A Psychotherapist is an allied medical professional who specializes in psychotherapy - the treatment of mental health problems using psychological methods instead of medical methods.

Psychotherapy is also known as "talking therapy," and it helps patients to overcome mental and emotional problems and deal with their problematic beliefs, thoughts, behaviors, or compulsions with an aim to improve their well-being.

A Psychotherapist's job is extremely sensitive and requires that one has the necessary skills and experience. Skills such as verbal and listening skills, empathy, patience, and confidence are all essential for a psychotherapist.

A good grasp of psychological treatments is also essential to the role of a Psychotherapist. The typical workweek for them is 40 hours a week, five days a week, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

What Does a Psychotherapist Do

There are certain skills that many psychotherapists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, integrity and observational skills.

Learn more about what a Psychotherapist does

How To Become a Psychotherapist

If you're interested in becoming a psychotherapist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 37.3% of psychotherapists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 55.2% of psychotherapists have master's degrees. Even though most psychotherapists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Psychotherapist

Psychotherapist Career Paths

Average Salary for a Psychotherapist

Psychotherapists in America make an average salary of $69,921 per year or $34 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $111,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $43,000 per year.
Average Psychotherapist Salary
$69,921 Yearly
$33.62 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Psychotherapist

The role of a psychotherapist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general psychotherapist responsibilities:

  • Conducting group psychotherapy in an outpatient setting; assisting in the overall case management of designated patients in a particular program, e.g., adult intensive, adult day hospital, adolescent, eating disorder
  • Completes mental status and psychosocial assessment of members provides individual
  • Provides outpatient psychotherapy services to clinic patients

There are several types of psychotherapist, including:

Psychologist

Role:

Psychologists may work in various settings, from clinics to schools, workplaces, organizations, or private practices. Their job, essentially, is to assess and diagnose mental or emotional disorders in their patients.

They do not stop after arriving at a diagnosis, though. Treating patients with therapy or choosing from a wide variety of alternative options and methods is also their job. If they do not seem to have access to the appropriate tools, they will refer their patients to specialized therapists or other treatment facilities.

You will need an extended period of education and experience to qualify as a practicing psychologist. The road to get there is not easy, and the position is demanding on many levels, but the ability to help people is always extremely powerful and fulfilling.
  • Average Salary: $97,803
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Licensed Professional Counselor

Role:

Licensed professional counselors are qualified to offer counseling and psychotherapy to people who are having problems with their mental health. Licensed Professional Counselors may work for themselves, but the majority of them work in public or private facilities. In this title, you will cater to Individuals, families, couples, teenagers, and children.

Your responsibilities include meeting with new clients to assess their challenges and resources, resolving issues through talk therapy and modeling adaptive, sustainable habits, developing and adapting custom treatment regimens as required, and encouraging positive self-reflection and helpful coping skills. The ideal LPC must have a master's degree in a Counseling-related discipline, plus some experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor. This means you must be licensed and registered to practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor.

As an LPC, you should possess empathy, compassion, and a desire to promote healing. Although the average pay for a licensed professional counselor is $98,502 per year or $47.36 per hour, there are several ways for licensed professional counselors to earn more.
  • Average Salary: $94,675
  • Degree: Master's Degree

School Psychologist

Role:

A school psychologist is a professional who applies psychological principles and techniques to students at all levels in school. He/she helps students to deal with behavioral and emotional issues affecting them. They usually work closely together with teachers and parents with the ultimate objective of creating a safe learning environment for students.

School psychologists usually focus on the individual study of children's learning in schools. Essential skills that a school psychologist must have are listening skills, communication skills, attention to detail, and analytical skills. He/she should also be empathetic, understanding, and willing to assist students with their psychological needs.

