Senior therapist vs family therapist

The differences between senior therapists and family therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior therapist and a family therapist. Additionally, a senior therapist has an average salary of $63,963, which is higher than the $50,774 average annual salary of a family therapist.

The top three skills for a senior therapist include social work, autism and mental health. The most important skills for a family therapist are social work, patients, and rehabilitation.

Senior therapist vs family therapist overview

	Senior Therapist	Family Therapist
Yearly salary	$63,963	$50,774
Hourly rate	$30.75	$24.41
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	68,064	106,982
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior therapist do?

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.

What does a family therapist do?

A Family Therapist works with couples and families to help ameliorate marital and family issues. They can work in hospitals, treatment programs, government agencies, health organizations, and private practices.

Senior therapist vs family therapist salary

Senior therapists and family therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Therapist	Family Therapist
Average salary	$63,963	$50,774
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $91,000	Between $37,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Rochester, NY
Highest paying state	Pennsylvania	Oregon
Best paying company	Montage Health	Dignity Health
Best paying industry	Energy	Health Care

Differences between senior therapist and family therapist education

There are a few differences between a senior therapist and a family therapist in terms of educational background:

	Senior Therapist	Family Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Senior therapist vs family therapist demographics

Here are the differences between senior therapists' and family therapists' demographics:

	Senior Therapist	Family Therapist
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0%	Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2%
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, 7.0% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between senior therapist and family therapist duties and responsibilities

Senior therapist example responsibilities.

Manage and target behaviors using the ESDM, ABA, PRT and SCERTS model.
Function as a case manager, co-le group therapy and provide psychiatrist supervise individual therapy to adolescent patients.
Work with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families.
Produce detailed quarterly reports on each student, used in IEP meetings to assess student's progress.
Collaborate with parents, teachers, and other professionals on the implementation of programs, and attend IEP meetings.
Implement one on one behavioral intervention programs in the homes of children with autism while using apply behavioral analysis therapy.

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Family therapist example responsibilities.

Complete documentation to medicaid standards.
Create maximum billable Medicaid hours and submitting necessary paperwork for Medicaid billing.
Apply behavioral analysis instruction for a student with autism concentrating on communication, socialization, self-help skills and community skills.
Receive and process referrals from DCF and community-base case managers for individuals suspect as substance abusers.

Senior therapist vs family therapist skills

Common senior therapist skills

Social Work, 12%
Autism, 9%
Mental Health, 8%
Patients, 8%
Behavior Analysis, 7%
ABA, 5%

Common family therapist skills

Social Work, 27%
Patients, 6%
Rehabilitation, 4%
Community Resources, 4%
Mental Health Issues, 4%
Group Therapy, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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