What does a lead therapist do?
Lead therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real lead therapist resumes:
- Help manage meetings in IEP settings with school staff and other therapy providers.
- Help am individuals with autism learn to communicate and manage undesire behavior.
- Train line therapists on implementing treatment plans; using apply behavior analysis (ABA) techniques and procedures.
- Provide in-home behavior treatment program employing apply behavior analysis techniques working with children diagnose with autism.
- Collaborate with regular education teachers assign to ABA students.
- Develop and organize individualize vision therapy programs for all patients and assist other therapist on their patient developmental programs.
- Provide concurrent review updates to utilization review department for government and private insurance patients on a monthly and/or weekly basis.
- Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals to provide outpatient services to those seeking rehabilitation in an ambulatory care center.
- Work closely with a license orthotist/prosthetist to obtain orthotics for children who require them.
Lead therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Lead Therapists are proficient in Patients, Social Work, and Crisis Intervention. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Dexterity, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Lead Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 15%
Provided concurrent review updates to utilization review department for government and private insurance patients on a monthly and/or weekly basis.
- Social Work, 13%
Provided group therapy for residents inside their nursing homes and collaborated with social workers, case managers, and psychiatrists.
- Crisis Intervention, 6%
Provided intensive individual and family therapy, crisis intervention, behavior modification, parenting education and mental health assessments.
- Autism, 6%
Provide in-home behavior treatment program employing applied behavior analysis techniques working with children diagnosed with autism.
- ABA, 5%
Collaborated with regular education teachers assigned to ABA students.
- Substance Abuse, 5%
Perform initial basic assessment procedures including standardized psychological testing, clinical interviewing, mental status examination, substance abuse evaluation.
Most lead therapists use their skills in "patients," "social work," and "crisis intervention" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential lead therapist responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. The most essential soft skill for a lead therapist to carry out their responsibilities is detail oriented. This skill is important for the role because "like other healthcare providers, physical therapists should have strong analytic and observational skills to diagnose a patient’s problem, evaluate treatments, and provide safe, effective care." Additionally, a lead therapist resume shows how their duties depend on detail oriented: "complete detailed documentation and data collection in an efficient and timely manner. "
Dexterity. Another essential skill to perform lead therapist duties is dexterity. Lead therapists responsibilities require that "physical therapists must use their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises." Lead therapists also use dexterity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "work hands on with community resources, dfcs, foster care placement agencies. "
Physical stamina. This is an important skill for lead therapists to perform their duties. For an example of how lead therapist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "physical therapists spend much of their time on their feet, moving to demonstrate proper techniques and to help patients perform exercises." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a lead therapist: "coordinate physical and occupational therapy scheduling and staffing for norfolk public school system. ".
Resourcefulness. For certain lead therapist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "resourcefulness." The day-to-day duties of a lead therapist rely on this skill, as "physical therapists customize treatment plans for patients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what lead therapists do: "provided client and family support, clinical assessment and psychoeducation to promote mental health wellness and resourcefulness. "
Time-management skills. A commonly-found skill in lead therapist job descriptions, "time-management skills" is essential to what lead therapists do. Lead therapist responsibilities rely on this skill because "physical therapists typically treat several patients each day." You can also see how lead therapist duties rely on time-management skills in this resume example: "completed intake assessments and developed individualized treatment plans within the 14 day deadline. "
Compassion. While "compassion" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to lead therapist responsibilities. Much of what a lead therapist does relies on this skill, seeing as "physical therapists spend a lot of time interacting with patients, so they should have a desire to help people." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of lead therapists: "sense of creativity, strong moral character and compassion. "
The three companies that hire the most lead therapists are:
- University of Maryland Medical System4 lead therapists jobs
- Northwestern Medicine3 lead therapists jobs
- Advanced Recovery Systems3 lead therapists jobs
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Compare different lead therapists
Lead therapist vs. Director of physical therapy
A Director of Physical Therapy manages physical therapy services through developing strategies, policies, and procedures for a hospital, clinic, managed care organization, or similar organization. They supervise and assess the activities of medical, nursing, technical, and other personnel.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between lead therapists and director of physical therapy. For instance, lead therapist responsibilities require skills such as "social work," "crisis intervention," "autism," and "aba." Whereas a director of physical therapy is skilled in "rehabilitation," "physical therapy clinic," "treatment programs," and "physical therapy treatment." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Directors of physical therapy really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $94,891. Comparatively, lead therapists tend to make the most money in the retail industry with an average salary of $70,038.The education levels that directors of physical therapy earn slightly differ from lead therapists. In particular, directors of physical therapy are 17.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a lead therapist. Additionally, they're 9.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead therapist vs. Physical therapy internship
Physical therapist interns work with patients to determine and improve their function and movement. The interns assist in the rehabilitation process through body system development and storage. They promote the wellbeing and health of the patients through internship programs. Through the physical therapy internship, interns learn about nutrition, treatment, and the general rehabilitation procedure of patients. It also provides support not just for the patients but also with the staff.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, lead therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "social work," "crisis intervention," "autism," and "aba." Meanwhile, a physical therapy internship has duties that require skills in areas such as "physical therapy assistants," "rehabilitation," "ultrasound," and "acute care." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Physical therapy interns may earn a lower salary than lead therapists, but physical therapy interns earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $75,207. On the other hand, lead therapists receive higher pay in the retail industry, where they earn an average salary of $70,038.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Physical therapy interns tend to reach lower levels of education than lead therapists. In fact, they're 29.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for lead therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Cheryl Stenmark Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director, Industrial/Organizational Psychology Masters Program, Angelo State University
Lead therapist vs. Manipulative therapy specialist
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, lead therapists are more likely to have skills like "social work," "crisis intervention," "autism," and "cpr." But a manipulative therapy specialist is more likely to have skills like "gmp," "rehabilitation," "t-cell," and "cell processing."
Manipulative therapy specialists earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $51,149. Lead therapists earn the highest pay from the retail industry, with an average salary of $70,038.When it comes to education, manipulative therapy specialists tend to earn lower degree levels compared to lead therapists. In fact, they're 21.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Lead therapist vs. Physical therapist technician
Even though a few skill sets overlap between lead therapists and physical therapist technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a lead therapist might have more use for skills like "social work," "crisis intervention," "autism," and "aba." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of physical therapist technicians require skills like "rehabilitation," "electrical stimulation," "traction," and "physical therapy treatment. "
In general, physical therapist technicians hold lower degree levels compared to lead therapists. Physical therapist technicians are 29.1% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of lead therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
