Group counselor vs group therapist

The differences between group counselors and group 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 group counselor and a group therapist. Additionally, a group therapist has an average salary of $58,892, which is higher than the $40,155 average annual salary of a group counselor.

The top three skills for a group counselor include mental health, patients and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a group therapist are social work, patients, and group therapy sessions.

Group counselor vs group therapist overview

	Group Counselor	Group Therapist
Yearly salary	$40,155	$58,892
Hourly rate	$19.31	$28.31
Growth rate	9%	14%
Number of jobs	84,413	113,813
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Group counselor vs group therapist salary

Group counselors and group therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Group Counselor	Group Therapist
Average salary	$40,155	$58,892
Salary range	Between $14,000 And $110,000	Between $40,000 And $85,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between group counselor and group therapist education

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

	Group Counselor	Group Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Group counselor vs group therapist demographics

Here are the differences between group counselors' and group therapists' demographics:

	Group Counselor	Group Therapist
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2%	Male, 27.6% Female, 72.4%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	15%	6%

Differences between group counselor and group therapist duties and responsibilities

Group counselor example responsibilities.

Administer first aid and CPR when need.
Develop leadership skills while training younger counselors.
Execute leadership skills by planning and facilitating activities.
Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
Provide behavior modification and social skills training to children and adolescents with ADHD and other behavioral and emotional disorders.

Group therapist example responsibilities.

Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
Provide group psychotherapy to adult patients diagnose with a chronic mental illness at a partial hospitalization program on Saturday mornings.
Participate in weekly DBT consultation team.
Complete DUI evaluations that focuse on past and current alcohol and drug use, specifically as it relates to driving history.
Facilitate and provide psycho educational services to mandate DUI offenders.
Evaluate patients for competency and criminal responsibility on forensic cases refer by state courts; provide judicial testimony in guardianship cases.

Group counselor vs group therapist skills

Common group counselor skills

Mental Health, 23%
Patients, 21%
Crisis Intervention, 8%
Social Work, 8%
Rehabilitation, 7%
Group Therapy Sessions, 5%

Common group therapist skills

Social Work, 19%
Patients, 16%
Group Therapy Sessions, 10%
Crisis Intervention, 6%
Substance Abuse, 6%
Eating Disorders, 5%