How to become a child forensic psychologist

How To Become A Forensic Psychologist [Salary & Job Overview]

Today, forensic psychology is a well-known occupation, in part thanks to early 2000s crime dramas like "CSI" and "Law & Order". The genre has only continued to boom in popularity, with an ever-growing list of podcasts, YouTube channels, and docu-series drawing in millions of viewers and listeners.

So, why are so many people attracted to such a serious subject? Social psychologist and professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, Amanda Vicary, says it comes down to a collective fascination with understanding "the inner workings of a killer."

If you are captivated by what drives people to commit crimes, a forensic psychology career might be for you. But what exactly does the role of a forensic psychologist entail?

What Is Forensic Psychology?

Forensic psychology is a relatively new field that can be thought of as the intersection of law and psychology. Forensic psychologists apply their expertise in psychology to individuals involved in the legal system. This can relate to civil or criminal court matters, such as lawsuits, custody disputes, homicides, or a number of other issues.

Forensic Psychology Salaries

The following data from BLS includes all kinds of psychologists, e.g. counseling psychologists, developmental psychologists, school psychologists, and clinical psychologists.

Psychologists
Lowest 10%	Median Annual Salary	Highest 10%	Projected Growth Rate (2020-2030)
Less than $46,270	$82,180	More than $137,590	8%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

However, note that according to the APA, experienced forensic psychologists can earn up to $400,000 per year.

Online Forensic Psychology Programs

Forensic Psychology: Example Job Titles

If you search Indeed or Glassdoor for "forensic psychology jobs," you will get few results. Positions related to forensic psychology go by many names. Some examples include:

How Do I Become a Forensic Psychologist?

The typical path toward becoming a forensic psychologist includes completion of a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and doctoral degree in psychology. Most forensic psychologists are also licensed clinical psychologists, meaning they passed the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).

Education for Forensic Psychologists

Gaining a bachelor's degree in either criminal justice, criminology, or general psychology will provide a solid foundation to pursue forensic psychology. However, some schools now offer bachelor's degrees in forensic psychology specifically, which is also a good option if available.

Following completion of a bachelor's degree, most prospective forensic psychologists complete a master's degree in general psychology, forensic psychology, or psychology with a concentration in law before attending a doctoral program. (Most graduate programs require you to complete the GRE with a certain score to apply.)

You may come across doctoral programs that allow you to apply directly after your bachelor's degree without attending graduate school. While skipping a master's degree can save time and money, taking the extra step can allow you to prepare for the level of difficulty you will face during your doctoral studies, boost your GPA, and enhance your resume. This can help you qualify for admission at more competitive schools.

Licensure for Forensic Psychologists

You do not need special licensure beyond what is required for clinical psychologists to become a forensic psychologist, which requires taking the EPPP. (However, these requirements may vary from state to state, so check your jurisdiction to ensure you complete all the necessary steps.)

Board Certification for Forensic Psychologists

The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) offers a specialty board certification in forensic psychology. While this is not required by most employers, it demonstrates a strong understanding of the standards of the profession and sets you apart from competition.

To pursue this certification, you need to meet the ABPP's eligibility requirements. Then, you can take the 3-hour oral examination and written exam.

Pre-Professional Experience for Forensic Psychologists

The time you spend in your internship, fellowship, or supervised experience in forensic psychology following your doctoral degree is what differentiates you from general psychologists and qualifies you for forensic psychology positions. Individuals typically spend 1-2 years in these positions. During this time, you will gain the necessary hands-on experience to find employment in forensic psychology.

During these experiences, you can expect to administer forensic psychological assessments, violence risk assessments, evaluate a defendant's competency to stand trial, attend seminars, participate in mock trials, and conduct research, among other clinical experiences with forensic populations.

Online Forensic Psychology Programs

Frequently Asked Questions About Forensic Psychologists

Where do forensic psychologists work?

They may work in prisons, research centers, hospitals, medical examiners' offices, universities, forensic labs, private research companies, police stations, or as consultants.

How long do forensic psychologists spend in school?

It takes about 10 years after high school to become a forensic psychologist: four years to complete a bachelor's degree, two years for a master's degree, and four years for a doctorate.

Do you need a doctoral degree to become a forensic psychologist?

In most states, earning a doctoral degree in psychology is the key to success. While some successful forensic psychologists do not hold a doctoral degree, it's more difficult to establish yourself without one. Some courts do not consider those without doctorates as experts.

What is the difference between criminology and forensic psychology?

