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What is a behavioral therapist and how to become one
Behavioral therapy provides patients with a variety of tools that enable them to effectively deal with challenges in their daily lives, such as phobias, anxiety, and stress. If helping people overcome these challenges sounds like something you'd like to tackle, then you might have just what it takes to become a behavioral therapist.
Behavioral therapists assist patients in dealing with mental disorders ranging from depression and alcoholism to schizophrenia and autism. They are psychologists who devise problem-solving techniques, such as psychotherapy and counseling to help patients change debilitating behaviors and negative thought patterns. If you become a behavioral therapist, some of the tasks that you'll perform are analyzing and diagnosing behavioral disorders, implementing treatment programs, and assisting clients in developing needed skills.
These therapists may specialize in specific areas, such as cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, or applied behavior analysis. Behavioral therapists may be self-employed, or they may work in hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, or community health centers.
If you're looking to become a behavioral therapist, you'll typically need to hold at least a Bachelor's degree in psychology or counseling, though in some cases, a Master's degree in these subjects or social work is required.
What general advice would you give to a behavioral therapist?
Dr. Bill Buker
Associate Dean and Professor of Professional Counseling, Oral Roberts University
Avg. Salary $37,881
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 14%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.86%
Asian 4.56%
Black or African American 11.43%
Hispanic or Latino 15.39%
Unknown 4.56%
White 63.21%
Genderfemale 76.42%
male 23.58%
Age - 37American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 37Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is good
6.4 - fair
Behavioral therapist career paths
Key steps to become a behavioral therapist
Explore behavioral therapist education requirements
Start to develop specific behavioral therapist skills
Skills Percentages Autism 14.59% Social Work 12.50% Behavior Analysis 10.84% Patients 10.24% Provide ABA 5.88% Complete relevant behavioral therapist training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New behavioral therapists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a behavioral therapist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real behavioral therapist resumes.Research behavioral therapist duties and 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.
Prepare your behavioral therapist resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your behavioral therapist resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a behavioral therapist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable behavioral therapist resume templates
Build a professional behavioral therapist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your behavioral therapist resume.
Apply for behavioral therapist jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a behavioral therapist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first behavioral therapist job
Are you a behavioral therapist?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average behavioral therapist salary
The average behavioral therapist salary in the United States is $37,881 per year or $18 per hour. Behavioral therapist salaries range between $27,000 and $51,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do behavioral therapists rate their job?
Behavioral therapist reviews
can be easy to get burnt out, pay is ok
Stressful, dangerous neighborhoods, sometimes parents are dangerous as well. Work life balance isn't good. Documentation is very time consuming and you will bring that home to finish. If your agency requires that you do your app recorded time sheets then that will prove ardously time consuming constaint that cuts right into your work/home life balance...it's terrible. Wear and tear on your car, no shows from parents upsetting children and paid mileage is horrible. Get ready to barely have a life.
Helping others
Updated January 8, 2025
