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Case manager vs therapist

The differences between case managers 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 $43,118 average annual salary of a case manager.

The top three skills for a case manager include social work, patients and community resources. The most important skills for a therapist are social work, patients, and group therapy sessions.

Case manager vs therapist overview

Case ManagerTherapist
Yearly salary$43,118$55,943
Hourly rate$20.73$26.90
Growth rate9%17%
Number of jobs84,959159,770
Job satisfaction4.55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4541
Years of experience4-

What does a case manager do?

A case manager is responsible for giving advice, handling plans for the client's recovery, and connecting with other human service professionals to ask for further options and recommendations for the client's concerns. Case managers should have excellent communication and listening skills to evaluate the client's needs, ensuring that they will have the utmost care and safety through efficient advocacy. A case manager should be able to provide a reliable support system for the client and monitor progress to achieve wellness and guarantee satisfaction.

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.

Case manager vs therapist salary

Case managers and therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Case ManagerTherapist
Average salary$43,118$55,943
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $61,000Between $39,000 And $80,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew HampshireCalifornia
Best paying companyWellpathChildhelp
Best paying industryInsuranceGovernment

Differences between case manager and therapist education

There are a few differences between a case manager and a therapist in terms of educational background:

Case ManagerTherapist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Case manager vs therapist demographics

Here are the differences between case managers' and therapists' demographics:

Case ManagerTherapist
Average age4541
Gender ratioMale, 23.4% Female, 76.6%Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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 case manager and therapist duties and responsibilities

Case manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage all programs operations in accordance with HRA and industry regulations, agency policies and HIPAA guidelines.
  • Manage the care of patients with tuberculosis (TB) during their hospitalization and their discharge follow-up care.
  • Provide clients support with basic ADL's (shopping, payee services, budgets, managing and attending appointments).
  • Practice cognitive behavioral, DBT, motivational enhancement and structural family therapy.
  • Practice excellent customer service and build meaningful, professional relationships with families and patients.
  • Facilitate vocational rehabilitation and relate community services.
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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.
  • Show more

Case manager vs therapist skills

Common case manager skills
  • Social Work, 17%
  • Patients, 14%
  • Community Resources, 7%
  • Substance Abuse, 6%
  • Crisis Intervention, 5%
  • Rehabilitation, 5%
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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