While these two fields share significant overlap, forensic psychologists look more closely at individuals while criminologists look at crimes from a sociological standpoint, focusing more on why crimes take place in general and how to prevent them.

What Does a Forensic Psychologist Do?

Forensic psychologists have many responsibilities, including conducting and analyzing research, determining psychological factors that relate to a criminal's motive, helping law enforcement create criminal profiles, and evaluating an inmate's risk of reoffending. Occasionally, a forensic psychologist may also present and defend findings in court.

Because forensic psychologists can work in a variety of different settings, it's difficult to describe a typical day on the job. But some common tasks include interviewing an inmate, providing mental health treatment, evaluating the success of a treatment program, consulting with correctional officers and law enforcement, reviewing a team member's reports, responding to emails, and organizing meetings.

Throughout the work week, you may interact with various parties, including defendants, prisoners, policemen, victims of crimes, judges, lawyers, and other professionals in the criminal justice system and corrections system.

Skills and Competencies

The skills required to succeed as a forensic psychologist differ slightly from that of a clinical or counseling psychologist.

While a natural empathetic disposition leads many students to pursue careers in psychology, you must learn to balance compassion with a sense of objectivity. This is important because your psychological assessments will be used for legal purposes such as to prosecute offenders and determine custody agreements. These decisions lead to very real ramifications on people's lives.

Objectivity will also prove important in your interactions with members of law enforcement and the criminal justice system. You will likely build friendly relationships with detectives and lawyers, which can compromise your ethical standards and ability to remain unbiased.

It also helps to develop a "thick skin" at work, more so than with other branches of psychology. As a forensic psychologist, you may often interface with people who have committed violent crimes. Interacting with certain individuals and maintaining a professional disposition can be challenging. You must also be able to defend your psychological evaluations from scrutiny in court, which can be intimidating.

Additionally, strong analytical skills and attention to detail will also help you with daily tasks like conducting clinical assessments, interviews, and report writing.

Forensic Psychology Resources and Professional Organizations

Reviewed by:

Megan Pietrucha, Psy.D.

Megan Pietrucha, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist who currently practices in the Chicago area. She holds a bachelor's in psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University and a master's and doctorate in clinical psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University. Her clinical interests include the treatment of eating and body image concerns, college student and student-athlete mental health, mood disorders, health and wellness, mindfulness, sport and performance psychology, and consultation.

In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Pietrucha has served as the training director for an APA-accredited internship program and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology. She has also worked with high school and college athletes and teams, as well as recreational fitness programs, to provide mental skills training for athletic performance and fitness adherence.

Megan Pietrucha is a paid member of the Red Ventures Education freelance review network.

Page last reviewed December 1, 2021

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Requirements To Become a Forensic Psychologist

If a person is not of a sound mental state, how can they be convicted of a crime and sentenced? The field of forensic psychology determines fault and explains how mental health factors into criminal behavior.

According to Psychology Today, forensic psychologists are involved in roles ranging from assessing whether or not an inmate is legally insane to crisis management in communities in the wake of violent crime. Ultimately forensic psychologists serve in many roles ranging from clinicians, data scientists, behavioral therapists, and legal consultants.

Forensic psychology has evolved from a virtually non-existent area to one that has been sensationalized in countless movies, books, and television programs. While the inner workings of the criminal mind have always been something that has fascinated detectives and civilians alike, only in this century has a profession been developed to explore criminal motives and work to treat offenders effectively: forensic psychology.

What do forensic psychologists do? As expected, it does not look exactly like the dramatic day-to-day of the profilers and serial killer hunters on television. Responsibilities may vary, but most psychologists in the field help police determine the motives for certain crimes, narrow down a suspect pool, and generally provide deeper insight into the criminal mind to assist investigators.

Forensic psychologists provide key testimonies in legal proceedings. They help determine whether a suspect is competent enough to stand trial, or whether an inmate is ready for parole. Forensic psychologists may work as part of a law enforcement team, in a jail or prison setting, or as independent consultants.

As the understanding of the intersection of mental health and the law grows, so does the field of forensic psychology, and the demand for skilled forensic psychologists remains strong. To become a forensic psychologist, significant training is required.

To earn a psychologist license, candidates must meet educational requirements, and new psychologists must perform hundreds of hours of training under the supervision of an experienced psychologist. The path to one’s first job in the field involves dedication and hard work, but can ultimately lead to a fulfilling and fascinating career.

