Phone counselor vs licensed professional counselor

The differences between phone counselors and licensed professional counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a phone counselor and a licensed professional counselor. Additionally, a licensed professional counselor has an average salary of $94,675, which is higher than the $38,285 average annual salary of a phone counselor.

The top three skills for a phone counselor include social work, crisis calls and crisis planning. The most important skills for a licensed professional counselor are patients, social work, and LPC.

Phone counselor vs licensed professional counselor overview

	Phone Counselor	Licensed Professional Counselor
Yearly salary	$38,285	$94,675
Hourly rate	$18.41	$45.52
Growth rate	9%	6%
Number of jobs	75,943	153,612
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Master's Degree, 48%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Phone counselor vs licensed professional counselor salary

Phone counselors and licensed professional counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Phone Counselor	Licensed Professional Counselor
Average salary	$38,285	$94,675
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $47,000	Between $73,000 And $122,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Bloomberg
Best paying industry	-	Real Estate

Differences between phone counselor and licensed professional counselor education

There are a few differences between a phone counselor and a licensed professional counselor in terms of educational background:

	Phone Counselor	Licensed Professional Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Master's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Northwestern University

Phone counselor vs licensed professional counselor demographics

Here are the differences between phone counselors' and licensed professional counselors' demographics:

	Phone Counselor	Licensed Professional Counselor
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 23.4% Female, 76.6%	Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between phone counselor and licensed professional counselor duties and responsibilities

Phone counselor example responsibilities.

Manage a caseload of individuals in programs design to provide vocational rehabilitation and other services to the developmentally disable.
Provide individual assessments, treatment planning and psychotherapy services to culturally diverse adult female population in need of rehabilitation services.
Listen to clients' concerns about HIV/AIDS relate treatment.
Facilitate groups of children with ADHD and also a self-esteem group for adults.
Provide counseling for individuals, children and adults for depression, anxiety, ADHD, personality disorders and other behavioral disorders.
Specialize in individual, relationship, marital, custody, anxiety, depression, trauma resolution, and PTSD.

Licensed professional counselor example responsibilities.

Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
Provide clinical supervision to LPC candidates, contract clinicians and counseling psychology practicum/internship students.
Assign, direct, and provide supervision of screening assessment complete by LPC and LCSW.
Conduct intakes and assessments on new admissions and recommend placement into services base on ASAM criteria.
Coordinate with the patient's family, attending physician, other hospitals and agencies following HIPAA standards.
Specialize in OCD and animal assist psychotherapy.

Phone counselor vs licensed professional counselor skills

Common phone counselor skills

Social Work, 27%
Crisis Calls, 23%
Crisis Planning, 10%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Suicide Prevention, 8%
Mental Illness, 5%

Common licensed professional counselor skills

Patients, 13%
Social Work, 12%
LPC, 10%
Real Estate, 10%
Individual Therapy, 8%
Crisis Intervention, 6%

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Phone Counselor
Phone Counselor vs Licensed Professional Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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