In plain English
Clinical and counselling psychology are doctoral professions: a PhD, PsyD or EdD, a supervised internship, supervised postdoctoral experience in most states, and a national licensing examination. That doctorate is why the title is protected, and why psychologists rather than therapists in general carry out formal psychological and neuropsychological assessment.
Psychologists do not prescribe in most of the country. A small number of states have granted prescriptive authority to psychologists with additional training; elsewhere medication belongs to psychiatrists, primary care physicians and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners. This is the sharpest line in behavioural health and the one most often got wrong in targeting.
School psychology, neuropsychology, forensic and health psychology are distinct areas of practice with codes of their own, and not all of them are clinical.
Training and credentials
A doctoral degree in psychology, a supervised internship, supervised postdoctoral experience in most states, then the national licensing examination.
Where they practise
Independent and group practice, community mental health, hospitals and rehabilitation units, schools, universities, correctional and veterans' facilities, telehealth.
Psychologists on the public record
Counted from what providers file about themselves, with suppression applied before anything is counted, refreshed 2026-10-05. Names, specialties and practice locations are public; work email and phone are for signed-in customers.
| State | On record | With work email | With practice phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 28,291 | 16,237 57% | 28,286 |
| New York | 16,510 | 9,776 59% | 16,506 |
| Florida | 8,769 | 4,525 52% | 8,767 |
| Michigan | 8,372 | 5,043 60% | 8,369 |
| Illinois | 7,879 | 4,222 54% | 7,879 |
| Texas | 7,757 | 4,386 57% | 7,756 |
| Massachusetts | 7,582 | 4,665 62% | 7,582 |
| Pennsylvania | 7,527 | 4,610 61% | 7,527 |
Closely related, and where to find them.
Closely related
- Psychiatrist The prescribing profession in mental health, and how it is filed on the record.
- Licensed counselor One classification, a dozen state titles - and why this entry stops where it does.
- Clinical social worker Therapy and the practical circumstances around it - and a very large licensed population.
Find them
- Psychologists list counts by state, the fields a record carries, a sample record.
- Mental health psychologists, counsellors and clinical social workers, with psychiatrists counted separately as a physician specialty.
- Psychologists in New York, NY
- Psychologists in Los Angeles, CA
- Psychologists in Houston, TX
- Psychologists in Miami, FL
- Psychologists in Chicago, IL
- Psychologists in Philadelphia, PA
Need the list, not the definition?
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