School psychologists have a regular work schedule. They work 35-40 hours a week from Monday to Friday, from 9 to 5. Their work schedules depend on the number of schools they work for.
  • Average Salary: $78,431
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Psychotherapist Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active psychotherapist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where psychotherapists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Psychotherapist Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California886$85,075
2New York402$76,813
3Illinois363$71,973
4Pennsylvania345$89,045
5Texas286$68,679
6Massachusetts254$94,966
7Washington242$66,933
8Florida242$64,250
9Ohio219$73,909
10Georgia216$63,924
11North Carolina206$58,018
12Minnesota181$72,228
13Maryland178$89,210
14Virginia175$92,775
15Michigan169$65,645
16New Jersey168$94,055
17Arizona155$61,375
18Wisconsin141$60,984
19Colorado133$66,192
20Indiana132$66,317
21Oregon121$61,982
22South Carolina102$56,029
23Missouri101$58,375
24Oklahoma90$69,517
25Tennessee77$72,125
26Iowa76$52,593
27Nebraska62$56,682
28Kentucky61$52,033
29Connecticut59$96,825
30Alabama57$64,532
31Montana56$46,949
32New Mexico55$61,120
33Utah52$55,121
34Rhode Island50$81,702
35Louisiana47$79,573
36Kansas47$57,404
37Mississippi46$58,013
38Nevada44$64,368
39Arkansas41$59,674
40Delaware39$99,500
41Alaska36$45,974
42South Dakota31$47,624
43New Hampshire28$95,320
44Idaho24$58,508
45Hawaii23$57,369
46West Virginia21$55,551
47North Dakota20$59,109
48Maine15$65,868
49Wyoming12$56,390
50Vermont11$86,352

Psychotherapist Education

Psychotherapist Majors

Psychotherapist Degrees

Masters

55.2 %

Bachelors

37.3 %

Doctorate

4.1 %

Top Colleges for Psychotherapists

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Business
Nursing
Social Work
Communication

2. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Psychology
Nursing
Business
English

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Communication
Psychology
Education
Rehabilitation Science

4. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Social Work
Nursing
English
Rehabilitation Science

5. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Nursing
Mental Health Counseling
Business
Communication

6. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Education
Psychology
Communication
English

7. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Education
Social Work
Psychology
Rehabilitation Science

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Business
Psychology
Nursing
English

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,399

Enrollment

7,356

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Social Work
Rehabilitation Science
Fine Arts
Education

10. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Social Work
Education
Psychology
Counseling Psychology

Top Skills For a Psychotherapist

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 19.3% of psychotherapists listed social work on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and integrity are important as well.

  • Social Work, 19.3%
  • Patients, 15.2%
  • Individual Therapy, 13.2%
  • Crisis Intervention, 6.5%
  • Mental Health, 4.0%
  • Other Skills, 41.8%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Psychotherapist Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Psychotherapist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Psychotherapist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Psychotherapist Resume
Psychotherapist Resume
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Psychotherapist Demographics

Psychotherapist Gender Distribution

Female
Female
73%
Male
Male
27%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among psychotherapists, 72.6% of them are women, while 27.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among psychotherapists is White, which makes up 76.5% of all psychotherapists.

  • The most common foreign language among psychotherapists is Spanish at 60.7%.

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Best States For a Psychotherapist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a psychotherapist. The best states for people in this position are Delaware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Psychotherapists make the most in Delaware with an average salary of $99,500. Whereas in Connecticut and New Hampshire, they would average $96,825 and $95,320, respectively. While psychotherapists would only make an average of $94,966 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Delaware

Total Psychotherapist Jobs: 39
Highest 10% Earn:
$156,000
Location Quotient:
1.34

2. Massachusetts

Total Psychotherapist Jobs: 254
Highest 10% Earn:
$149,000
Location Quotient:
1.19

3. Pennsylvania

Total Psychotherapist Jobs: 345
Highest 10% Earn:
$140,000
Location Quotient:
1.28
Full List Of Best States For Psychotherapists

How Do Psychotherapist Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Psychotherapist Employers

Most Common Employers For Psychotherapist

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1capefearvalley$70,560$33.927
2University of Virginia$70,313$33.806
3Kaiser Permanente$67,698$32.5515
4SCO Family of Services$65,851$31.6611
5East Orange General Hospital$64,477$31.0012
6YAI$64,343$30.936
7Lehigh Valley Health Network$64,147$30.848
8Associated Clinic of Psychology$63,320$30.448
9Sollars and Associates$57,973$27.876
10The Jewish Board$56,810$27.3113

What Are The Best Companies To Work For A Psychotherapist?

D

Dr. Christine Cramer

Instructor, Hagerstown Community College

I believe that the best companies to work for in education are Community Colleges. Not only do they care about your teaching, but they care about your development as a person. They allow you to explore different types of pedagogy without the "publish or perish" philosophy.Show more

Becoming a Psychotherapist FAQs

Psychotherapist Vs Therapist

A psychotherapist is someone who uses specific forms of talk therapy to treat people for emotional problems and mental illnesses, while a therapist may practice a wide range of mental therapy techniques, including talk therapy, in order to treat the mental health and well-being of their patient.

Search For Psychotherapist Jobs