Even before the pandemic, the San Francisco mental health care system was experiencing limitations. Today, with increased requests for mental health care services and high rates of burnout causing many to retire from the field early, qualified mental health care professionals in this vital, bustling, and exciting city are needed now more than ever.
Psychology is a fascinating area of study and employment, one with the potential to offer live-saving treatment to people in need. Professionals in this field use years of educational and work experience to conduct assessments, provide treatments, and help patients on the path to wellness.
It’s a common misconception that a doctorate degree is necessary to become a psychologist. This years-long educational commitment is not only time-intensive, but expensive, and can be enough to dissuade potential gifted mental health providers from pursuing their interests in this field.
In fact, a Master’s degree in Psychology is also a respected and reliable way to secure a number of high-earning roles in psychology, including school psychology, marriage and family therapy, and even forensic psychology. These programs are just two to three years, and can lead to six-figure incomes.
Below, learn more about becoming a psychologist in San Francisco, including salaries and common roles for psychologists with MA or MS degrees in psychology. This information is put into conversation with the larger context of mental health care in San Francisco, including current issues and existing needs.
San Francisco: A Hub of Industry, Culture, and Education in Northern California
Home to more than 800,000 people, scenic San Francisco is a dense and compact center of urban life in the beautiful Bay Area. Outside of the city center, the larger San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region has a population of 4.5 million residents.
Visitors to and residents of San Francisco are familiar with the city’s famous steep streets, colorful old houses, and historic, bright-red F Line streetcars. San Francisco is also home to a number of famous tourist destinations, including its Chinatown district and Alcatraz Island, a former prison that, while in use, housed notorious criminals like Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.
Over the last few decades, San Francisco has become a focal point in the booming tech industry. Today, companies including Salesforce, X (formerly known as Twitter), Lyft, and Airbnb have their home bases in the city residents call “Frisco.” In 2020, the city was ranked 2nd by GDP per capita ($131,082) among 38 partner countries of the OECD, coming in before major wealthy cities including London, Singapore, and Paris.
Though San Francisco is a geographically small city, it’s home to a significant number of respected universities, including University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and San Francisco State University.
Mental Health Care in San Francisco
Despite San Francisco’s abundance of resources, a word often used to describe the mental health care landscape in this city is “strained.”
In 2023, local emergency services providers reported receiving a minimum of 24,000 phone calls related to attempted suicides and other mental health crises. Across the city, there are seven official psychiatric facilities with a total of 187 beds for patients on “5150s,” or psychiatric holds.
There is a significant intersection between the unhoused population in San Francisco and the city’s mental health care support network, one that continues to be a significant – and complex – political issue in the city. These interwoven issues not only touch on the local economy and housing, but also available health care infrastructure and a shortage of qualified professionals to meet these patients’ needs.
In the spring of 2024, experts reported a phenomenon of psychologists in the Bay Area leaving the field due to burnout.
As a result, the Bay Area is currently experiencing a shortage of qualified mental health professionals. For those interested in entering this meaningful field, that information could mean a wealth of employment opportunities ahead.
Becoming a Psychologist in San Francisco: An Overview
There are several pathways to becoming a psychologist in San Francisco. Why?
Because different specializations – meaning focused areas of expertise – require different levels of education. For example, a professional needs a master’s degree in psychology – typically around two to three years of schooling – in order to become a school psychologist, while a clinical psychologist likely needs a doctorate, a degree that takes between five and seven years to complete.
No matter the specialty, however, anyone aspiring to become a professional-level, licensed psychologist needs to begin by completing a Bachelor’s degree.
It’s important to note that aspiring psychologists who have Bachelor’s degrees in subjects other than psychology are also eligible to apply to Master’s programs, particularly if they have degrees in related fields like sociology. If someone hoping to become a psychologist did not take courses related to psychology during their undergraduate studies, it’s possible that universities will ask prospective students to complete some prerequisite courses before applying.
Next up is grad school. Psychologists need at least a master’s degree from an accredited institution in order to practice, though some roles will require professionals to have either a Psy.D or a Phd in order to secure employment and practice legally. In the section below, learn more about the different kinds of Master’s degrees available to prospective students of psychology, as well as why such degrees may be appealing or even preferable to some job-seekers.
