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Child Psychologist

What To Learn

High School

What high school courses should you take if you're interested in this career? Get your answers from the Human Services cluster Counseling and Mental Health Services pathway.

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Licensed clinical or child psychologists need to have a doctoral degree. Those with a PhD qualify for a wide range of teaching, research, clinical and counseling positions. They work in universities, elementary and secondary schools, private industry, and government.

You can find work helping kids if you only have a bachelor's or master's degree in psychology. But a PhD is required to use the title of psychologist.

"You can certainly get a job working with kids in a mental health clinic as long as you're supervised by a licensed person," says psychologist Robert Naseef. "So somebody doesn't have to think that they need a PhD to work around kids with psychological problems, but they won't be a psychotherapist until they get a license, which for psychology is only at the doctoral level."

A bachelor's degree in psychology qualifies a person to assist psychologists and other professionals in community mental health centers, vocational rehabilitation offices and correctional programs. However, without additional academic training their opportunities in psychology are very limited.

Competition for admission into graduate programs is fierce. Some universities require an undergraduate major in psychology. Others require only basic psychology with courses in the biological, physical and social sciences, statistics and mathematics. The American Psychological Association (APA) accredits doctoral training programs in psychology.

Psychologists with their own practice must meet certification or licensing requirements. Licensing laws vary by state and position.