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The differences between senior therapists and behavioral therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior therapist, becoming a behavioral therapist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior therapist has an average salary of $63,963, which is higher than the $37,881 average annual salary of a behavioral therapist.
The top three skills for a senior therapist include social work, autism and mental health. The most important skills for a behavioral therapist are autism, social work, and behavior analysis.
| Senior Therapist | Behavioral Therapist | |
| Yearly salary | $63,963 | $37,881 |
| Hourly rate | $30.75 | $18.21 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 68,064 | 91,976 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Senior therapists lead and manage a facility's therapeutic program and work hand-in-hand with other facility team members to deliver, oversee, plan, and coordinate the therapeutic program. These professionals promote professional accountability, quality development, evaluation, clinical governance, and monitoring. Besides supervising community forums and similar activities, senior therapists also attend appropriate staff and clinical supervision meetings. They document and share with the clinical team the right therapeutic guidelines and processes to follow.
A behavioral therapist is responsible for supporting patients with various developmental disorders and behavioral difficulties. Behavioral therapists conduct counseling to the patients, identifying their personal and social challenges, and administering treatment plans to modify unusual behaviors. They also coordinate with other medical professionals to plan activities and therapy sessions for patients' needs. A behavioral therapist maintains a record of the patients' progress, help them on developing social engagement, and adjust treatment strategies depending on the patients' noticeable changes.
Senior therapists and behavioral therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Therapist | Behavioral Therapist | |
| Average salary | $63,963 | $37,881 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $91,000 | Between $27,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | New York |
| Best paying company | Montage Health | George C. Grape Community Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Energy |
There are a few differences between a senior therapist and a behavioral therapist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Therapist | Behavioral Therapist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between senior therapists' and behavioral therapists' demographics:
| Senior Therapist | Behavioral Therapist | |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0% | Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 12% |