 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    27 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    42 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code SIC. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    92
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    91
    Assisting and Caring for Others
    90
    Documenting/Recording Information
    85
    Getting Information
    84
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    83
    Analyzing Data or Information
    76
    Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    76
    Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
    75
    Providing Consultation and Advice to Others
    74
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Reading Comprehension
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Active Listening
    • Critical Thinking
    • Writing
    • Speaking
    • Active Learning
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Monitoring

    Knowledge

    • Psychology
    • Therapy and Counseling
    • English Language
    • Education and Training
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Sociology and Anthropology
    • Law and Government
    • Administration and Management
    • Administrative
    • Medicine and Dentistry

    Abilities

    • Oral Expression
    • Written Comprehension
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Written Expression
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition
    • Fluency of Ideas

    Work styles

    • Empathy
    • Sincerity
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Cooperation
    • Self-Control
    • Dependability
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Intellectual Curiosity
    • Social Orientation

    Also called

    Applied Behavior Science Specialist (ABSS) · Assessment Coordinator · Behavior Analyst · Behavior Specialist · Behavior Therapist · Behavioral Analyst · Behavioral Health Specialist · Behavioral Psychologist · Behavioral Specialist · Behavioral Therapist

    Career pathway

    From your interests to clinical and counseling psychologists

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Clinical and Counseling Psychologists$100,580 median pay

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1Dartmouth College logo
      Dartmouth College

      Hanover, NH · Research and Experimental Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $57,478
      4 yrs after
      $99,344
      Median debt
      $9,888
    2. 2Georgetown University-DC logo
      Georgetown University-DC

      Washington, DC · Psychology, General · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $47,774
      4 yrs after
      $99,007
      Median debt
      $12,500
    3. 3Columbia University in the City of New York logo
      Columbia University in the City of New York

      New York, NY · Research and Experimental Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $57,188
      4 yrs after
      $86,946
      Median debt
      $31,181
    4. 4Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA Tech logo
      Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA Tech

      Atlanta, GA · Research and Experimental Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $83,012
      Median debt
      $14,500
    5. 5Carnegie Mellon University logo
      Carnegie Mellon University

      Pittsburgh, PA · Psychology, General · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $54,429
      4 yrs after
      $82,433
      Median debt
      Not reported
    6. 6
      Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach

      Daytona Beach, FL · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $48,898
      4 yrs after
      $82,023
      Median debt
      $24,529
    7. 7
      Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott

      Prescott, AZ · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $48,898
      4 yrs after
      $82,023
      Median debt
      $24,529
    8. 8University of Connecticut UCONN logo
      University of Connecticut UCONN

      Storrs, CT · Research and Experimental Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $39,952
      4 yrs after
      $80,873
      Median debt
      Not reported

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What clinical and counseling psychologists may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Applied Behavior Analysis
    • Clinical Child Psychology
    • Clinical Psychology
    • Counseling Psychology
    • Developmental and Child Psychology
    • Family Psychology
    • Geropsychology
    • Health/Medical Psychology
    • Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
    • Psychology, General

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    52 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.