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Mental health therapist vs psychologist

The differences between mental health therapists and psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a psychologist has an average salary of $97,803, 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 psychologist are patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.

Mental health therapist vs psychologist overview

Mental Health TherapistPsychologist
Yearly salary$50,259$97,803
Hourly rate$24.16$47.02
Growth rate9%6%
Number of jobs114,38612,516
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeMaster's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4547
Years of experience4-

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 psychologist do?

Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.

Mental health therapist vs psychologist salary

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

Mental Health TherapistPsychologist
Average salary$50,259$97,803
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $70,000Between $68,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateConnecticutCalifornia
Best paying companyTykes And TeensSierra Corporation
Best paying industryNon ProfitsHealth Care

Differences between mental health therapist and psychologist education

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

Mental Health TherapistPsychologist
Most common degreeMaster's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorSocial WorkPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachNorthwestern University

Mental health therapist vs psychologist demographics

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

Mental Health TherapistPsychologist
Average age4547
Gender ratioMale, 23.3% Female, 76.7%Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage15%20%

Differences between mental health therapist and psychologist 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
  • Show more

Psychologist example responsibilities.

  • Supervise mental health staff, including the overseeing of the provision of mental health services in a correctional facility.
  • Provide EMDR therapy for clients with trauma and anxiety.
  • Perform tests to diagnose autism in children or tests for the detection of autism at an early age.
  • Provide supervision and mentoring for APA Pre-Doctoral interns.
  • Supervise clinical activities of doctoral level psychology interns in APA accredit internship program.
  • Evaluate veterans for psychological disorders that may have resulted secondary to their military service for compensation purposes.
  • Show more

Mental health therapist vs psychologist 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 psychologist skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Mental Illness, 5%
  • Clinical Supervision, 5%
  • APA, 4%

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