Keep reading to learn the details of how to become a forensic psychologist.

Career Outlook for Forensic Psychologists

The outlook for the forensic psychologist career is bright. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not specifically track forensic specialty growth data, they predict that the demand for all psychologists will grow 8 percent between 2020 and 2030. That growth rate is roughly the same expected growth among all occupations nationally during the same period and translates to 13,500 new positions in the coming decade.

According to Psychology Today, forensic psychology is a growing field. However, to take advantage of the increased demand, psychologists must be clinically competent with a practice based firmly in scientific theory.

The BLS (May 2021) also notes that the median salary for all clinical and counseling psychologists is $99,640 per year, with the lowest-paid 10 percent earning less than $47,010 and the highest-paid 10 percent earning more than $167,460.

Education and Professional Licensing Requirements for Forensic Psychologists

Becoming a clinical psychologist, whether in the forensic specialty or otherwise, requires a great deal of training and government licensure to practice. The requirements for licensure vary from state to state. Typically, psychologists must earn a minimum of a doctoral-level degree, either in a PhD or a PsyD, and complete a set number of supervised training hours in practice before practicing independently.

Those pursuing the forensic specialty may ultimately choose to become board certified through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Although not required by law, this certification is often essential in establishing expertise to testify in court.

For those seeking professional board certification in the field, the ABPP recommends seeking a mentor who has gone through the process before beginning the application.

Please see our guide to Forensic Psychology Degree and Certificate Programs for a detailed guide to forensic psychology programs.

Purdue University Global	BSCJ - Forensic Psychology	Visit Site
Arizona State University	Forensic Psychology (MS)	Visit Site
Arizona State University	Psychology - Forensic Psychology (BS)	Visit Site
Grand Canyon University	BS in Psychology - Forensic Psychology	Visit Site
Grand Canyon University	MS in Psychology - Forensic Psychology	Visit Site
Southern New Hampshire University	BA in Psychology - Forensic Psychology	Visit Site

Steps to Become a Forensic Psychologist

To become a psychologist, a student must first earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology or another behavioral science, followed by a master’s or doctoral degree. Most forensic psychologists opt for a doctorate in forensic psychology, as that often affords them a wider range of potential employment possibilities. The following are the most common steps taken to begin this career. Note that the exact order of the following steps and some specifics, such as how many hours of supervised practice, will depend on where the psychologist intends to practice.

Step 1: Graduate high school – A high school diploma or GED is required to pursue a forensic psychology degree. If possible, students should take any psychology courses available and excel in life sciences such as biology and chemistry to improve their chances of admission to a strong psychology undergraduate program.

Step 2: Complete an undergraduate degree (four years) – The rigorous coursework required in this profession begins in the undergraduate years. Most forensic psychologists will complete an undergraduate degree in psychology (typically a bachelor of science or BS), but that is not necessarily required.

Students should meet all prerequisites for their graduate program of choice during their undergraduate program. Common prerequisite courses include introductory level psychology classes and certain statistics classes. If available, students can use this time to take classes such as abnormal psychology and criminal psychology and pursue any available internships in their chosen field.

An example undergraduate program is Southern New Hampshire University’s (SNHU) online bachelor of arts in psychology with a concentration in forensic psychology. This program prepares students with research and critical thinking skills and skills such as psychological assessment in criminal justice. Courses in the 12-credit forensic psychology concentration include counseling process and techniques, sociology of crime and violence, and sociology of deviant behavior.

Location: Manchester, NH
Duration: Four years
Accreditation: New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
Tuition: $320 per credit

Step 3: Pursue an advanced degree – (two to four years) After completing an undergraduate degree, students will need to apply to a graduate program. This is where students will be able to specialize in forensic psychology. Students should look for doctoral programs that the APA has accredited to ensure the best chance of becoming licensed.

Although licensing requirements vary by state, most states require that practicing psychologists have earned a doctor of psychology (PsyD) or PhD in psychology to be licensed. Some therapists may be able to practice with a master of family therapy (MFT), master of social work (MSW), or other master’s level degrees, but this is not true for forensic psychologists. During a doctoral program, students should expect to complete a thesis in forensic psychology and begin working under the supervision of licensed psychologists to start their professional field training.

For example, Arizona State University (ASU) offers an online master of science in forensic psychology. This 33-credit program requires 11 courses offered in 7.5-week terms. Courses include advanced psychology in criminal investigation, legal psychology, forensic psychology, and correctional psychology. This program prepares graduates for doctoral programs in forensic psychology and clinical roles in mental health and the judicial system. To apply, candidates must have a bachelor’s degree in psychology, criminal justice, social science, or a related field from an accredited college or university.

