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Psychotherapist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Quoted experts
Alicia Nordstrom Ph.D.,
Dr. Nathan Tenhundfeld Ph.D.
Psychotherapist example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical psychotherapist skills. We ranked the top skills for psychotherapists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 19.3% of psychotherapist resumes contained social work as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a psychotherapist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 psychotherapist skills for your resume and career

1. Social Work

Here's how psychotherapists use social work:
  • Utilized clinical assessment, individual and family psychotherapy and general social work skills to establish and promote client permanency goals.
  • Provided Individual Psychotherapy, Family Psychotherapy, Group Psychotherapy, and other Social Work services as needed.

2. Patients

Here's how psychotherapists use patients:
  • Facilitated psychotherapy-psycho-educational groups, maintained daily documentation of patients, Including intervention, clinical support, clarification of client's need.
  • Cultivated and nurtured positive, productive relationships with patients, families, and community providers to promote effective coordination of resources.

3. Individual Therapy

Here's how psychotherapists use individual therapy:
  • Utilized evidence based therapeutic interventions applicable to clients in group and individual therapy sessions to foster self-awareness and personal growth.
  • Provide individual therapy and advocacy for women in Pre-Transitional Program who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

4. Crisis Intervention

Here's how psychotherapists use crisis intervention:
  • Provide solution focused and cognitive-behavioral therapy, clinical assessment and crisis intervention services for individuals, couples, families and youth.
  • Utilize cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, crisis intervention and solution-focused therapy techniques.

5. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how psychotherapists use mental health:
  • Established and maintained effective relationships with other mental health professionals and other community service providers which generated referrals and increased revenues.
  • Created integrated mental health assessment, treatment plans, and facilitated individual and family therapy sessions for approximately 25 outpatient clients.

6. Diagnostic Assessments

Here's how psychotherapists use diagnostic assessments:
  • Provided excellent diagnostic assessments, case recording and other written documentation and oral communication as needed.
  • Provided diagnostic assessment, crisis-management, and individual/family psychotherapy to children, adolescents, and adults.

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7. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how psychotherapists use community resources:
  • Developed a new and integral network of community resources and related providers for appropriate patient referrals.
  • Coordinated discharge plans as well as linking patient/family members with community resources.

8. Mental Illness

Here's how psychotherapists use mental illness:
  • Complete diagnostic evaluations, comprehensive treatment plans, and conduct individual psychotherapy with adults suffering from mental illness and adjustment distress.
  • Provide individual psychotherapy for formerly chronically homeless persons residing in permanent supportive housing, most with dual diagnoses and severe mental illness

9. Substance Abuse Disorders

Here's how psychotherapists use substance abuse disorders:
  • Conduct one-on-one, couples and group counseling sessions for mental health and substance abuse disorders.
  • Worked on this inpatient unit treating adults with substance abuse disorders.

10. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Here's how psychotherapists use cognitive behavioral therapy:
  • Reference and used various therapy techniques, including psycho-dynamic, family systems, solutions focused, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
  • Deliver individual outpatient psychotherapy to adult clients utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and insight oriented psychotherapy.

11. Treatment Modalities

Here's how psychotherapists use treatment modalities:
  • Provide psychotherapy to individuals, couples and families using client-centered, twelve step cognitive-behavioral and cognitive treatment modalities.
  • Utilize various treatment modalities and theoretical applications based on current clinical standards.

12. Rehabilitation

Here's how psychotherapists use rehabilitation:
  • Developed curriculum and provided psycho-education groups for Cancer Care Center and Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center.
  • Managed Vocational Rehabilitation aspects of treatment program.

13. Community Agencies

Community agencies stand for the organizations operated to provide human service in the community.

Here's how psychotherapists use community agencies:
  • Collaborated daily with interdisciplinary team & coordinated regularly with community agencies, including Juvenile Services Administration when indicated.
  • Interfaced effectively with multiple community agencies, and coordinated care effectively with Physicians.

14. Intake Assessments

Here's how psychotherapists use intake assessments:
  • Completed patient intake assessments including diagnosis and development of goals for treatment planning.
  • Perform psychiatric screenings/evaluations/intake assessments to local community to assess risk/indication for psychiatric treatment.

