How Do You Become a Psychologist? Exploring the Types of Psychologists

Psychology can be a rewarding career path that allows you to serve others by helping them process and overcome challenges and trauma. If you enjoy interacting with other people, are fascinated by the intricacies of the human mind, and have the determination necessary to earn a psychology degree, this field could be a great choice for you.

As you plan your career goals, you may wonder what you will need to study to earn an advanced psychology degree. In other words, How do you become a psychologist? Psychology degrees can lead to many career paths, including becoming a fully licensed psychologist. Take a closer look at some specializations and career pathways below.

In This Article:

• What Is a Psychologist?
• How Many Types of Psychology Are There?
• Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology
• How Do I Become a Psychologist?
• Become a Specialized Psychologist With a Degree From GCU

What Is a Psychologist?

A psychologist is a medical professional who helps people handle mental health challenges. They may help people who are dealing with conditions such as anxiety or depression, and they may also support people who are encountering challenging times in their lives. Psychologists complete many years of education and clinical training to work with clients and provide mental health services.

Psychologists can help treat cognitive, emotional and social behaviors. They evaluate clients’ emotions, thoughts and behaviors by identifying patterns. Based on these evaluations, psychologists can diagnose mental health challenges and develop and implement treatment plans. When developing a treatment plan, psychologists generally use both counseling and psychotherapy. They remain flexible in their methods to individualize plans to their client needs.

Psychologists may work privately with clients in their own offices, or they may work in schools, hospitals, government agencies or ambulatory healthcare services agencies.¹ Some psychologists limit their work to client interactions, while others continue to conduct research within their specialized fields.

The minimum educational requirement for psychologists is a master’s degree. Clinical and counseling psychologists typically need a doctoral degree, which usually includes an internship. Licensing laws vary, but generally, supervised field experience is a requirement.²

How Many Types of Psychology Are There?

Psychologists usually specialize in a particular field, which is often defined based on what they do, where they work or who their clients are.

1. Clinical/Counseling Psychologist 

Clinical psychologists are the psychologists with whom most people are familiar. A clinical psychologist conducts psychological testing and evaluation. These tests are administered to diagnose mental illness and create treatment plans. Some of these professionals work in hospitals or mental health clinics, while others run their own private practices.¹

A clinical or counseling psychologist may work with individuals, couples, families or groups of people. They can help people overcome a wide range of challenges, including substance use dependence, marital problems, trauma and depression. Some psychologists may specialize in treating a few different types of disorders.

2. Sports Psychologist 

Sports psychologists are interested specifically in helping athletes maintain sound mental health. They may work with athletes, managers or team directors. Sports psychologists often help individuals pursue their goals, conduct assessments and implement strategies to help clients strive for personal growth and improvement.

Beyond helping athletes achieve performance goals, sports psychologists may also help them deal with serious mental health issues. Athletes may experience eating disorders, problems with weight management, burnout, substance abuse and problems coping with career transitions. Sports psychologists strive toward early identification of issues, proactive intervention and even improvement of the sports organization in ways that better support mental health.

3. Community Psychologist 

Community psychologists are very action-oriented. They conduct research on mental health issues within a community. They examine the social structure of the community and work to identify potential improvements that could address social and mental health problems.

Depending on their specific focus and the needs of the community, a community psychologist may serve as an educator, researcher, consultant, policy developer or evaluator and program director. In other words, they can wear many hats. Their goal is to improve the mental and social wellness of the entire community by addressing systemic social inequalities, empowering marginalized groups and building collaborative relationships with community members and organizations.

4. Health Psychologist 

Health psychologists focus on the connection between mental health and physical health. They work with clients to examine the impact of illness on psychological states and vice versa. Beyond researching the link between physical and mental health, health psychologists work directly with clients to help them overcome challenges.

For example, a health psychologist might help clients develop healthy behaviors, such as following a nutritious diet and exercising regularly. They may work with clients who are struggling to quit tobacco or other addictive substances. They can also help clients understand the link between mental health and physical symptoms, such as when chronic stress and anxiety cause chronic headaches and stomach upset.

5. Developmental Psychologist 

Developmental psychologists focus on human growth and development from birth through adolescence, adulthood and aging. They study the ways in which humans and their thoughts, feelings, habits, personal identities and morals change over time.

The tasks that a developmental psychologist may perform can depend on the particular patient population. For example, when working with young children, these professionals might screen for developmental delays or disorders and develop appropriate interventions. When working with elderly patients, developmental psychologists may assess the impact of grief, housing transitions and declining independence.

6. Child Psychologist 

A child psychologist focuses on treating adolescents and young children. Their clients may be experiencing a wide range of behavioral, developmental, mental or emotional challenges. They may help children with stressful events, such as coping with a high-stakes academic situation, or emotional events, such as the loss of a loved one.

Child psychology is unique in the field because, compared to adults, children have different cognitive and maturity levels. Due to this, child psychologists need to use age-appropriate intervention techniques to treat emotional, mental and behavioral issues. Some examples include art therapy, child-centered play therapy and parent-child interaction therapy.

