5 Highest Paying Careers in Clinical Psychology

careers in clinical psychology

Lucrative Clinical Psychology Careers

  • Clinical Counseling Director
  • Head of Academic Researcher
  • Clinical Data Scientist
  • Neuropsychological Analyst
  • Quality Assurance Admin

Careers in clinical psychology can be found in areas like academia, counseling, private research, mental health and case management. According to the American Psychology Association, clinical psychology careers require research, diagnostic, intervention, consultation and psychopathology skills and knowledge.

Clinical Counseling Director

Clinical counseling directors oversee daily clinical operations by providing administrative support and supervising employees. They monitor outreach, referral, counseling, consultation and preventative education activities. Clinical counseling directors are expected to facilitate the availability and accessibility of services and resources. They develop and monitor record-keeping standards by leading committees and initiatives that review policies, procedures and compliance measures. Clinical counseling directors usually are tasked with maintaining staff credentials and industry accreditation, so they may be involved in professional training.

Head of Academic Research

Head academic researchers who specialize in clinical psychology usually works for a university or a scientific organization. They may have roles such as faculty head, program chair or administrative director. Those who work in universities may develop and implement academic services, systems and procedures to improve the efficiency of graduate research programs. They may oversee program components, maintain academic databases and distribute instructional materials and research equipment. Head academic researchers are usually involved in grant writing, fundraising events, outreach activities and training meetings.

Clinical Data Scientist

Clinical data scientists may be members of measurement teams who analyze data from neurocognition, behavioral, psychiatric and computerized tests and assessments. They support technical staff, principal investigators and postdoctoral students. If they are involved in a project to improve cognitive tests and clinical scales, they may analyze data and outcomes through advanced concepts and models. These could include regression, calibration, factor analysis, mixed modeling and machine learning. If they focus on quality control, they may resolve data inconsistencies, run queries on datasets and restructure data for additional analysis.

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Neuropsychological Analyst

A neuropsychological analyst may administer, interpret and create psychological and neuropsychological assessments for clients. Those who work in hospitals or mental health departments may provide psychological consultations for patients and give feedback to medical staff. This means that they will gather historical information, conduct clinical interviews, write comprehensive evaluations and recommend the need for additional assessment or treatment. Neuropsychological analysts may participate in large-scale studies and research projects by helping design questionnaires and experiments.

Quality Assurance Administrator

Quality assurance administrators who are clinical psychologists are responsible for providing operational oversight and auditing checks and balances. They ensure that policies, internal controls and accreditation standards are followed, reviewed and improved. Quality assurance administrators may evaluate employee activities or group outcomes to benchmark performance and identify improvement areas. They often sample and double check records, data findings, published results, proposed hypotheses, clinical supervision and internal communication. Quality assurance admins usually report to clinical directors, executive leaders and the board of directors.

Conclusion

All of these jobs require proactive awareness of and compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Additional high-paying careers in clinical psychology can be found in the fields of behavioral science, disability accommodation, forensic psychology and clinical emergency services.

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