How to hire clinical and counseling psychologists

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

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

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Doctoral or professional degree]
• Strong reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, writing, speaking and active learning skills
• Working knowledge of psychology, therapy and counseling, English Language and education and training
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $48.36 an hour ($100,580 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for clinical and counseling psychologists

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to collect information about individuals or clients, using interviews, case histories, observational techniques, and other assessment methods. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to conduct assessments of patients' risk for harm to self or others. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to counsel individuals, groups, or families to help them understand problems, deal with crisis situations, define goals, and develop realistic action plans. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to document patient information including session notes, progress notes, recommendations, and treatment plans. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
6. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
7. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What clinical and counseling psychologists do

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

Skills that matter most

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingWritingSpeakingActive LearningPsychologyTherapy and CounselingEnglish LanguageEducation and Training

Education, experience and outlook for clinical and counseling psychologists

• Typical education to start: Doctoral or professional degree (BLS)
• Training on the job: Internship/residency (BLS)
• Job outlook: +11.7% over ten years, much faster than average · about 4,100 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay clinical and counseling psychologists

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See clinical and counseling psychologists pay in every state

Related hiring guides

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• Historians

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.