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Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

Assess, diagnose, and treat mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests. Help individuals with distress or maladjustment understand their problems through their knowledge of case history, interviews with patients, and theory. Provide individual or group counseling services to assist individuals in achieving more effective personal, social, educational, and vocational development and adjustment. May design behavior modification programs and consult with medical personnel regarding the best treatment for patients.

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A look at the work

  • Conduct assessments of patients' risk for harm to self or others.
  • Document patient information including session notes, progress notes, recommendations, and treatment plans.
  • Identify psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues and diagnose disorders, using information obtained from interviews, tests, records, or reference materials.
  • Write reports on clients and maintain required paperwork.
  • Counsel individuals, groups, or families to help them understand problems, deal with crisis situations, define goals, and develop realistic action plans.
  • Interact with clients to assist them in gaining insight, defining goals, and planning action to achieve effective personal, social, educational, or vocational development and adjustment.
  • Collect information about individuals or clients, using interviews, case histories, observational techniques, and other assessment methods.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or treatments and the accuracy and completeness of diagnoses, modifying plans or diagnoses as necessary.

A selection of source-listed tasks; duties vary by role and employer.

Interests involved in this work

These source scores describe occupational work activities. They are separate from your personal test results.

Hands-on

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.1 / 7

Investigative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

5.6 / 7

Creative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

3.1 / 7

Helping people

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

6.6 / 7

Enterprising

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

2.7 / 7

Organizing

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

3.5 / 7

Skills to explore

Source-reported importance on a 1–5 scale. Try a course, project or conversation to learn what these skills involve.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

2024-08

4.8 / 5

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

2024-08

4.4 / 5

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

2024-08

4.3 / 5

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

2024-08

4.3 / 5

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

2024-08

4.3 / 5

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

2024-08

4.1 / 5

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

2024-08

3.9 / 5

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

2024-08

3.8 / 5

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

2024-08

3.8 / 5

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

2024-08

3.8 / 5

Plan a small next step

Talk to someone doing this work, look for a supervised activity, and explore the subjects that interest you. Admission, licensing and current program requirements should be confirmed with the relevant institutions.

Source preparation category: Job Zone 5 of 5 · 2024-08. This category describes typical preparation, not your eligibility.

Related study fields

Source crosswalk connections are research leads, not required qualifications.

Psychology, General →

Developmental and Child Psychology →

Clinical Psychology →

Counseling Psychology →

Clinical Child Psychology →

Geropsychology →

Health/Medical Psychology →

Family Psychology →

Applied Behavior Analysis →

Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy →

Explore all related study fields →

Source & methodology

O*NET-SOC code 19-3033.00 · Database 31.0 · Retrieved Oct 14, 2026. Dates on individual observations describe their source periods.

How interest exploration matching works →

Data: O*NET® 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0. StudyIndex normalizes the presentation and adds exploration features; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions.