Counselor vs psychotherapist

The differences between counselors and psychotherapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a psychotherapist has an average salary of $69,921, 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 psychotherapist are social work, patients, and individual therapy.

Counselor vs psychotherapist overview

	Counselor	Psychotherapist
Yearly salary	$36,225	$69,921
Hourly rate	$17.42	$33.62
Growth rate	10%	6%
Number of jobs	77,536	20,520
Job satisfaction	2	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Master's Degree, 55%
Average age	44	47
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 psychotherapist do?

A Psychotherapist's responsibility is to help clients who suffer from symptoms like depression, anxiety, and other behavioral problems. They work with individuals, couples, and families.

Counselor vs psychotherapist salary

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

	Counselor	Psychotherapist
Average salary	$36,225	$69,921
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $67,000	Between $43,000 And $111,000
Highest paying City	-	Worcester, MA
Highest paying state	California	Delaware
Best paying company	-	Sutter Health
Best paying industry	Education	Professional

Differences between counselor and psychotherapist education

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

	Counselor	Psychotherapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Master's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Counselor vs psychotherapist demographics

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

	Counselor	Psychotherapist
Average age	44	47
Gender ratio	Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5%	Male, 27.4% Female, 72.6%
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, 5.0% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 4.2% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	20%

Differences between counselor and psychotherapist 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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Psychotherapist example responsibilities.

Provide individual, group therapy and rehabilitation services for clients with co-occurring disorders, trauma, addiction, grief, etc.
Perform case management services and prepare rehabilitation plans.
Administer cognitive and personality assessments, provide written summary of results to therapists, and provide verbal feedback to patients.
Cultivate and nurture positive, productive relationships with patients, families, and community providers to promote effective coordination of resources.
Experience in evaluations of adults, adolescents and children, including personality, clinical symptoms, developmental disabilities and cognitive status.
Conduct MST assessment including review of referral information, maintain the confidentiality of all consumer care information including protect health information.

Counselor vs psychotherapist skills

Common counselor skills

Patients, 13%
Crisis Intervention, 12%
Substance Abuse, 12%
Social Work, 10%
Community Resources, 4%
CPR, 4%

Common psychotherapist skills

Social Work, 19%
Patients, 15%
Individual Therapy, 13%
Crisis Intervention, 7%
Mental Health, 4%
Diagnostic Assessments, 2%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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