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The differences between counselors and group counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a group counselor has an average salary of $40,155, which is higher than the $36,225 average annual salary of a counselor.
The top three skills for a counselor include patients, crisis intervention and substance abuse. The most important skills for a group counselor are mental health, patients, and crisis intervention.
| Counselor | Group Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $36,225 | $40,155 |
| Hourly rate | $17.42 | $19.31 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 77,536 | 84,413 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
Often, counselors are known to be the go-to person in times we are in need of emotional and psychological support. They help people to manage and overcome the issues which affect their mental health and well-being. Counselors face different kind of situations which may involve trauma, addiction, disabilities, abuse, suicide, anger management, career, and even personal relationships. They provide care, counseling, rehabilitation, and support services. Every counseling requires collaborative effort both from the counselor and client to become effective.
A group counselor provides counseling services primarily in a group setting, aiming to provide clients with a supportive and healthy environment where they can work on different issues and reach personal goals. They typically conduct research and assessments, establish program objectives and guidelines, arrange various activities, and facilitate positive interactions to support one another. Additionally, a group counselor has the duty to implement policies and standards, create treatment plans, and optimize strategies to ensure clients receive optimal support and services.
Counselors and group counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Counselor | Group Counselor | |
| Average salary | $36,225 | $40,155 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $67,000 | Between $14,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a counselor and a group counselor in terms of educational background:
| Counselor | Group Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between counselors' and group counselors' demographics:
| Counselor | Group Counselor | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5% | Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 15.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 3.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 15% |