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Counselor vs psychologist

The differences between counselors 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 $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 psychologist are patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.

Counselor vs psychologist overview

CounselorPsychologist
Yearly salary$36,225$97,803
Hourly rate$17.42$47.02
Growth rate10%6%
Number of jobs77,53612,516
Job satisfaction2-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4447
Years of experience--

What does a counselor do?

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.

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.

Counselor vs psychologist salary

Counselors and psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

CounselorPsychologist
Average salary$36,225$97,803
Salary rangeBetween $19,000 And $67,000Between $68,000 And $139,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying company-Sierra Corporation
Best paying industryEducationHealth Care

Differences between counselor and psychologist education

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

CounselorPsychologist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaNorthwestern University

Counselor vs psychologist demographics

Here are the differences between counselors' and psychologists' demographics:

CounselorPsychologist
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 38.5% Female, 61.5%Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage9%20%

Differences between counselor and psychologist duties and responsibilities

Counselor example responsibilities.

  • Maintain a safe program through ongoing CPI training.
  • Utilize de-escalation skills (CPI) when necessary.
  • Instill confidence, improve all components of writing and reading, and study strategies.
  • Arrange ESL tutoring and perform as liaison between students, parents, and school administrators.
  • Advise students into their major field of study, and assisting them with choosing the correct curriculum.
  • Operate a full service litigation office that evolve from general litigation to criminal litigation to federal criminal trials.
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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.
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Counselor vs psychologist skills

Common counselor skills
  • Patients, 13%
  • Crisis Intervention, 12%
  • Substance Abuse, 12%
  • Social Work, 10%
  • Community Resources, 4%
  • CPR, 4%
Common psychologist skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Mental Illness, 5%
  • Clinical Supervision, 5%
  • APA, 4%

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