Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
Occupation · SOC 19-3033.00
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.
Also called: Clinical Psychologist · Counseling Psychologist · Psychologist · Psychotherapist · Case Manager · Counselor · LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) · Licensed Clinical Psychologist · Licensed Psychologist · Therapist · Applied Behavior Science Specialist (ABSS) · Assessment Coordinator
Job family: Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-19-3033-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Growing fast employment outlook (+11.2% by 2034)
- 4,800 openings/yr
- High AI exposure
- Median pay $95,830/yr
61st-percentile task overlap — yet about 4,800 openings a year (+11.2% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 53rd | 0.6 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) High | 72nd | 0.2 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.6). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Advise clients on how they could be helped by counseling. | 2.6% | |
| Plan, supervise, and conduct psychological research and write papers describing research results. | 0.7% | |
| Collect information about individuals or clients, using interviews, case histories, observational techniques, and other assessment methods. | 0.6% | |
| Consult with other professionals, agencies, or universities to discuss therapies, treatments, counseling resources or techniques, and to share occupational information. | 0.4% | |
| Document patient information including session notes, progress notes, recommendations, and treatment plans. | 0.3% | |
| Consult with or provide consultation to other doctors, therapists, or clinicians regarding patient care. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Growing fast · +11.2% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 4,800 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 76,300 → 84,800 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Tasks
All 30 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Conduct assessments of patients' risk for harm to self or others. Core · importance 5.0
- Document patient information including session notes, progress notes, recommendations, and treatment plans. Core · importance 4.8
- Identify psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues and diagnose disorders, using information obtained from interviews, tests, records, or reference materials. Core · importance 4.6
- Write reports on clients and maintain required paperwork. Core · importance 4.6
- Counsel individuals, groups, or families to help them understand problems, deal with crisis situations, define goals, and develop realistic action plans. Core · importance 4.5
- 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. Core · importance 4.4
- Collect information about individuals or clients, using interviews, case histories, observational techniques, and other assessment methods. Core · importance 4.4
- Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or treatments and the accuracy and completeness of diagnoses, modifying plans or diagnoses as necessary. Core · importance 4.4
- Use a variety of treatment methods, such as psychotherapy, hypnosis, behavior modification, stress reduction therapy, psychodrama, or play therapy. Core · importance 4.3
- Develop therapeutic and treatment plans based on clients' interests, abilities, or needs. Core · importance 4.3
- Develop and implement individual treatment plans, specifying type, frequency, intensity, and duration of therapy. Core · importance 4.2
- Maintain current knowledge of relevant research. Core · importance 4.2
- Obtain and study medical, psychological, social, and family histories by interviewing individuals, couples, or families and by reviewing records. Core · importance 4.0
- Consult reference material, such as textbooks, manuals, or journals, to identify symptoms, make diagnoses, or develop approaches to treatment. Core · importance 4.0
- Select, administer, score, and interpret psychological tests to obtain information on individuals' intelligence, achievements, interests, or personalities. Core · importance 4.0
- Consult with or provide consultation to other doctors, therapists, or clinicians regarding patient care. Core · importance 4.0
- Advise clients on how they could be helped by counseling. Core · importance 3.9
- Direct, coordinate, and evaluate activities of staff and interns engaged in patient assessment and treatment. Core · importance 3.9
- Supervise and train interns, clinicians in training, and other counselors. Core · importance 3.8
- Refer clients to other specialists, institutions, or support services as necessary. Core · importance 3.7
- Consult with other professionals, agencies, or universities to discuss therapies, treatments, counseling resources or techniques, and to share occupational information. Core · importance 3.6
- Develop, direct, and participate in training programs for staff and students. Core · importance 3.5
- Plan and develop accredited psychological service programs in psychiatric centers or hospitals, in collaboration with psychiatrists and other professional staff. Supplemental · importance 3.5
- Provide consulting services, including educational programs, outreach programs, or prevention talks to schools, social service agencies, businesses, or the general public. Core · importance 3.2
- Provide occupational, educational, or other information to individuals so that they can make educational or vocational plans. Core · importance 3.2
- Conduct research to develop or improve diagnostic or therapeutic counseling techniques. Supplemental · importance 3.1
- Prepare written evaluations of individuals' psychological competence for court hearings. Supplemental · importance 3.0
- Observe individuals at play, in group interactions, or in other contexts to detect indications of mental deficiency, abnormal behavior, or maladjustment. Supplemental · importance 3.0
- Plan, supervise, and conduct psychological research and write papers describing research results. Supplemental · importance 2.9
- Provide psychological or administrative services and advice to private firms or community agencies regarding mental health programs or individual cases. Supplemental · importance 2.9
Work activities
- Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.
- Counsel clients on mental health or personal achievement.
- Record research or operational data.
