Behavioral psychologist vs behavior therapist

The differences between behavioral psychologists and behavior therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a behavioral psychologist, becoming a behavior therapist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a behavioral psychologist has an average salary of $79,767, which is higher than the $36,864 average annual salary of a behavior therapist.

The top three skills for a behavioral psychologist include behavioral health, crisis intervention and mental illness. The most important skills for a behavior therapist are autism, applied behavior analysis, and behavior analysis.

Behavioral psychologist vs behavior therapist overview

	Behavioral Psychologist	Behavior Therapist
Yearly salary	$79,767	$36,864
Hourly rate	$38.35	$17.72
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	15,955	90,578
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	43	41
Years of experience	2	4

Behavioral psychologist vs behavior therapist salary

Behavioral psychologists and behavior therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Behavioral Psychologist	Behavior Therapist
Average salary	$79,767	$36,864
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $116,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	-	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	-	Alabama
Best paying company	-	Regis College
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between behavioral psychologist and behavior therapist education

There are a few differences between a behavioral psychologist and a behavior therapist in terms of educational background:

	Behavioral Psychologist	Behavior Therapist
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Behavioral psychologist vs behavior therapist demographics

Here are the differences between behavioral psychologists' and behavior therapists' demographics:

	Behavioral Psychologist	Behavior Therapist
Average age	43	41
Gender ratio	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%	Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	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%
LGBT Percentage	12%	6%

Differences between behavioral psychologist and behavior therapist duties and responsibilities

Behavioral psychologist example responsibilities.

Provide psychological therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder, deficit/hyperactive disorder, specific learning disorder and others mental diagnosis.
Provide consultation regarding appropriate placement/treatment of juveniles in the DJJ system.

Behavior therapist example responsibilities.

Teach family members and teachers different ways to achieve cooperation with child and transfer skills to ensure an efficient learning environment.
Provide applied behavior analysis services to individuals diagnose with autism and other developmental disabilities to enhance their quality of life.
Provide basic parent education of correct implementation of ABA principles.
Provide one-on-one aba-base treatment to children who have been diagnose with autism and other developmental disorders.
Solve certify as well as first aid and CPR certify.
Complete all requirements need to be certify as an RBT.

Behavioral psychologist vs behavior therapist skills

Common behavioral psychologist skills

Behavioral Health, 37%
Crisis Intervention, 14%
Mental Illness, 14%
Psychological Services, 8%
Psychological Evaluations, 6%
Psychological Assessments, 5%

Common behavior therapist skills

Autism, 19%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 18%
Behavior Analysis, 10%
Autism Spectrum Disorder, 7%
Behavior Analysts, 5%
BCBA, 4%

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Behavioral Psychologist vs Behavior Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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