Psychologist vs psychotherapist

The differences between psychologists and psychotherapists 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 $69,921 average annual salary of a psychotherapist.

The top three skills for a psychologist include patients, crisis intervention and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a psychotherapist are social work, patients, and individual therapy.

Psychologist vs psychotherapist overview

	Psychologist	Psychotherapist
Yearly salary	$97,803	$69,921
Hourly rate	$47.02	$33.62
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	12,516	20,520
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Master's Degree, 55%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

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.

What does a psychotherapist do?

A Psychotherapist's responsibility is to help clients who suffer from symptoms like depression, anxiety, and other behavioral problems. They work with individuals, couples, and families.

Psychologist vs psychotherapist salary

Psychologists and psychotherapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Psychologist	Psychotherapist
Average salary	$97,803	$69,921
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $139,000	Between $43,000 And $111,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Worcester, MA
Highest paying state	California	Delaware
Best paying company	Sierra Corporation	Sutter Health
Best paying industry	Health Care	Professional

Differences between psychologist and psychotherapist education

There are a few differences between a psychologist and a psychotherapist in terms of educational background:

	Psychologist	Psychotherapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Master's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Pennsylvania

Psychologist vs psychotherapist demographics

Here are the differences between psychologists' and psychotherapists' demographics:

	Psychologist	Psychotherapist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%	Male, 27.4% Female, 72.6%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 5.0% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 4.2% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	20%	20%

Differences between psychologist and psychotherapist duties and responsibilities

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.

Psychotherapist example responsibilities.

Provide individual, group therapy and rehabilitation services for clients with co-occurring disorders, trauma, addiction, grief, etc.
Perform case management services and prepare rehabilitation plans.
Administer cognitive and personality assessments, provide written summary of results to therapists, and provide verbal feedback to patients.
Cultivate and nurture positive, productive relationships with patients, families, and community providers to promote effective coordination of resources.
Experience in evaluations of adults, adolescents and children, including personality, clinical symptoms, developmental disabilities and cognitive status.
Conduct MST assessment including review of referral information, maintain the confidentiality of all consumer care information including protect health information.

Psychologist vs psychotherapist skills

Common psychologist skills

Patients, 18%
Crisis Intervention, 7%
Rehabilitation, 6%
Mental Illness, 5%
Clinical Supervision, 5%
APA, 4%

Common psychotherapist skills

Social Work, 19%
Patients, 15%
Individual Therapy, 13%
Crisis Intervention, 7%
Mental Health, 4%
Diagnostic Assessments, 2%

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Psychologist vs Psychotherapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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