The field of psychologist has stiff competition, so you need to make sure that your G.P.A. is at least 3.4 or above in your undergraduate work otherwise you’ll be disappointed.

A clinical psychologist is a licensed or certified professional who holds a doctoral degree in psychology and works in the area of prevention and treatment of emotional and mental disorders. A neuropsychologist is typically a clinical psychologist with additional training and experience in neuropsychology, an area of psychology that focuses on brain-behavior relationships.

Description

Neuropsychologists are licensed professionals within the field of psychology. Most have a doctorate (PhD) in psychology with additional years of post-doctoral training in clinical neuropsychology. The graduate education and training for neuropsychologists emphasizes brain anatomy, brain function, and brain injury or disease. The neuropsychologist also learns how to administer and interpret certain types of standardized tests that can detect effects of brain dysfunction. Neuropsychologists may receive certification from the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN), the member board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) that administers the competency exam in the specialty of clinical neuropsychology.

Neuropsychologists are not medical doctors; they are consultants who work closely with physicians, teachers, and other professionals to assess an individual’s brain functioning. With the aid of standardized tests, neuropsychologists help to diagnose and assess patients with a variety of medical conditions that impact intellectual, cognitive, or behavioral functioning. They may also provide psychotherapy or other therapeutic interventions.

Neuropsychologists usually work in private practice or in institutional settings such as hospitals or clinics. Most neuropsychologists are in clinical practice; that is, their primary responsibilities include evaluation and treatment of patients. A neuropsychologist’s practice may include pediatric neuropsychology, a specialty that concerns the relationship between learning and behavior and a child’s brain, and forensic neuropsychology, an area that deals with determination of disability for legal purposes. In addition to seeing patients, neuropsychologists may also engage in professional activities such as teaching, research, and administration.