Location: Tempe, AZ

Duration: Two years

Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission (HLC)

Tuition: $720 per credit

Step 4: Study for and take the EPPP – The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) is required in most states to become licensed. Students should take this exam as soon as they are eligible in their state, typically after they have completed the necessary educational work for their doctoral program (they do not necessarily have to have completed their thesis). The EPPP is offered by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB).

Step 5: Complete required supervised practice hours (timeline varies) – Students will start practicing under the supervision of a licensed psychologist during their doctoral program. Each state requires several supervised hours, with some requiring postdoctoral practice hours. Students must be aware of the requirements for their state and plan their practice hours accordingly. For licensure requirements by state, students and graduates can visit the PsyBook as compiled by the ASPPB.

According to the APA, the average number of internship plus postdoctoral hours required is 4,000 before licensure. Students should seek out supervision from forensic psychologists specifically to build up their expertise in the area and strengthen their professional network.

Step 6: Apply for professional licensure – New psychologists can apply for state licensure from their local licensing board when all the requirements for a specific state have been met. Applicants should be prepared to submit to a background check and fingerprinting and a review of professional credentials.

Step 7: Seek a job in forensic psychology – Once a psychologist has earned their license, they can seek employment as an unsupervised forensic psychologist. Now is the time to reach out to other forensic psychologists, law enforcement agencies, prisons, and other contacts to look for a job.

Step 8: Maintain licensure – To maintain licensure as a forensic psychologist, most states require some form of continuing education in the field. The state licensing board should provide specific requirements and details about what courses and tasks can apply to continuing education credits.

Step 9: Become board certified – Although not legally required, earning board certification from the American Board of Forensic Psychology can help grow one’s career in the field. To qualify, applicants must have a doctoral degree, at least 100 hours of specialized training in forensic psychology, and 1,000 hours of direct experience in forensic psychology over a minimum of five years OR a full-time (at least 2,000-hour) formal postdoctoral training program in forensic psychology.

Understandably, the field of psychology is heavily regulated by the government. A long road of education and training must be completed to become a forensic psychologist. A high school graduate can expect to spend at least six more years in school (usually eight) and extensive supervised training hours, which may or may not be paid. For these reasons, forensic psychology is truly a career for those who are tenacious and dedicated to advancing knowledge and the field of criminal justice.

What it takes to become a family psychologist

Psychologist - what is this profession?
Why do you need a family psychologist?
Necessary personal qualities of a psychologist
Tasks of the family counselor
How to become a successful counseling psychologist?

Today, the specialty of a family psychologist-consultant holds one of the highest positions on the scale of demand. But this profession is not easy, because it is, no less, about the preservation of the family and its well-being.

How to master this direction and start working effectively with family problems? What qualities do you need to have? Do I need to have a specific education and where to get it? We will answer these questions.

Psychologist - what kind of profession?

According to the psychologists themselves, we live in a period oversaturated with stressful situations. Every day a person faces a lot of life's difficulties and challenges; he does not always know how to cope with this avalanche of anxieties, doubts, stresses and even depressions on his own. And then a professional comes to the rescue, who knows how to correct the ways of thinking - a psychologist.

Psychology is not an easy specialization, not even in terms of the necessary competencies. It is difficult emotionally: you have to communicate with different people, not always pleasant and adequate, sometimes let the pains, fears and problems of patients pass through you. Often, a person in need himself comes to an appointment with a consultant, but someone is brought in forcibly, and therefore difficulties cannot be avoided in some situations.

But the great humanism of this profession, the obvious benefits and the widespread demand for the services of a psychologist cover all the disadvantages.

Duties of a psychologist include:

conducting consultations and testing to determine the personality of the client and the state of his psyche, identify the key problem and its impact on the emotional and physical state;
study and analysis of the causes and consequences of the disease;
psychological trainings and consulting interviews in the process of treatment and correction of a person's psycho-emotional state;
adaptation to a new way of life and prevention of relapses.

A psychologist is in demand wherever there are people:

in companies to resolve conflicts between managers and subordinates;
in educational institutions to monitor the health of children;
in families to resolve child-parent and marital conflicts;
in military and judicial organizations, prisons and other specific institutions.

Why do we need a family psychologist?

