Children's counselor vs child psychologist

The differences between children's counselors and child psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a children's counselor, becoming a child psychologist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a child psychologist has an average salary of $78,743, which is higher than the $38,024 average annual salary of a children's counselor.

The top three skills for a children's counselor include child care, social work and mental health. The most important skills for a child psychologist are autism, mental health, and family therapy.

Children's counselor vs child psychologist overview

	Children's Counselor	Child Psychologist
Yearly salary	$38,024	$78,743
Hourly rate	$18.28	$37.86
Growth rate	9%	14%
Number of jobs	39,726	22,815
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	42	43
Years of experience	4	2

Children's counselor vs child psychologist salary

Children's counselors and child psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Children's Counselor	Child Psychologist
Average salary	$38,024	$78,743
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $66,000	Between $54,000 And $114,000
Highest paying City	Torrance, CA	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Lake County	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between children's counselor and child psychologist education

There are a few differences between a children's counselor and a child psychologist in terms of educational background:

	Children's Counselor	Child Psychologist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Northwestern University

Children's counselor vs child psychologist demographics

Here are the differences between children's counselors' and child psychologists' demographics:

	Children's Counselor	Child Psychologist
Average age	42	43
Gender ratio	Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9%	Male, 29.5% Female, 70.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	10%	12%

Differences between children's counselor and child psychologist duties and responsibilities

Children's counselor example responsibilities.

Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
Develop and attend treatment plan and IEP meetings for adolescents with mental diagnosis.
Maintain IEP goals and classroom management.
Provide behavior modification and social skills training to children and adolescents with ADHD and other behavioral and emotional disorders.

Child psychologist example responsibilities.

Provide psychological therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder, deficit/hyperactive disorder, specific learning disorder and others mental diagnosis.
Provide consultation regarding appropriate placement/treatment of juveniles in the DJJ system.

Children's counselor vs child psychologist skills

Common children's counselor skills

Child Care, 22%
Social Work, 12%
Mental Health, 10%
Crisis Intervention, 8%
Group Therapy, 7%
Family Therapy, 4%

Common child psychologist skills

Autism, 30%
Mental Health, 11%
Family Therapy, 9%
Substance Abuse, 8%
Psychological Tests, 8%
Group Therapy, 7%

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Children's Counselor
Children's Counselor vs Child Psychologist

Updated January 8, 2025

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