7. Forensic Psychologist 

Forensic psychologists are involved in the legal system. They may act as consultants in legal cases, provide therapy to crime victims or offer evaluations during criminal proceedings. Forensic psychologists may work closely with law enforcement departments, such as by providing mental health screening services for law officer candidates and guidance on investigations.

A forensic psychologist may work with accused individuals to determine how likely they are to fall back into old patterns. They may also work with witnesses who have experienced trauma. Forensic psychologists can also conduct child custody evaluations, school threat assessments and program evaluations, such as the evaluation of death notification procedures.

8. Industrial-Organizational Psychologist 

Industrial-organizational psychologists study the psychology of the workplace. They help workers increase their productivity and engagement with their jobs. They also help managers select the best individuals for various roles. Industrial-organizational psychologists create training programs designed to enable employees to maximize their efficiency.

Industrial-organizational psychologists are concerned with more than just organizational efficiency and worker productivity. They also explore areas pertaining to the quality of work life, availability and relevance of training and development programs and the performance of the organization as a whole. The expertise of these psychologists may even be called upon to generate better insights about consumer preferences, customer satisfaction and sales and marketing techniques.

Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology

Being a psychologist can be gratifying because you could have the potential to help other people improve their lives. However, people choose to become psychologists for many other reasons as well. The following frequently asked questions and answers offer some insight as to the many reasons to consider specializing in psychology.

Is Psychology a Flexible Career?

Psychology can be considered a flexible career simply because of the sheer variety of subfields. Furthermore, many of the subfields offer flexible working arrangements.³ For example, a psychologist who establishes their own private practice can set their own preferred hours.

If they spend most of their time conducting research, psychologists may be able to do that with a flexible schedule as well. Psychologists who work for other organizations, such as hospitals, clinics or schools, may not have as much flexibility in the day-to-day operations of their practice.

Is Psychology a Growing Field?

Psychology as a whole is indeed a growing field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates job growth for all types of psychologists to be 6% from 2022 to 2032, faster than average, accounting for an additional 12,000 openings in the field during this time.⁴

What Are the Day-to-Day Responsibilities of a Psychologist?

A psychologist’s day-to-day work can be both challenging and meaningful. Clients have different needs and problems, and each appointment may uncover new information.

Psychologists tend to work with a diverse group of people and may work in a variety of environments. 

How Do I Become a Psychologist?

Once in college, you should plan to earn both undergraduate and graduate psychology degrees. These degrees typically require diligent study and work, but passionate students are likely to find the investment well worth the effort.

To become a psychologist, here are a few steps as a guide:

• Decide on a path. Figure out which emphasis you want to pursue. Creating a plan can help give you better questions to ask instructors to achieve your goals.
• Earn a degree in psychology. Depending on what field of psychology you want to go into, you may need a higher-level degree.
• Become licensed. Each state has different standards for getting a practice license. Do some research in your state to figure out how many hours of experience you need to get approved. These hours may include internships, supervised learning or postdoctoral work.²

What To Do in High School

One important step to take while you are still in high school is to meet with your school counselor. Discuss your career aspirations and ask how you can adjust your course load to meet your goals. Some high schools offer psychology courses. Some even offer AP psychology courses, which can enable students to earn college credits while still in high school.

Even if your high school does not offer a psychology class, you can still prepare for college. Taking advanced courses in science and mathematics subjects can be helpful.

Additionally, try taking courses in:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Statistics
• Physiology
• Comparative religions
• Philosophy
• Sociology
• History

Lastly, consider meeting with your language arts teachers for feedback on your writing skills to prepare for you to take reading and writing-intensive courses in college.

Earning an Undergraduate Psychology Degree

When the time comes to apply for admission to universities, look for a school that offers multiple psychology degree options. If you haven’t yet decided on the specialization that most interests you, a general psychology program can prepare you for your graduate degree or help you choose a program into which you can transfer later. 

Although it is important to allot a significant portion of your time to studying and completing your assignments, it is also a good idea to join clubs, sports teams and other activities on campus. These fun activities can introduce you to diverse groups, refine your communication skills and help you start networking.

You should also seek internship opportunities. While local mental health facilities may have internships available, you can also look for opportunities at hospitals, cultural centers, juvenile intervention programs and research labs.

Completing an internship can help you by:

• Exploring various aspects of your career field, which can help you narrow the focus of your studies
• Improving your curriculum vitae (CV)
• Building your professional network, which may help you to find a job more easily after graduation

Advance Your Psychology Career With a Master's Degree

Psychologists typically need to earn a master’s or doctoral degree. Before applying to a graduate program, you should carefully research the licensure and certification requirements for the state in which you plan to practice. Your state may require you to earn a doctoral degree and obtain licensing to qualify as a clinical psychologist.²

Some types of psychologists only need a master’s degree. These may include industrial-organizational psychologists, non-clinical psychologists and sometimes, school psychologists.²

Become a Specialized Psychologist With a Degree from GCU

Your path to becoming a psychologist can begin at Grand Canyon University. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences offers multiple degree options for aspiring psychologists, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology. Fill out the form on this page to learn more.