Aba therapist vs service counselor

The differences between aba therapists and service counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an aba therapist, becoming a service counselor takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an aba therapist has an average salary of $35,938, which is higher than the $35,402 average annual salary of a service counselor.

The top three skills for an aba therapist include autism, applied behavior analysis and BCBA. The most important skills for a service counselor are social work, crisis intervention, and patients.

Aba therapist vs service counselor overview

	ABA Therapist	Service Counselor
Yearly salary	$35,938	$35,402
Hourly rate	$17.28	$17.02
Growth rate	14%	12%
Number of jobs	90,516	44,284
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	41	43
Years of experience	4	12

What does an aba therapist do?

An ABA therapist is responsible for administering treatment plans to patients with behavioral disabilities and intellectual disorders, supporting them through systematic processes, and recording their developmental progress throughout therapy sessions. ABA therapists develop engaging activities for the children, observing their personal and social behaviors, and adjust approach as needed. They also coordinate with other behavior therapists and other medical health professionals for refined strategies that adhere to the child's progress. An ABA therapist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to assist patients with different behavioral problems and attend to their needs efficiently.

What does a service counselor do?

Service counselors provide guidance to couples, individuals, groups, and families who are going through issues that influence their well-being and mental health. They comprehensively approach their clients by utilizing a "wellness" model that focuses on and motivate the client's potentials. Their duties include inspiring clients to talk about their emotions and experiences, helping them determine their action plans and goals, as well as designing therapeutic methods. Also, they may refer their clients to other services or psychologists.

Aba therapist vs service counselor salary

Aba therapists and service counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	ABA Therapist	Service Counselor
Average salary	$35,938	$35,402
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $47,000	Between $24,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Jersey City, NJ	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Hawaii
Best paying company	Cook Children's Medical Center	Google
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between aba therapist and service counselor education

There are a few differences between an aba therapist and a service counselor in terms of educational background:

	ABA Therapist	Service Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	SUNY at Binghamton

Aba therapist vs service counselor demographics

Here are the differences between aba therapists' and service counselors' demographics:

	ABA Therapist	Service Counselor
Average age	41	43
Gender ratio	Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6%	Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	11%

Differences between aba therapist and service counselor duties and responsibilities

Aba therapist example responsibilities.

Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
Interact closely with the on-site speech-language pathologist and occupational therapist to implement patients' therapy programs.
Provide specialized ABA therapy for children with autism including developing behavior plans and teaching in a natural environment.
Obtain RBT credentials and maintain supervision hours.
Travele to different families houses and occasionally help with kids eating habits.
Maintain accurate data and graphing on designate programs.

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Service counselor example responsibilities.

Develop contracting strategy to build capacity and achieve ongoing compliance with Medicare and Medicaid provider network adequacy requirements.
Implement patient financial services department to assist patients and family members to ensure successful patient representation and expeditious benefit recovery.
Examine injured persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.

Aba therapist vs service counselor skills

Common aba therapist skills

Autism, 19%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 13%
BCBA, 10%
Behavior Analysis, 9%
CPR, 6%
Developmental Disabilities, 5%

Common service counselor skills

Social Work, 16%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Patients, 7%
Support Services, 6%
Social Services, 6%
Rehabilitation, 6%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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