Jobs in Clinical Psychology: How to Fulfill
your Dream of Being a Scientist-Practitioner

George M. Slavich, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco

The Clinical Psychologist

Doctoral programs in clinical psychology are unique because they prepare trainees for careers in both research and clinical service. While some of these programs are strongly research focused (i.e., clinical scientist programs), others are strongly clinically focused (e.g., practitioner-scholar programs); yet others are relatively balanced with respect to their emphasis on research and clinical training (i.e., scientist-practitioner programs). Nevertheless, at the heart of each of these training models is an appreciation for how clinical training benefits research, and vice versa.

Many individuals who receive this integrative training in clinical psychology continue with both research and clinical work in some capacity. These dual-role jobs are sometimes borne out of an individual’s intrinsic interest in both roles (e.g., they are primarily a clinician, but value conducting research with the potential to help the population they work with); other times, they derive from practical necessity (e.g., they are a researcher, but only 50% of their salary is covered by federal grant support, so they do clinical work to make up the rest). For the remainder of this article, I consider five jobs in clinical psychology while focusing on how each combines clinical work and research. I begin with the more research-focused jobs.

Departments of Psychology
The most traditional of positions are those in departments of psychology. Psychology departments typically hire clinical psychologists for their ability to teach courses and carry out programmatic research. These positions are commonly referred to as “hard money” positions, because they involve receiving a secure salary in exchange for teaching a certain number of courses and performing certain departmental duties.

Although excellence in research is usually prioritized in this setting, departments with training programs in clinical psychology need faculty who can supervise cases and teach clinical courses (e.g., diagnostic interviewing, cognitive behavior therapy, etc.). This is one way to remain involved in clinical work while in a department of psychology. Another way is to conduct treatment outcome research, which could involve administering psychotherapy or diagnostic tests to patients. Finally, it is also possible to become involved in a private practice in addition to maintaining an academic job. This can be a delicate issue if the department expects professors to devote most of their time to teaching and research. When acceptable, however, this setup may be quite fulfilling and also scalable, given that clinical office space can be rented by the hour.

Departments of Psychiatry
Clinical psychologists also sometimes work in departments of psychiatry. Psychiatry departments usually have a number of different “tracks” or “series” that vary with respect to their emphasis on research versus clinical work. Compared to psychology department jobs, however, these positions are almost always “soft money” positions, meaning that the individual is largely responsible for generating the entirety of his or her own salary.

Salary generation for individuals in a “research” or “professor” track usually involves obtaining a level of federal and/or private grant support that is sufficient to cover the person’s base salary. Individuals interested in clinical work, however, may elect to be appointed in a combined track – sometimes called a “Clinical X,” “Clinical Scientist,” or “Clinical Professor” track – in which the person supports him or herself partly with grant support and partly through clinical work. The amount of revenue anticipated from each activity is discussed up front with administrators, but may vary over the course of the appointment as a function of level of current grant support. In a standard arrangement, the individual has one or more research grants and sees patients through a department clinic (e.g., outpatient services) or faculty practice (i.e., patients are seen in the professor’s departmental office, but billing and other support services are provided by the department in exchange for a percentage of the revenue generated).

Schools of Professional Psychology
A job in a school of professional psychology may not be an obvious option for someone trained in a traditional Ph.D. program. This is because most Ph.D. programs typically emphasize careers in research, whereas most professional schools have historically focused on preparing students for careers in clinical care. However, this is starting to change: A number of professional schools now have arrangements with major research universities, and while students in these programs receive good clinical training, they also take courses in research methods and statistics, and are expected to excel in research. A faculty position in a professional school may therefore be attractive for a number of reasons. First, all of the graduate students are clinical students. Second, professors in these schools are almost always involved with clinical training. And third, although the emphasis on research productivity is less pronounced than in departments of psychology, a thriving research group can easily be developed – and is certainly valued – in this setting.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
VA hospitals are responsible for providing physical and mental healthcare services for the Nation’s veteran population. VA hospitals, however, are also home to some of the best training programs around. For example, a number of the most sought-after clinical internship sites are at VA hospitals and many medical schools have rotations at VA hospitals. It is true that some individuals survive entirely on “soft money” in this setting. At the same time, VA employees are often supported, at least partially, through the provision of clinical services to veterans. VA hospital salaries can be relatively generous and intramural research funding is usually available to qualified investigators. Although a job in a VA setting, therefore, will almost inevitably entail providing clinical services, such a position can also involve conducting research, particularly clinical or translational research.

Private Practice with an Adjunct Faculty Appointment
The last and most clinically-focused job is also the most idiosyncratic. It involves participating in a private practice while maintaining a faculty appointment at a nearby research university. While the private practice setup permits one’s clinical case load to be flexible, the institutional affiliation enables the individual to apply for grants and collaborate with other investigators at the institution. Departments of psychology sometimes refer to these positions as research or teaching professorships, whereas departments of psychiatry often call them “clinical educator” or “clinical professor” positions. This arrangement can be very attractive for both the individual and the institution; while the individual gains the credibility and resources of the university, the university gains access to the skills of the individual, as well as to a portion of the grant money that he or she brings in (i.e., the indirect costs).

George M. Slavich, Ph.D. :: Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology
UCLA Medical Center Plaza 300, Rm 3156 :: Los Angeles, CA 90095-7076
+1 310-825-2576 :: gslavich at mednet.ucla.edu