Mental health therapist vs psychiatrist

The differences between mental health therapists and psychiatrists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a mental health therapist, becoming a psychiatrist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a psychiatrist has an average salary of $229,034, 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 a psychiatrist are patients, diagnosis, and patient care.

Mental health therapist vs psychiatrist overview

	Mental Health Therapist	Psychiatrist
Yearly salary	$50,259	$229,034
Hourly rate	$24.16	$110.11
Growth rate	9%	7%
Number of jobs	114,386	29,979
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Doctoral Degree, 32%
Average age	45	48
Years of experience	4	6

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 a psychiatrist do?

A Psychiatrist is a medical practitioner specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. They treat patients utilizing psychotherapeutic methods and medications.

Mental health therapist vs psychiatrist salary

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

	Mental Health Therapist	Psychiatrist
Average salary	$50,259	$229,034
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $70,000	Between $133,000 And $393,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Fargo, ND
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Alaska
Best paying company	Tykes And Teens	Yuma Regional Medical Center
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Health Care

Differences between mental health therapist and psychiatrist education

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

	Mental Health Therapist	Psychiatrist
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Doctoral Degree, 32%
Most common major	Social Work	Medicine
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Duke University

Mental health therapist vs psychiatrist demographics

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

	Mental Health Therapist	Psychiatrist
Average age	45	48
Gender ratio	Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%	Male, 44.6% Female, 55.4%
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, 5.3% Unknown, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.0% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	15%	10%

Differences between mental health therapist and psychiatrist 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

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Psychiatrist example responsibilities.

Provide psychiatric evaluations, diagnosis and treatment, including prescribing and administering psychotropic medications, conduct individual and group psychotherapy.
Case load includes children, adolescents and adults.
Provide accurate, timely and complete documentation in the EMR.
Conduct full neurological evaluation, including lab, MRI & /or EEG.
Work closely with Medicaid in areas of compliance needs and information of the clients.
Create multidisciplinary team (psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse, marriage family therapist) to spear head new veterans parenting class.

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Mental health therapist vs psychiatrist 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 psychiatrist skills

Patients, 32%
Diagnosis, 11%
Patient Care, 5%
Mental Illness, 5%
Psychiatric Services, 5%
EMR, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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