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Behavioral technician vs therapist

The differences between behavioral technicians and therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a therapist has an average salary of $55,943, which is higher than the $33,282 average annual salary of a behavioral technician.

The top three skills for a behavioral technician include autism, applied behavior analysis and behavior analysis. The most important skills for a therapist are social work, patients, and group therapy sessions.

Behavioral technician vs therapist overview

Behavioral TechnicianTherapist
Yearly salary$33,282$55,943
Hourly rate$16.00$26.90
Growth rate9%17%
Number of jobs45,287159,770
Job satisfaction55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age3441
Years of experience--

What does a behavioral technician do?

A behavioral technician is responsible for supporting patients to overcome their behavior problems and difficulties. Behavioral technicians evaluate the patient's condition through counseling and administer behavioral treatment plans according to the patients' needs. They also coordinate with other physicians and mental health professionals for medications and more serious medical support as needed. A behavioral technician assists the patients in their daily activities, observe their social and personal behaviors, write progress reports, and develop engaging activities that would help them bring back a healthy lifestyle and growth.

What does a therapist do?

A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.

Behavioral technician vs therapist salary

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

Behavioral TechnicianTherapist
Average salary$33,282$55,943
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $44,000Between $39,000 And $80,000
Highest paying CitySomerville, MASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsCalifornia
Best paying companyMissouri State UniversityChildhelp
Best paying industryEducationGovernment

Differences between behavioral technician and therapist education

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

Behavioral TechnicianTherapist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeJohns Hopkins UniversityCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Behavioral technician vs therapist demographics

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

Behavioral TechnicianTherapist
Average age3441
Gender ratioMale, 32.7% Female, 67.3%Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage15%12%

Differences between behavioral technician and therapist duties and responsibilities

Behavioral technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage the behavior of students using the CPI training skills when necessary.
  • Train in CPR and restraint techniques, as well as behavioral training to detect the precursors to behavioral issues.
  • Experience with individuals of all ages affect by autism and other behavioral, developmental or communication disorders
  • Implement behavioral support plans provide and produce by apply behavior analysts for individual consumers diagnose with autism spectrum disorder.
  • Facilitate psycho-social education groups with interventions used but not limit to motivational interviewing, mental rehabilitation and think processes.
  • Provide observation, documentation and communication of patient behavioral and verbal responses /reactions between patients and between patients and staff.
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Therapist example responsibilities.

  • Manage ventilator and BiPAP's and create or update care plans per patient needs.
  • Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
  • Provide on-call crisis intervention as well as standard treatment, rehabilitation and support services with some interventions requiring specialize therapy services.
  • Develop and implement an effective curriculum of DBT inform group and art therapy classes specifically tailor for chemically dependent patients.
  • Provide trauma-inform individual psychotherapy, TREM group treatment protocol, and EMDR.
  • Utilize current brain base therapeutic techniques to teach clients adaptive skills to utilize in daily lives.
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Behavioral technician vs therapist skills

Common behavioral technician skills
  • Autism, 18%
  • Applied Behavior Analysis, 13%
  • Behavior Analysis, 12%
  • CPR, 7%
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder, 5%
  • Patients, 4%
Common therapist skills
  • Social Work, 23%
  • Patients, 12%
  • Group Therapy Sessions, 8%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Mental Health, 4%
  • Patient Care, 3%

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