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Role hub · Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

Clinical Psychologist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of clinical psychologists earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$100,580
Hourly
$48.36
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Clinical Psychologists assess, diagnose, and treat mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests. The median pay is $100,580 a year ($48.36 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is post-doctoral training (48% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$100,580
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
75,990
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Most common education
Post-Doctoral Training
48% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Clinical and Counseling Psychologists (O*NET-SOC 19-3033.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for Clinical Psychologists

SalaryClinical Psychologist salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeClinical Psychologist how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →Career changeClinical Psychologist career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

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The work

What clinical psychologists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Conduct assessments of patients' risk for harm to self or others.
  2. Document patient information including session notes, progress notes, recommendations, and treatment plans.
  3. Identify psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues and diagnose disorders, using information obtained from interviews, tests, records, or reference materials.
  4. Write reports on clients and maintain required paperwork.
  5. Counsel individuals, groups, or families to help them understand problems, deal with crisis situations, define goals, and develop realistic action plans.
  6. Interact with clients to assist them in gaining insight, defining goals, and planning action to achieve effective personal, social, educational, or vocational development and adjustment.
  7. Collect information about individuals or clients, using interviews, case histories, observational techniques, and other assessment methods.
  8. Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or treatments and the accuracy and completeness of diagnoses, modifying plans or diagnoses as necessary.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Reading ComprehensioncoreSocial PerceptivenesscoreActive ListeningcoreWritingCritical ThinkingSpeakingActive LearningService OrientationComplex Problem Solving

Knowledge areas: Psychology, Therapy and Counseling, English Language, Education and Training, Customer and Personal Service, Sociology and Anthropology.

Tools and technology

Software clinical psychologists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • eClinicalWorks EHR softwareMedical softwareHot technology
  • Addison Health Systems WritePad EHRMedical software
  • Anasazi Software Client Data SystemMedical software
  • Athena Software Penelope Case ManagementMedical software
  • B Sharp Technologies B CareMedical software
  • BRB Software HorizonMISMedical software
  • BlackHawk Canyon Publishers PracticianWorksMedical software
  • Blueberry Harbor Software Clinical Record KeeperMedical software
  • Bluewater Management Systems BMCASEMedical software
  • Clinivate ClinitrakMedical software
  • Comprehensive Affect Testing System CATSAnalytical or scientific software
  • Core Solutions Care EnterpriseMedical software

Also called: Case Manager, Counseling Psychologist, Counselor, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Licensed Psychologist.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).