Drug abuse counselor vs behavioral therapist

The differences between drug abuse counselors and behavioral therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a drug abuse counselor and a behavioral therapist. Additionally, a drug abuse counselor has an average salary of $49,420, which is higher than the $37,881 average annual salary of a behavioral therapist.

The top three skills for a drug abuse counselor include patients, drug abuse and substance abuse education. The most important skills for a behavioral therapist are autism, social work, and behavior analysis.

Drug abuse counselor vs behavioral therapist overview

	Drug Abuse Counselor	Behavioral Therapist
Yearly salary	$49,420	$37,881
Hourly rate	$23.76	$18.21
Growth rate	11%	14%
Number of jobs	27,596	91,976
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	6	6

Drug abuse counselor vs behavioral therapist salary

Drug abuse counselors and behavioral therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Drug Abuse Counselor	Behavioral Therapist
Average salary	$49,420	$37,881
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $68,000	Between $27,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	George C. Grape Community Hospital
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between drug abuse counselor and behavioral therapist education

There are a few differences between a drug abuse counselor and a behavioral therapist in terms of educational background:

	Drug Abuse Counselor	Behavioral Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Drug abuse counselor vs behavioral therapist demographics

Here are the differences between drug abuse counselors' and behavioral therapists' demographics:

	Drug Abuse Counselor	Behavioral Therapist
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9%	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between drug abuse counselor and behavioral therapist duties and responsibilities

Drug abuse counselor example responsibilities.

Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
Consult with physicians regarding increase or decrease of methadone dosage.
Supervise and direct other workers providing services to patients.
Provide individual counseling services to opioid dependent clients in outpatient methadone maintenance treatment.
Participate in policy-shaping rehabilitation committee meetings.
Provide DBT group psychotherapy in inpatient, residential setting serving pregnant teenagers and young mothers.

Behavioral therapist example responsibilities.

Manage behavioral program for each client assign (CPI training).
Modele self-help and independent skills to assist autistic and developmentally delay children achieving their establish goals.
Assist the BCBA in assessing new clients, supervising line therapists, providing parent training, and formulating client specific programs.
Analyze and interpret results through graphing data collect from individual sessions.
Work collaboratively with BCBA's and direct line staff to ensure care plan and procedures are being implement consistently and uniformly.
Communicate with school administration, school teacher's and teaching assistants with helping create IEP's and behavior plans for individuals.

Drug abuse counselor vs behavioral therapist skills

Common drug abuse counselor skills

Patients, 14%
Drug Abuse, 10%
Substance Abuse Education, 10%
Discharge Summaries, 10%
Methadone, 6%
Substance Abuse Issues, 5%

Common behavioral therapist skills

Autism, 15%
Social Work, 12%
Behavior Analysis, 11%
Patients, 10%
Provide ABA, 6%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 5%

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Drug Abuse Counselor
Drug Abuse Counselor vs Behavioral Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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