Clinical Psychology - Pieper

When someone hears, psychologist they most likely think that therapy is a waste of money, or that psychologists don’t really do anything for anyone. But I think everybody has known someone with a mental disorder that should’ve gone to a therapist, but didn’t go because of these negative stereotypes. I’ve done research on what Clinical Psychologists really do for their clients, and I hope by the end of this speech I’ll have made a positive dent in the standing bias against Psychologists and maybe even have sparked someone’s interest in the profession. I’m going to be talking about how Clinical Psychologists help with real disorders, how there is an actual demand for Clinical Psychologists and the specialties within, also how financially it's not a bad career to have. Clinical Psychologists really do try to help people with disorders. Since clinical psychology is such a broad career they try to diagnose and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Most commonly they help treat learning disabilities, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, although these are common disorders, most of them can be extremely serious and without some kind of professional help, they can ruin lives. Since these disorders are becoming more and more common, the demand for Clinical Psychologists is increasing. In fact, employment is estimated to have grown 19% by 2024 . The Specialization of these psychologists also contributes to this growth. When a psychologist specializes in one of the 13 areas available, their income and desirability can increase as well. The median salary for Clinical Psychologists is around $68,900 per year though it changes based on location and specialization. Some of the best Clinical Psychologists can make a lot more than that, though it doesn’t just depend on specialization, but their degree of education too. At minimum a Clinical Psychologist has a Bachelor’s Degree and a 2-3 year Master's Degree in Psychology, they also have to be licensed by their state. However, recently most states have been requiring a 4-5 year doctorate and around a  2,000 internship as well. Despite the negative bias on Psychologists, they really are valuable to our community. To sum it up, psychologists make a decent amount of money, if trained well, are able to get jobs, and actually help people with mental, emotional, and behavioral. This kind of job is really is worth the years of education and practice that is needed, and I hope I’ve helped you see that.