15. Clinical Supervision

Clinical supervision refers to how practicing nurses get professional and moral support from their experienced colleagues. The practice aims to promote their ability to make a concrete decision that values the patient's well-being.

Here's how psychotherapists use clinical supervision:
  • Maintained contracts for Clinical supervision/consultation to area professionals for ACSW and Washington State Certification.
  • Provide individual, marital/family, and group psychotherapy; consultation and clinical supervision.
top-skills

What skills help Psychotherapists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on psychotherapist resumes?

Alicia Nordstrom Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology, Misericordia University

Mental health counselors need graduate training by obtaining a minimum of a master's degree in the counseling or social work field. Counselors need to have strong interpersonal communication skills in order to build rapport and trusting relationships with their clients. They also need knowledge of a variety of empirically supported therapy approaches as well as comprehensive assessment strategies and treatment planning.

What soft skills should all psychotherapists possess?

Dr. Nathan Tenhundfeld Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Human Factors, University of Alabama in Huntsville

Students need to be able to read individual and group dynamics in order to act appropriately in any given situation. This includes not only the interactions with one's bosses but also peers and subordinates. Similarly, being comfortable with networking can help any company, but networking skills shine through in interviews.

What hard/technical skills are most important for psychotherapists?

Dr. Nathan Tenhundfeld Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Human Factors, University of Alabama in Huntsville

Technical skills like the ability to perform statistical analyses are critically important for most Psychology-related jobs. This allows a candidate to collect and analyze data but also to interpret and understand other existing data. A strong statistical background can also help set a candidate apart from their peers in the application process. This includes understanding when and how to use various parametric and nonparametric statistics to be able to answer questions regardless of the data one is working with.

What psychotherapist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Charles Westerberg Ph.D.Charles Westerberg Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Brannon-Ballard Professor of Sociology, Beloit College

For students taking a gap year, I think they should focus on building up their social capital networks. They should get as much exposure and face time as possible in fields that will give them access to people who can vouch for them. This might not be precisely the sort of position they are looking for, but it should provide them with access to relatable skills and contacts. To do this, students should call and email relentlessly. You never know when you will get a break. Passivity is not an excellent way to create gaps for yourself.

What type of skills will young psychotherapists need?

Dr. Eva Moya Ph.D.Dr. Eva Moya Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor, The University of Texas

Graduates of the social work profession need to be able to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and mobilize communities to bring about social, economic, political, or environmental change, in addition to being involved in social policy development.

Skills in research, to study social issues, with the intention of developing social policy or micro-level approaches to practice to improve people's lives, and training in relation to multiculturalism, cultural competence, cultural humility practice is vital.

Key skills include:
-Collaboration
-Critical thinking
-Ethics in evidence based-practice
-Assessment, intervention, and evaluation
-Social work competencies to inform behaviors.
-Administration and management
-Community practice
-Policy practice
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about psychotherapist

List of psychotherapist skills to add to your resume

Psychotherapist skills

The most important skills for a psychotherapist resume and required skills for a psychotherapist to have include:

  • Social Work
  • Patients
  • Individual Therapy
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Mental Health
  • Diagnostic Assessments
  • Community Resources
  • Mental Illness
  • Substance Abuse Disorders
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Treatment Modalities
  • Rehabilitation
  • Community Agencies
  • Intake Assessments
  • Clinical Supervision
  • Compassion
  • Therapeutic Services
  • Discharge Planning
  • Private Practice
  • Psychosocial Assessments
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
  • Therapeutic Interventions
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Eating Disorders
  • Clinical Documentation
  • Mental Health Issues
  • OCD
  • Psychotherapy Services
  • Group Therapy Sessions
  • Telemedicine
  • Medicaid
  • EMDR
  • PTSD
  • ADHD
  • Mental Health Assessments
  • Discharge Summaries
  • Sexual Abuse
  • Art Therapy
  • Relationship Issues
  • Brief Therapy
  • Group Supervision
  • Mood Disorders
  • Mental Health Clinic
  • Clinical Assessments
  • Personality Disorders
  • Dual Diagnosis
  • Couples Therapy
  • Anger Management
  • Crisis Management

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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