There are many career paths for individuals exploring a career in clinical psychology with a counseling specialization. Examples are below.
Career Counseling
Career counselors help people make career decisions. They evaluate educational background, prior work experience, interests, aptitudes, and personality characteristics to help people discover and obtain meaningful employment. This work is usually available at university and college counseling centers and other vocation-oriented organizations.
Case Management
Clinical case managers integrate clinical and social interventions to address the overall well-being of clients’ physical, psychological and social needs. Activities include assessment, intervention, linkage with community resources, consultation with families, collaboration with psychiatrists, patient psycho-education, and crisis intervention.
Clinical Counseling
Clinicians who choose counseling as a career typically treat individuals with mild to moderate mental illness. Similar to duties of psychotherapists, clinical counselors interview clients and design and implement problem-focused treatment plans. Counselors may provide individual, family, couples, crisis, and/or supportive group counseling. This work usually takes place in an outpatient setting such as community mental health setting or private practice setting.
Clinical Supervision
Clinical supervisors provide guidance, feedback and mentoring for a psychology staff and trainees. They also are responsible for educating students and staff on new advances and techniques in the field of psychology. Overall, a supervisor monitors the quality of counseling services offered to the clients by their psychology staff.
Forensic Counseling
Counselors work with people whose situations or behaviors led them into involvement with the legal system (i.e., sex offenders, victims, convicts, ex-convicts, and their families). Counselors’ activities include diagnostic assessment, treatment planning, clinical intervention, crisis management, substance abuse counseling, domestic violence counseling, court testimony, case management, and vocational counseling.
Military Mental Health Staff
As non-military personnel, the staff therapists provide clinical counseling, career counseling, crisis intervention, and other mental health services to military staff and their families.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy entails treating clients with moderate to severe mental illness. Psychotherapists interview and diagnose clients, design and implement treatment programs and provide individual, family, or group therapy. Such treatment can take place in group or private practice settings.
School Counseling
School counselors work with students in elementary and secondary schools. They create a supportive learning environment for students who manifest emotional and behavioral troubles. Counselors address a student’s learning and behavioral problems, consult with teachers and parents, design and implement prevention programs, and conduct other counseling services within a school setting.
Staff Therapist
Staff therapist is the general term most commonly used for mental health practitioners in a variety of settings including community mental health centers, hospital settings, social service agencies, inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities for children and adolescents, and substance abuse treatment centers.
Substance Abuse Counseling
Substance abuse counselors provide counseling and guidance to clients and families with substance abuse problems. Duties include conducting assessments, developing treatment plans, leading counseling groups, conducting psycho-educational classes, and performing individual counseling. This work is usually conducted in an inpatient or outpatient treatment setting.
Teaching
Some clinicians may choose to teach part time as an adjunct professor or serve full time as a faculty member. Undergraduate colleges and master’s programs hire M.A.-level clinicians to teach classes that emphasize training students to become practitioners.
Additional Links
APA Online Topics: Careers in Psychology
Psychology Career Links
Graduate Programs
Business Psychology (Psy.D.)
Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.)
School Psychology (Ed.S.)
Clinical Psychology (M.A.) – Applied Behavior Analysis
Clinical Psychology (M.A.) – Counseling
Forensic Psychology (M.A.)
Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology (M.A.)
ExCEL Track Master's Degrees
ExCEL Certificates
Post Master's Degree Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis: BCBA
Onsite Training and Consulting
Workshops