- Diagnose neural or psychological disorders.
- Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
- Advise others on healthcare matters.
- Collect archival data.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or educational programs.
- Modify treatment plans to accommodate client needs.
- Administer standardized physical or psychological tests.
- Design psychological or educational treatment procedures or programs.
- Direct medical science or healthcare programs.
- Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
- Review professional literature to maintain professional knowledge.
- Advise others on educational matters.
- Supervise trainees.
- Develop educational programs.
- Plan social sciences research.
- Evaluate patient functioning, capabilities, or health.
- Write reports or evaluations.
- Train staff members.
- Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Psychology | 5.0 | |
| Therapy and Counseling | 5.0 | |
| English Language | 4.1 | |
| Education and Training | 3.9 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.7 | |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 3.6 |
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 4.8 | |
| Active Listening | 4.3 | |
| Writing | 4.3 | |
| Critical Thinking | 4.3 | |
| Speaking | 4.1 | |
| Active Learning | 3.9 | |
| Monitoring | 3.8 | |
| Learning Strategies | 3.6 |
Abilities
| Oral Expression | 4.6 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.5 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.4 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.4 | |
| Written Expression | 4.3 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Speech Recognition | 4.0 | |
| Speech Clarity | 4.0 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.8 | |
| Originality | 3.4 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.4 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.4 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.3 | |
| Near Vision | 3.3 |
Transferable skills
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.4 | |
| Service Orientation | 3.8 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.8 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.8 | |
| Coordination | 3.5 | |
| Persuasion | 3.5 | |
| Instructing | 3.3 | |
| Time Management | 3.3 | |
| Negotiation | 3.1 | |
| Systems Analysis | 3.0 | |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.0 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Showing the top 40 of 43.
Tools & technology
Showing the top 40 of 57.
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Typical entry-level education
- Doctoral or professional degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
- Preparation level
- SVP (8.0 and above) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs , Psychology . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Post-Doctoral Training | 48.0% | |
| Doctoral Degree | 44.0% | |
| Master's Degree | 8.0% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Work styles
| Attention to Detail | 10.0 | |
| Integrity | 9.0 | |
| Intellectual Curiosity | 8.0 | |
| Cooperation | 7.0 | |
| Achievement Orientation | 6.0 | |
| Social Orientation | 5.0 | |
| Self-Control | 4.0 |
Interest areas
| Social Science | 6.7 | |
| Social Service | 6.5 | |
| Professional Advising | 5.8 | |
| Health Care Service | 5.7 | |
| Teaching/Education | 5.0 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Social | 6.6 | |
| Investigative | 5.6 | |
| Conventional | 3.5 | |
| Artistic | 3.1 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $50,470 |
| 25th percentile | $67,470 |
| Median (50th) | $95,830 |
| 75th percentile | $131,510 |
| 90th percentile | $170,150 |
| People employed | 72,190 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) · National industry | 246.87× | 27,950 |
| Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers · National industry | 32.7× | 4,740 |
| Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities · National industry | 16.86× | 480 |
| Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities · National industry | 7.35× | 890 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 5.58× | 60,400 |
| Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists · National industry | 4.62× | 1,030 |
| Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities · National industry | 1.9× | 2,150 |
| Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities · National industry | 1.81× | 330 |
Related occupations
Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers · 21-1023.00 Compare →
- Marriage and Family Therapists · 21-1013.00 Compare →
- Mental Health Counselors · 21-1014.00 Compare →
- Psychiatrists · 29-1223.00 Compare →
- Healthcare Social Workers · 21-1022.00 Compare →
- School Psychologists · 19-3034.00 Compare →
- Neuropsychologists · 19-3039.02 Compare →
- Clinical Neuropsychologists · 19-3039.03 Compare →
- Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses · 29-1141.02 Compare →
- Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors · 21-1011.00 Compare →
- Psychiatric Technicians · 29-2053.00 Compare →
- Rehabilitation Counselors · 21-1015.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Clinical and Counseling Psychologists — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Doctoral or professional degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Health Professions and Related Programs · field of study
- Psychology · field of study
Zoom out
See where this work sits in the bigger picture.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists show 61st-percentile AI task overlap — and about 4,800 annual U.S. openings
- Clinical and Counseling Psychologists rank in the 61st percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 4,800 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+11.2%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $95,830, across about 72,190 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists show 61st-percentile AI task overlap — and about 4,800 annual U.S. openings • Clinical and Counseling Psychologists rank in the 61st percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 4,800 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+11.2%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $95,830, across about 72,190 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Clinical and Counseling Psychologists". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-3033-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Clinical and Counseling Psychologists." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-3033-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Clinical and Counseling Psychologists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-3033-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-19-3033-00,
title = {Clinical and Counseling Psychologists},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-3033-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.