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The differences between marriage and family therapists and clinicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a marriage and family therapist and a clinician. Additionally, a clinician has an average salary of $60,150, which is higher than the $57,856 average annual salary of a marriage and family therapist.
The top three skills for a marriage and family therapist include social work, patients and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a clinician are social work, patients, and patient care.
| Marriage And Family Therapist | Clinician | |
| Yearly salary | $57,856 | $60,150 |
| Hourly rate | $27.82 | $28.92 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 114,361 | 105,023 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Marriage and family therapists are health professionals who are licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders of married couples and families. These therapists are required to treat patients with issues such as child and adolescent behavioral problems, depression and anxiety, and marital conflicts. They must observe the interaction of people within units while evaluating and resolving their issues with relationships. Marriage and family therapists must also guide their clients to go through transitional crises such as divorce or death.
A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.
Marriage and family therapists and clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Marriage And Family Therapist | Clinician | |
| Average salary | $57,856 | $60,150 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $80,000 | Between $34,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bensalem, PA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Henderson Behavioral Health | Pace University |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a marriage and family therapist and a clinician in terms of educational background:
| Marriage And Family Therapist | Clinician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between marriage and family therapists' and clinicians' demographics:
| Marriage And Family Therapist | Clinician | |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 15% |