School Psychology: A Forgotten Branch of Psychology

School psychology stands as one of the four domains of professional psychology, focusing on various aspects such as development, mental health, learning, behavior, disability, schooling, communities, and social justice. The profession provides psychological services to individuals from birth to 21 years of age. Although school psychologists can be found practicing in diverse settings like hospitals, mental health centers, and independent practices, the majority work within educational institutions.

A key aspect of this profession involves collaborating with educators, families, policymakers, school leaders, community members, health care providers, and other professionals. The goal is to establish safe and supportive school environments. School psychologists play a crucial role in preventing mental health and learning problems, intervening early, offering parent training, and supporting the creation of productive school climates. This optimistic approach to service makes school psychology an exciting and efficient branch of mental health practice.

School Psychologist Shortage

Despite being dynamic and engaging, the field of school psychology faces a significant challenge—a severe shortage of professionals (Canadian Psychological Association, 2024). This shortage is especially critical now, as awareness of the importance of accessing mental health and educational support services has reached unprecedented levels. Consequently, children and adolescents are not receiving the quality mental health services they urgently need.

When undergraduates contemplate advancing to graduate school with the goal of becoming a mental health service provider, they often automatically think of clinical psychology. Although clinical psychology is indeed an excellent profession, it primarily centers around addressing mental health pathology. However, there are alternative avenues in mental health service provision, such as becoming a career counselor, clinical social worker, marriage and family counselor, nurse, or other related professions.

Furthermore, there are three additional domains within professional psychology: counseling, industrial-organizational, and school psychology. Counseling emphasizes adjustment, thriving, and optimizing mental health, employment, functioning, and relationships. Industrial-organizational psychology is focused on personnel selection and relationships within the realms of business and human resources. All these domains of professional psychology are notably smaller in scale compared to clinical psychology.

Each accredited graduate training program in clinical psychology receives between four and seven times more applications per opening than school psychology (American Psychological Association [APA] a, n.d.). What are the positives and negatives of school psychology?

Negatives of School Psychology

The status of school psychology is lower than that of clinical psychology, primarily because nondoctoral school psychologists (referred to as “subdoctoral” by the APA) make up the majority of school psychologists in the United States and Canada. Despite the presence of many doctoral-level school psychologists, sharing the same title with nondoctoral counterparts diminishes the status of the profession in some circles. Additionally, the fact that school psychologists predominantly work in educational settings contributes to the perception of a lower professional status compared to medical, mental health, or other settings, which can be a factor for students pursuing doctoral degrees.

There are fewer training programs in school psychology compared to clinical psychology. The latter has a larger number of training programs and practicing doctoral-level psychologists, making it more prominent in society. Consequently, many young people may be unaware that school psychology is a viable career option.

Positives of School Psychology

Contrary to common belief, salary surveys conducted by the APA indicate that school psychologists have a higher median income than clinical psychologists (APA b, n.d.). This is often influenced by the fact that many school psychologists opt for 9- or 10-month contracts aligned with the school year.

School psychology offers career flexibility. The name “school psychologist” describes the profession rather than a specific location. Practicing school psychology is possible in hospitals, clinics, or private practices, as easily as in schools. Furthermore, there is a shortage of school psychologists in all environments, ensuring ample job opportunities with competitive pay throughout North America.

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Psychologists often face challenges in securing tenure-track academic careers, particularly in fields like developmental psychology or cognitive neuroscience where job opportunities are scarce. However, school psychology stands out as an area experiencing a shortage of scholars.
The research landscape in school psychology is vibrant and diverse, encompassing implementation science, consultation, team problem-solving, creation of healthy environments, social justice, prevention of mental health and academic problems, and other fields. Scholars in school psychology are leading research in these areas.

The practice of school psychology, whether in schools, hospitals, mental health centers, or private practices, adopts an optimistic and early intervention approach to mental health service delivery. Rather than solely being proactive by addressing existing pathology, the field is rooted in prevention and early intervention. The focus is on creating an environment conducive to the success of students and preventing mental health and behavioral problems, rather than simply developing resilience.

Conclusions

In my 34 years as a school psychologist, working in schools, serving as lead psychologist and professor of pediatrics in a hospital, practicing privately, and working as a university professor, I have never regretted choosing this branch of psychology. Additionally, there is a clear need for more school psychologists to benefit children and adolescents. The next generation of psychologists would also gain from considering this often-forgotten branch within professional psychology.