Behavioral therapist vs aba therapist

The differences between behavioral therapists and aba therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a behavioral therapist, becoming an aba therapist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a behavioral therapist has an average salary of $37,881, which is higher than the $35,938 average annual salary of an aba therapist.

The top three skills for a behavioral therapist include autism, social work and behavior analysis. The most important skills for an aba therapist are autism, applied behavior analysis, and BCBA.

Behavioral therapist vs aba therapist overview

	Behavioral Therapist	ABA Therapist
Yearly salary	$37,881	$35,938
Hourly rate	$18.21	$17.28
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	91,976	90,516
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	39	41
Years of experience	6	4

What does a behavioral therapist do?

A behavioral therapist is responsible for supporting patients with various developmental disorders and behavioral difficulties. Behavioral therapists conduct counseling to the patients, identifying their personal and social challenges, and administering treatment plans to modify unusual behaviors. They also coordinate with other medical professionals to plan activities and therapy sessions for patients' needs. A behavioral therapist maintains a record of the patients' progress, help them on developing social engagement, and adjust treatment strategies depending on the patients' noticeable changes.

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.

Behavioral therapist vs aba therapist salary

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

	Behavioral Therapist	ABA Therapist
Average salary	$37,881	$35,938
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $51,000	Between $27,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Jersey City, NJ
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	George C. Grape Community Hospital	Cook Children's Medical Center
Best paying industry	Energy	Education

Differences between behavioral therapist and aba therapist education

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

	Behavioral Therapist	ABA Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Behavioral therapist vs aba therapist demographics

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

	Behavioral Therapist	ABA Therapist
Average age	39	41
Gender ratio	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%	Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6%
Race ratio	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%	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 therapist and aba therapist duties and responsibilities

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.

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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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Behavioral therapist vs aba therapist skills

Common behavioral therapist skills

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

Common aba therapist skills

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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