Behavioral psychologist vs behavioral therapist

The differences between behavioral psychologists and behavioral 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 behavioral therapist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a behavioral psychologist has an average salary of $79,767, which is higher than the $37,881 average annual salary of a behavioral therapist.

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

Behavioral psychologist vs behavioral therapist overview

	Behavioral Psychologist	Behavioral Therapist
Yearly salary	$79,767	$37,881
Hourly rate	$38.35	$18.21
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	15,955	91,976
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	43	39
Years of experience	2	6

Behavioral psychologist vs behavioral therapist salary

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

	Behavioral Psychologist	Behavioral Therapist
Average salary	$79,767	$37,881
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $116,000	Between $27,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	George C. Grape Community Hospital
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between behavioral psychologist and behavioral therapist education

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

	Behavioral Psychologist	Behavioral Therapist
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Behavioral psychologist vs behavioral therapist demographics

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

	Behavioral Psychologist	Behavioral Therapist
Average age	43	39
Gender ratio	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%
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, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between behavioral psychologist and behavioral 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.

Behavioral therapist example responsibilities.

Manage behavioral program for each client assign (CPI training).
Modele self-help and independent skills to assist autistic and developmentally delay children achieving their establish goals.
Assist the BCBA in assessing new clients, supervising line therapists, providing parent training, and formulating client specific programs.
Analyze and interpret results through graphing data collect from individual sessions.
Work collaboratively with BCBA's and direct line staff to ensure care plan and procedures are being implement consistently and uniformly.
Communicate with school administration, school teacher's and teaching assistants with helping create IEP's and behavior plans for individuals.

Behavioral psychologist vs behavioral 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 behavioral therapist skills

Autism, 15%
Social Work, 12%
Behavior Analysis, 11%
Patients, 10%
Provide ABA, 6%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 5%

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Behavioral Psychologist vs Behavioral Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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