Post job

Behavioral therapist vs psychologist

The differences between behavioral therapists and psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a psychologist has an average salary of $97,803, which is higher than the $37,881 average annual salary of a behavioral therapist.

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

Behavioral therapist vs psychologist overview

Behavioral TherapistPsychologist
Yearly salary$37,881$97,803
Hourly rate$18.21$47.02
Growth rate14%6%
Number of jobs91,97612,516
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age3947
Years of experience6-

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 psychologist do?

Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.

Behavioral therapist vs psychologist salary

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

Behavioral TherapistPsychologist
Average salary$37,881$97,803
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $51,000Between $68,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyGeorge C. Grape Community HospitalSierra Corporation
Best paying industryEnergyHealth Care

Differences between behavioral therapist and psychologist education

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

Behavioral TherapistPsychologist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachNorthwestern University

Behavioral therapist vs psychologist demographics

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

Behavioral TherapistPsychologist
Average age3947
Gender ratioMale, 23.6% Female, 76.4%Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage12%20%

Differences between behavioral therapist and psychologist 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.
  • Show more

Psychologist example responsibilities.

  • Supervise mental health staff, including the overseeing of the provision of mental health services in a correctional facility.
  • Provide EMDR therapy for clients with trauma and anxiety.
  • Perform tests to diagnose autism in children or tests for the detection of autism at an early age.
  • Provide supervision and mentoring for APA Pre-Doctoral interns.
  • Supervise clinical activities of doctoral level psychology interns in APA accredit internship program.
  • Evaluate veterans for psychological disorders that may have resulted secondary to their military service for compensation purposes.
  • Show more

Behavioral therapist vs psychologist skills

Common behavioral therapist skills
  • Autism, 15%
  • Social Work, 12%
  • Behavior Analysis, 11%
  • Patients, 10%
  • Provide ABA, 6%
  • Applied Behavior Analysis, 5%
Common psychologist skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Mental Illness, 5%
  • Clinical Supervision, 5%
  • APA, 4%

Browse community and social services jobs