lifestyle

[Sanman]

Since nobody has asked this question outright, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have it on here. Anyhow, What are the lifestyle, compensation, malpractice, etc. differenced and issues as far as psychologists vs. similar healthcare professionals.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ckent]

Well, I'm no psychologist, but since no one else is responding, I will post what I've heard in the past.

Avg salary of psychologists varies by region and client base. If you have a ritzy private practice that only accepts cash, you can make 6 figures. If you work for the state government, your salary will be closer to 30-40,000. I believe that the avg is around 60,000-70,000

Lifestyle is nice. You determine your hours, most "emergencies" can be fielded towards other resources (your local ER, or a hotline)

Malpractice is minimal. The stuff they get sued for is suicide (failing to admit patients), and of course gross malpractice (there was a psychologist sued for trying to do a "birthing ritual" that ended poorly).

I personally would describe the financial outlook for this field as medium to poor, unless they pick up more prescription rights. The reason for this is because insurance companies keep decreasing reimbursement for all mental health professionals, and there is a limited patient population that can afford to be seen without insurance. Also, there have been a lot of studies that have been coming out that have been downplaying the role of psychotherapy versus psychopharmacology. Drug companies have a lot more to spend on studies then the government on the psychiatric community (psych drugs are some of the most profitable drugs out there right now), so there have been a number of studies recently published downplaying the role of therapy while embellishing the role of psychopharmacology. I'm sure that other people would disagree with this assessment though, as the older studies do point to an advantage of using therapy with medication over medication alone. And of course, there are so many more people being diagnosed and seeking help for mental disorders, so I guess that it could go either way for psychologists.

 

[Aptamer]

If you're lucky, you might be able to get your own tv show.

 

[Sanman]

cool, I want a tv show

Seriously though, anybody have any opinions about psych specialties (school, neuro, etc.). How about future directions in psychology?

 

[PublicHealth]

Decreasing reimbursement is also a problem in clinical neuropsychology. While some clinical neuropsychologists can make $60-70K conducting neuropsychological assessments and providing psychotherapy in neurologic, psychiatric, or rehabilitation clinics, others find themselves taking on federally-funded research in academic medical centers or teaching clinical psychology or neuropsychology in colleges or universities. There is certainly no shortage of aspiring clinical neuropsychologists, so competition for respected postdoctoral residency programs and jobs is keen. You should expect to spend 5 years pursuing a Ph.D. and completing an internship, and an additional 2-4 years as a postdoctoral resident before applying for jobs.

Lifestyle is good from what I hear. Flexible schedule, lots of exposure to interesting neurobehavioral syndromes, involvement in neurosurgical procedures (e.g., cortical mapping), opportunities for research, and decent pay. With the explosion of neuroscience over the past ten years, clinical neuropsychologists will likely be in high demand in both clinical and research settings over the next few decades.

PH

 

[Sanman]

out of curiousity, where do you see the future of neuropsychology going, public? I'm just asking because I'm presently deciding better between applying to shool, clinical, and clinical neuropsych programs.

 

[PublicHealth]

Sanman,

I feel your pain! I am trying to decide between medical school (psychiatry) and graduate school (clinical neuropsych).

Neuropsychology has a promising future. Insurance concerns are a problem for behavioral healthcare providers of every stripe. They do not directly affect ONLY psychologists. As you may know, you will likely receive training in clinical psychology along with training in clinical neuropsychology (check out the University of Florida program in Clinical Health Psychology). Most programs have one or two faculty who specialize in clinical neuropsychology, while others have a dozen or so (UF). Oftentimes, your dissertation, internship, and/or postdoctoral residency will determine your ultimate career track. Unlike medicine, graduate training in psychology is rather flexible, and allows students to "pave their own path." This is especially true for the research portion of graduate training. While some programs have strict requirements, you are essentially limited only by how hard you work -- clinical work, research publications, etc.

From what I have read, school psychologists are in high demand, and the job outlook is very promising. I do not know much else about this field, other than the fact that Master's level school psychologists appear to be "taking over."

With respect to deciding between clinical, school, and neuropsych, I highly recommend that you shadow one or two of each type of psychologist, read up on some of the literature in each field, and explore as many programs as you can.

