Clinician vs primary therapist

The differences between clinicians and primary therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a clinician and a primary therapist. Additionally, a clinician has an average salary of $60,150, which is higher than the $59,826 average annual salary of a primary therapist.

The top three skills for a clinician include social work, patients and patient care. The most important skills for a primary therapist are patients, social work, and group therapy sessions.

Clinician vs primary therapist overview

	Clinician	Primary Therapist
Yearly salary	$60,150	$59,826
Hourly rate	$28.92	$28.76
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	105,023	85,127
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Master's Degree, 49%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

What does a clinician do?

A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.

What does a primary therapist do?

Primary therapists are the main point of contact for patients concerning wellness and overall mental health. Those who choose this career path will be expected to supervise and manage efficient treatment according to plan, and to manage between six and eight patients at a time, keeping in constant communication with these patients and various specialists.

Clinician vs primary therapist salary

Clinicians and primary therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinician	Primary Therapist
Average salary	$60,150	$59,826
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $103,000	Between $43,000 And $83,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Thousand Oaks, CA
Highest paying state	Nevada	California
Best paying company	Pace University	Appalachian Regional Healthcare
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between clinician and primary therapist education

There are a few differences between a clinician and a primary therapist in terms of educational background:

	Clinician	Primary Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Master's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Clinician vs primary therapist demographics

Here are the differences between clinicians' and primary therapists' demographics:

	Clinician	Primary Therapist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7%	Male, 27.1% Female, 72.9%
Race ratio	Black 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, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between clinician and primary therapist duties and responsibilities

Clinician example responsibilities.

Perform thorough substance abuse assessments incorporating instruments such as ASAM, SASSI and urine drug screens; provide individual therapy.
Spearhead the development of rehabilitation programs serving adults with chemical dependency and mental health diagnoses with the manager.
Follow all ethical CARF standards when treating the residential client.
Facilitate stabilization, assessment, care and compassion for those in critical need.
Provide CBT and motivational interviewing for individual and group therapy to clients' who are on methadone.
Used motivational interviewing to lead recovery and therapy groups for IOP and PHP programs in the evenings and on weekends.

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Primary therapist example responsibilities.

Case managing, intakes, group and individual session, treatment plans, OASAS standards
Provide clinical therapy for severely emotionally disturb adolescents and their families to aid in the rehabilitation process.
Perform crisis intervention, including management of difficult or resistant patients, utilizing clinically appropriate accept techniques and methods.
Assist in development of extend hour IOP and PHP program.
experience, IOP, individual sessions, assessments, case management.
Assist in developing and assessing progress on individual rehabilitation plans.

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Clinician vs primary therapist skills

Common clinician skills

Social Work, 26%
Patients, 14%
Patient Care, 4%
Individual Therapy, 4%
Mental Health, 4%
Mental Illness, 3%

Common primary therapist skills

Patients, 17%
Social Work, 14%
Group Therapy Sessions, 8%
Eating Disorders, 7%
Patient Care, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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