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Music therapist vs therapist

The differences between music therapists and therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a music therapist has an average salary of $57,096, which is higher than the $55,943 average annual salary of a therapist.

The top three skills for a music therapist include patients, interdisciplinary and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a therapist are social work, patients, and group therapy sessions.

Music therapist vs therapist overview

Music TherapistTherapist
Yearly salary$57,096$55,943
Hourly rate$27.45$26.90
Growth rate4%17%
Number of jobs25,771159,770
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4341
Years of experience12-

What does a music therapist do?

A Music Therapist uses music within a therapeutic environment to treat those suffering from a variety of issues. They help clients develop an increased self-awareness and report their progress to families, bosses, or relevant agencies.

What does a therapist do?

A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.

Music therapist vs therapist salary

Music therapists and therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Music TherapistTherapist
Average salary$57,096$55,943
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $84,000Between $39,000 And $80,000
Highest paying CityWoodland, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyChildhelpChildhelp
Best paying industryHealth CareGovernment

Differences between music therapist and therapist education

There are a few differences between a music therapist and a therapist in terms of educational background:

Music TherapistTherapist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorRehabilitation SciencePsychology
Most common collegeDuke UniversityCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Music therapist vs therapist demographics

Here are the differences between music therapists' and therapists' demographics:

Music TherapistTherapist
Average age4341
Gender ratioMale, 21.9% Female, 78.1%Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 3.3% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage9%12%

Differences between music therapist and therapist duties and responsibilities

Music therapist example responsibilities.

  • Manage the entire SNF and Alzheimer's unit caseload.
  • Provide individual music therapy services in coordination with in-house hospice organization and participate in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings.
  • Provide individual music interventions for patients on sub-acute, rehabilitation to meet specific needs during short term hospital stay.
  • Develop and implement music therapy interventions to patients of all ages and abilities in an ever-changing behavioral health setting.
  • Design interventions to stimulate cognition, empower emotional expression, and promote engagement in group activities for clients diagnose with dementia.
  • Participate in IEP meetings and quarterly evaluation meetings with parents.
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Therapist example responsibilities.

  • Manage ventilator and BiPAP's and create or update care plans per patient needs.
  • Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
  • Provide on-call crisis intervention as well as standard treatment, rehabilitation and support services with some interventions requiring specialize therapy services.
  • Develop and implement an effective curriculum of DBT inform group and art therapy classes specifically tailor for chemically dependent patients.
  • Provide trauma-inform individual psychotherapy, TREM group treatment protocol, and EMDR.
  • Utilize current brain base therapeutic techniques to teach clients adaptive skills to utilize in daily lives.
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Music therapist vs therapist skills

Common music therapist skills
  • Patients, 32%
  • Interdisciplinary, 15%
  • Rehabilitation, 10%
  • Music Therapy, 5%
  • Mental Health, 5%
  • Adolescents, 3%
Common therapist skills
  • Social Work, 23%
  • Patients, 12%
  • Group Therapy Sessions, 8%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Mental Health, 4%
  • Patient Care, 3%

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