Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol 19(4), Nov 2025, 270-274; doi:10.1037/tep0000532
Over the past decade, early careers of graduates with doctoral (PhD) degrees in clinical psychology have shifted in trajectory and scope. This brief report examines these shifts, specifically through initial employment settings (e.g., academic teaching positions, private practice, and medical centers) and initial employment activities (e.g., research, psychotherapy, supervision, and administration). We evaluate trends using American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation report data from 2012 to 2024. Overall, there have been significant changes in initial employment settings and activities of clinical psychology PhD graduates. Hospital/medical centers and academic teaching positions demonstrated significant and substantial increases over this period. Independent practice and “other” also demonstrated significant but smaller increases. Notably, all initial employment activities have significantly increased since 2012, with research and psychotherapy being the most reported activities in 2024. These shifting employment trends may represent a challenge for programs, mentors, and graduates. Moreover, they align with recent calls (e.g., Berenbaum et al., 2021; Gee et al., 2022) for changes to training models in clinical psychology PhD programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)