In the professional world, 'psychologist' has two meanings. In the broadest of these two meanings, psychologist refers to anyone with an advanced degree in clinical psychology, counseling, industrial psychology, educational psychology, or one of several other subfields, and who makes professional contributions based upon that training, be it as a therapist, counselor, researcher, teacher or consultant. This sense of the word is independent of licensing. The narrower sense of the word 'psychologist' refers to licensing and to a legal context. In the United States and Canada, 'psychologist' is a protected professional title. In this sense, the title of Psychologist means that the mental health professional has a doctoral degree (usually a PhD, PsyD, ScD, or EdD) in clinical, counseling, industrial, or educational psychology and has also met state
or provincial licensing criteria. Those criteria typically include a period of post-doctoral practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist, a licensing exam, and continuing education requirements. In most states in the U.S., and in most of the provinces in Canada, only licensed psychologists, licensed therapists (like Marriage and Family Therapists) and psychiatrists can legally provide psychotherapy and use this term to refer to aspects of the mental health treatments they perform. Most states exempt from licensing school psychologists who practice within employment by a school district; such psychologists must be certified by their state or province department of education. Statistics for licensed psychologists These statistics are from the United States Department of Labor dated 2004 unless noted otherwise. Employed psychologists: 179,000 2/5 self-employed 1/4 employed by educational institutions (in positions other than teaching) Median income for all clinical psychologists: US $54,950 Median income for clinical psychologists in private practice (2001): US $65,000-88,500 (depending on experience)
[1] Median income for industrial/organizational psychologists: US $71,400 [edit] Contrast of licensed psychologist with psychiatrist Main article: Psychiatrist In the U.S., licensed psychologists hold a doctorate in their field, while licensed psychiatrists hold a medical degree with a specialty in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who have earned an MD or a DO, whereas psychologists have earned a PhD, PsyD, or EdD.