Creating a harmonious happy family is a whole art and a lot of work, which is not always possible for a person who is uninitiated in the subtleties of psychology to master. Quarrels, contradictions and conflicts often accompany family life. Spouses, children and parents in many families cannot find mutual understanding, organize their life and leisure without conflict, establish trusting and/or sexual relations. According to official data from Rosstat in 2019In 2009, there were 621 divorces per 1,000 marriages, that is, more than half of the couples could not find mutual understanding and resolve intra-family conflicts. Perhaps these couples simply had no one to help in difficult times.

Contacting a family psychologist can:

eliminate the contradictions that are inevitable in the family;
help find compromises in the most difficult disputes;
to establish mutual understanding;
deal with feelings of loneliness
cope with the consequences of adultery;
correct discomfort in intimate life;
help in the upbringing of children and solve problems in the relationship of generations;
avoid the stress of divorce.

Asking for help from a specialist is not always easy, because our traditions dictate “do not wash dirty linen in public,” and often people simply do not want to seek advice from an outsider. But a family psychologist is able to objectively look at an intra-family problem and help family members correct the situation in the least traumatic way for all participants in the conflict.

Recently, family counseling has become more and more in demand and families entrust their fate to an experienced professional, hoping not only for his knowledge, but also for sympathy and support.

Necessary personal qualities of a psychologist

What qualities do clients expect in their psychologist? Without what character traits will it not be possible to become a successful consultant?

First of all, these are traits of character and behavior that will help to establish trusting contact with patients. Of course, each client knows that the confidentiality of his story will be strictly preserved, but initially he is looking for genuine participation in his difficult situation, and if he does not feel from the support specialist, all the work of a psychologist will simply come to naught.

It is also necessary to remember that a psychologist also needs a good rest and the ability to switch from other people's problems to his own life in order to avoid emotional burnout.

Therefore, the necessary set of personal characteristics of a family counselor is as follows:

infallible confidence in their strengths and professional abilities;
optimistic view of the world;
ability to build a dialogue, communication skills;
tact, ability to empathize and listen;
tolerance, loyalty to different categories of people and their characteristics;
goodwill;
intelligence, desire to learn, good memory;
firm character and willpower;
stress tolerance.

A high level of responsibility for the life and health of people, for the well-being of families implies constant emotional stress, therefore it is the ability to withstand stress and abstract from other people's experiences that will be the main professional skills of a consultant working with family problems.

Tasks of the family counselor

Almost any specialist in psychology is able to resolve a variety of interpersonal conflicts. This profession, in principle, involves the elimination of problems that people have created for themselves.

But a family consultant is a narrow specialization that requires not only excellent knowledge of human psychology, but also tact, unlimited patience and positive experience in family relationships. All these qualities help to harmonize family understanding:

find out the key causes of quarrels and misunderstandings of the spouses;
help in the search for mutual compromises;
identify factors that interfere with harmony in the family and neutralize them;
find the reasons for the sexual dissatisfaction of the spouses and find solutions to normalize close relationships;
know and be able to apply measures for establishing parent-child conflicts.

Often a married couple is not able to prevent a quarrel on their own, the conflict drags on and coexistence turns out to be impossible, the most vulnerable members of the family, the children, begin to suffer. In this case, the family counselor will assist in the divorce process with the least trauma for both spouses.

How to become a successful counseling psychologist?

According to the psychologists themselves, two-thirds of them came to this profession to get rid of their own serious psychological problems.

Where to begin? Where to study? How to become successful?

You can become a psychologist by studying at a higher educational institution in the specialties: "Psychology", "Pedagogy", "Conflictology". Such knowledge and a university diploma will give a successful start in the profession.

But you need to understand that there is a difficult task ahead, because you will have to work not with one person, but with a whole family, the relationship in which has developed oh, how difficult. To effectively cope with their duties, liberal arts education will not be enough, you will have to constantly improve and practice.

Participation in volunteer programs aimed at helping people in crisis will contribute to the acquisition of proper experience.

It is also necessary to constantly improve their skills in family counseling and psychotherapy courses.

For example, we offer an online course "Family and Child Psychological Counseling" for professional training of qualified professionals in this field. Such a course is the shortest, but no less effective way to master the profession, allowing you to practice family counseling on the basis of an official document.

Remember that people who, first of all, strive to help others, to change the world, can successfully work as a family psychologist. It is an exciting but difficult profession. Having chosen a vocation once, the psychologist irrevocably changes his life. And with experience - and the lives of their customers.