Overview of Psychologist Requirements

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If you want to start a career in psychology, you have to be mindful of your studies, your financial situation and the exact sphere of the discipline you want to be a part of for your career.

Educational Requirements

First, educational requirements to become a psychologist involve completing a well-selected degree in a university with the highest score possible. Your degree needs to be APA-approved. Provided you decide to take up a master’s degree course, make sure it is supported by the regional accreditation board. There are three paths for you to take from there on: taking up clinical, counseling or a school type of psychology profession. If you want to teach, you will have to get a PhD degree. If you want to practice, you will need to aim for a Psy.D degree.

School psychologists need a doctoral degree in school psychology or an Ed.S degree. Undergraduate degrees are not essential for master’s degree courses, but courses on introductory and experimental psychology and statistics are. Sometimes a bachelor degree is enough to land you a job, but sometimes you will need a master’s degree. Following your degree, you will most likely require a license or a certificate, depending on your location.

Certification Requirements

There are essential certification requirements to become a psychologist in the sphere of work. You need a certificate or a license that bears the approval of the norms of all States and the District of Columbia. Once you receive such a document and accreditation it will become essential for you to practice psychology only in your selected field of work, for which you have studied. If you decide to be a clinical psychologist or a counselor, in addition to your doctorate degree, you will need to list on your resume a successful internship and also a couple of years of experience in a professional environment. Finally, you will need to go through an examination, involving a written and oral test.

The certification regarding School Psychologists is called the NCSP and requires: 60 semester hours in psychology; an internship of a thousand and two hundred hours and six hundred hours of these needs to be completed in school. You will also have to pass the National School Psychology Examination. In order to specialize in your profession and be recognized with an official document you need to: have a State license, a doctorate, meet the criteria for your specialty as set by the ABPP. Once you have fulfilled those expectations, you will only need to pass the specialty board examination. The American Board of Professional Psychology can grant you a certificate in more than a dozen areas of psychology.

Personal Skills

The personal skill requirements to become a psychologist include the ability to control your emotions, sociability, compassion, encouragement and patience, as well as proficiency in both individual and teamwork and attentiveness to details.