Upon attaining a graduate degree, future psychologists must complete at least 1,500 hours of a supervised residency or internship.
The final step to becoming a credentialed psychologist in California is to apply for licensure, a process overseen by the California Board of Psychology. Applicants must have completed a total of 3,000 hours of residency or internship, 1,500 of which will have likely already been completed during the applicant’s graduate studies.
Psychologists must pass two exams – the EPPP and the CPLEE, in that order – to request their initial licensure. Upon receiving their license, these professionals may now seek employment as qualified psychologists.
Getting a Master’s in Psychology: What to Know
For those seeking to become practicing psychologists in California, it’s possible that the information landscape offers some complex – and perhaps even contradictory – information: doctoral degree or master’s degree? What’s the difference between an MA and an MS?
Some specializations, like clinical or research psychology, require professionals to have a doctorate in psychology. Doctoral programs in psychology typically take between five and seven years to complete.
Other specializations, like marriage and family therapy, school psychology, substance abuse counseling, and sports psychology require only a Master’s degree.
For many thinking of becoming psychologists, a master’s degree is preferable to a doctoral degree because they require a fraction of the time and cost, and still leave the door open for a wide range of professional opportunities.
Unlike doctoral degrees, master’s degrees in psychology take between two and three years to complete, dramatically reducing overall tuition cost. For students who may be concerned about or unable to secure financial aid and scholarships, the Master’s route is a great option to becoming a qualified, licensed, practicing psychologist in a region greatly in need of experienced mental health professionals.
Jobs for Psychologists with Master’s Degrees
As touched upon in the above section, there are a number of professional opportunities available to mental health workers with Master’s degrees. Below, learn more about a few popular specializations for aspiring mental health professionals that do not require doctoral degrees.
- Sports psychology: In partnership with athletes ranging from professionals to amateurs, sports psychologists are often enlisted to help patients improve their game-time performance with skills like visualization, goal-setting, and relaxation techniques. Sports psychologists can also be vital resources for injured athletes struggling to cope with their situations, as well as those who need support in managing stress.
- Forensic psychology: In the somewhat-new field of forensic psychology, mental health professionals use their training to conduct assessments and provide treatments to individuals within the legal system, ranging from eyewitnesses to defendants. Forensic psychologists can put their skills to use in a number of ways, from conducting research and publishing studies – i.e., Stephen Ceci’s work focused on children’s memory – to child custody evaluations, treating victims of crimes and those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and evaluating the competence of individuals accused of having committed crimes. Generally speaking, forensic psychologists are required to have doctorate-level degrees in order to practice. However, there are cases in which psychologists with master’s degrees can be practicing forensic psychologists, so long as they are employed under the supervision of a more senior psychologist with a Psy.D or Ph.D.
- School psychology: In general, school psychologists work with young people in public elementary, middle, and high schools. One of the key services provided by school psychologists is within special education, where these trained professionals provide vital support for students with special needs. Additionally, school psychologists may be called in to conduct psychological evaluations of students, which can include administering tests, to determine which services may be of use to students who are struggling in school. School psychologists are a vital part of the colorful ecosystem of American public education, often working in close collaboration with school administrators, educators, and parents.
What’s the Average Salary for a Psychologist in San Francisco?
According to a 2023 survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward metropolitan area is home to just 1,520 clinical and counseling psychologists. As such, it’s not surprising that many have described the local mental health infrastructure as “strained.”
The very low number of existing psychologists in San Francisco indicates tremendous opportunity for aspiring mental health professionals in the city, as there is a demonstrable significant need for these services.
Psychologists in California earn more than psychologists in almost any other state, except for New York. In the Golden State, the average psychologist earns $132,410 annually. However, it’s important to note that these salaries may reflect a higher cost of living due to housing, taxation, and other costs.
Still, across all of the metropolitan areas in the United States, San Francisco is ranked 7th for highest annual salaries for clinical and counseling psychologists. In this part of California, psychologists generally earn around $139,250 per year.
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed October 2024.