Personal Narrative: A Career In Counseling Psychology

The career that I had in mind when I first began college was one in counseling psychology. Luckily, this career was one matched closely to my interests and personality type. Although I’ve begun considering other career avenues, I still chose to research this specific career in depth.

A person in counseling psychology will typically use personality tests/assessments, interviews, case histories, and observation methods to evaluate a patients problems, needs, and goals. Counseling psychologists will evaluate data and, from there, create an action plan or treatment plan to counsel the patient with. The goal in this career is to help each patient work toward developing and adjusting social, educational, personal, and vocational skills.

I’m most definitely interested in this career. I’ve always had an interest in listening to people and their “problems”. Even

From a personal standpoint, the biggest disadvantage or problem I foresee is becoming too wrapped up in a patient’s problems. I tend to worry, so this roadblock may be one to consider and learn to overcome. Other than that, the Choices Planner cited that a career in counseling psychology may have awkward hours, but I don’t see that as a major problem right now. The biggest advantage would be being in a career that I find personally rewarding and fulfilling.

Although I can honestly say that the pay for my career of choice is not one of the top priorities, I am glad to learn that this is a decent paying occupation. The average annual wage for a counseling psychologist in California is $73, 790, which breaks down to around $35 an hour. In San Diego specifically, the average annual pay is $63,470. The outlook in this career is definitely positive; growth is increasing and is estimated at 27%. San Diego is among the group of regions that have a stable outlook in a career involving counseling psychology. (A stable outlook is defined as a 0%-20% growth