Neuropsychologists and school psychologists will be well off in the future for different reasons. Neuropsychologists are needed to evaluate neurobehavioral syndromes secondary to memory disorders, traumatic brain injuries, stroke, etc. They often play an important role in neurorehabilitation and treatment planning in a variety of clinical settings. School psychologists are needed to work closely with students who have learning disabilities, conduct, or attention-deficit problems, as well as normal functioning students. Given the increase in prevalence of such problems, as well as the sub-par academic performance of many American children, school psychologists will be hard-pressed to come up with novel solutions to deal with these issues.

PM me. I would love to discuss this further.

Cheers,

PH

 

[raspberry swirl]

i am currently attending LECOM (DO school in PA) with hopes of becoming a psychiatrist. i was a psych minor in college and before entering medical school, i was debating whether or not i belonged in a clinical psych program. i am hoping to get my phd in clinical pysch at some point and running my own clinic. my undergrad had a really good pysch program yet no one ever mentioned neuropsych as an option for me. i'm not exactly sure what it is, and what the differences are between it and what i know as clinical psych. i'm not sure if this is a silly question or not. would anyone mind clarifying what exactly clinical neuropsych is?

 

[Sanman]

clinical neuropsychology is a branch of clinical psychology and generally requires a two year post-doc internship after grad school. Neuropsychologists do psychological and neuropsychological testing. This entails things such as intelligence tests, tests for attention, memory, and all types of higer level cognitive function. This could a standard intelligence test, a card sorting task, etc. They generally see patients with traumatic brain injury, ADD, LD, aphasia, amnesia, stroke, alzheimer's, epilepsy, etc.. Usually consult on some of the tougher neuro cases. They also can be part of neurosurgical teams and work on deliniating handedness, language centers, etc. and aid in cortical mapping during neurosurg. They also can deal with cognitive rehab for stroke and TBI patients. If you are interested in the field, you may also want to check out fellow ships in neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology. Anybody have anything to add?

 

[raspberry swirl]

hey-- wow, i disappeared for a long time. i completely forgot that i had posted thanks for your reply . . . even though i have time to make these decisions, i feel like everyone i'm in class with knows exactly what they want to do, so it sort of stresses me out

 

[MD OR RN?]

30,000 thru 40,000 for Psychologists? DAMN!! That is weak. Nurses make more than that with two years of school.

It's really to bad. Psych is awesome.

Do you guys think Psych salarys are so low due to the fact that the number of people with Psych degree and lare amounts on continous people who end up looking into Psych, have anything to with it all?

 

[PublicHealth]

Do you guys think Psych salarys are so low due to the fact that the number of people with Psych degree and lare amounts on continous people who end up looking into Psych, have anything to with it all? [/B][/QUOTE]

Nope. It's all about BIG BUSINESS and CAPITAL AMERICA. The pharmaceutical industry, for the most part, now owns psychiatry. Not surprisingly, their multi-billion dollar marketing campaigns have convinced the public that their personal and social problems are psychiatric disorders, and that there is a "pill for every ill." Insurance companies, as a result, have tended to limit or flat out deny coverage of psychotherapeutic services, resulting in little to no reimbursement for such services. While combined pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy is the most efficacious and effective treatment for nearly every psychiatric disorder, psychosocial treatment has taken a backseat to pharmacotherapy, as psychiatry as a discipline has become increasingly more medicalized. This move had increased the visibility of psychiatry as a medical discipline, but has simultaneously diminished the role of clinical psychology in behavioral healthcare.

PH

 

[Sanman]

MDorRN,
The 30,000-40,000 is a starting salary if you work for the government, which can top out at over 70,000 if you pass enough civil service exams and put in the years. Another reason that psychologist salaries are alwaysstated as lower is that a much larger percentage than say doctors are university/ med. school professors and have lower pay. If you look at the figures for just private practice, the figures are usually higher. With that said, public is right about the healthcare system nowadays. It is willing to pay more for material fixes (i.e. procedures, pills, etc.) than for immaterial things, such as face time with a qualified professional, be it to a therapist or medical doctor. This is seen in the large differences in pay between clinical psychologists and school psychologists with the same degree. They both do similar professional activities, but in different settings and the school psychologists are presently making $5,000-$15,000 more than their comparable clinical counterpart.