Mental health therapist vs outpatient physical therapist

The differences between mental health therapists and outpatient physical therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an outpatient physical therapist has an average salary of $66,359, which is higher than the $50,259 average annual salary of a mental health therapist.

The top three skills for a mental health therapist include social work, patients and mental health. The most important skills for an outpatient physical therapist are patients, physical therapy, and rehabilitation.

Mental health therapist vs outpatient physical therapist overview

	Mental Health Therapist	Outpatient Physical Therapist
Yearly salary	$50,259	$66,359
Hourly rate	$24.16	$31.90
Growth rate	9%	17%
Number of jobs	114,386	119,973
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Master's Degree, 49%
Average age	45	41
Years of experience	4	-

What does a mental health therapist do?

The job of mental health therapists is to guide individuals, groups, couples, and families with problems that are impacting their well-being and mental health. Their duties and responsibilities include encouraging clients to talk about their experiences, examining issues that may affect mental health such as substance abuse and bullying, and assisting clients in defining their goals and action plans. Mental health therapists are also responsible for developing therapeutic processes, referring clients to other services or resources like psychologists, and helping them adjust to life changes.

What does an outpatient physical therapist do?

An outpatient physical therapist specializes in diagnosing and treating a patient's movement dysfunction often caused by an illness or injury. Their responsibilities revolve around studying a patient's medical history, performing initial assessments, crafting a specific care and treatment plan, and discussing the extent of treatments with patients and their families. An outpatient physical therapist may also provide advice to families or guardians on how to assist and care for patients at home, prescribe medication, and perform follow-up consultations.

Mental health therapist vs outpatient physical therapist salary

Mental health therapists and outpatient physical therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mental Health Therapist	Outpatient Physical Therapist
Average salary	$50,259	$66,359
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $70,000	Between $40,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	California
Best paying company	Tykes And Teens	Accountable Healthcare Holdings Corp.
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Non Profits

Differences between mental health therapist and outpatient physical therapist education

There are a few differences between a mental health therapist and an outpatient physical therapist in terms of educational background:

	Mental Health Therapist	Outpatient Physical Therapist
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Master's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Social Work	Social Work
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Boston University

Mental health therapist vs outpatient physical therapist demographics

Here are the differences between mental health therapists' and outpatient physical therapists' demographics:

	Mental Health Therapist	Outpatient Physical Therapist
Average age	45	41
Gender ratio	Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	15%	12%

Differences between mental health therapist and outpatient physical therapist duties and responsibilities

Mental health therapist example responsibilities.

Create and lead PTSD group for women, depression and stress management groups for men and women.
Collaborate with patients to develop individualize treatment plans and evaluate plans periodically to monitor progress towards achieving identify goals and objectives.
Provide clinical supervision for MFT intern and participate in peer to peer reviews.
Receive training in diagnoses, physical restraints and CPR.
Care for children with autism and document daily data collection.
Utilize therapy techniques from various modalities including EMDR, TF-CBT, and DBT

Outpatient physical therapist example responsibilities.

Facilitate development of coping techniques to manage psychiatric symptoms effectively; educate patients on importance of medication management and compliance.
Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
Perform assessments with clients to determine diagnosis and need of services.
Complete intake assessment and formulate diagnosis.
Assist veterans with transportation to interviews.
Provide active case management service for veterans in residential treatment.

Mental health therapist vs outpatient physical therapist skills

Common mental health therapist skills

Social Work, 35%
Patients, 10%
Mental Health, 6%
Group Therapy Sessions, 5%
Mental Health Issues, 3%
Community Resources, 3%

Common outpatient physical therapist skills

Patients, 23%
Physical Therapy, 17%
Rehabilitation, 11%
Patient Care, 10%
Therapy Services, 5%
Social Work, 5%

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Mental Health Therapist
Mental Health Therapist vs Outpatient Physical Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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