Behavioral therapist vs behavior therapist

The differences between behavioral therapists and behavior 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 a behavior therapist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a behavioral therapist has an average salary of $37,881, which is higher than the $36,864 average annual salary of a behavior therapist.

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

Behavioral therapist vs behavior therapist overview

	Behavioral Therapist	Behavior Therapist
Yearly salary	$37,881	$36,864
Hourly rate	$18.21	$17.72
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	91,976	90,578
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 a behavior therapist do?

A behavior therapist is an individual psychologist who is responsible for helping patients with mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. Behavior therapists must equip patients with psychological tools to help them diminish unhealthy thoughts so that they can effectively deal with the challenges of their daily lives. They are required to devise problem-solving methods such as psychotherapy and counseling to help patients improve their quality of life. Behavior therapists must also collaborate with the families of their patients to help them overcome behavioral issues more effectively.

Behavioral therapist vs behavior therapist salary

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

	Behavioral Therapist	Behavior Therapist
Average salary	$37,881	$36,864
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $51,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	New York	Alabama
Best paying company	George C. Grape Community Hospital	Regis College
Best paying industry	Energy	Education

Differences between behavioral therapist and behavior therapist education

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

	Behavioral Therapist	Behavior 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 behavior therapist demographics

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

	Behavioral Therapist	Behavior Therapist
Average age	39	41
Gender ratio	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%	Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5%
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 behavior 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.

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 therapist vs behavior therapist skills

Common behavioral therapist skills

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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