Abstract

The present study examined the current status, major rolesand activities of Korean clinical psychologists. A questionnaire was e-mailed to 457 members of the KCPA (Korean Clinical Psychology Association). The response rate was approximately 33%, and 150 people completed the questionnaires. The participants were asked to complete 8 items on the demographic characteristics, educational experiences, employment settings, professional activities, theoretical orientation and career satisfaction. The results showed that the majority (74.7%) identified themselves primarily as clinical practitioners, followed by academicians and researchers. The psychologists' primary employment settings were universities, psychiatric hospitals and private practice. The major professional activities of the Korean clinical psychologists were psychotherapy (35.4%), diagnosis/assessment (33.0%), research/writing (21.0%), teaching (19.2%), clinical supervision (18.1%) and administration (10.5%). Among various theoretical orientations, eclecticism/integration (50.0%) was the most popular orientation and the next-most-popular orientation was a cognitive-behavioral orientation (32.0%). The level of subjective satisfaction with their career was moderate (Mean: 3.27, SD: 1.14 on the 5-point scale). The implications and future direction was discussed.