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The differences between senior therapists and mental health 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 mental health therapist. Additionally, a senior therapist has an average salary of $63,963, which is higher than the $50,259 average annual salary of a mental health therapist.
The top three skills for a senior therapist include social work, autism and mental health. The most important skills for a mental health therapist are social work, patients, and mental health.
| Senior Therapist | Mental Health Therapist | |
| Yearly salary | $63,963 | $50,259 |
| Hourly rate | $30.75 | $24.16 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 68,064 | 114,386 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Master's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
The job of mental health therapists is to guide individuals, groups, couples, and families with problems that are impacting their well-being and mental health. Their duties and responsibilities include encouraging clients to talk about their experiences, examining issues that may affect mental health such as substance abuse and bullying, and assisting clients in defining their goals and action plans. Mental health therapists are also responsible for developing therapeutic processes, referring clients to other services or resources like psychologists, and helping them adjust to life changes.
Senior therapists and mental health therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Therapist | Mental Health Therapist | |
| Average salary | $63,963 | $50,259 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $91,000 | Between $35,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Montage Health | Tykes And Teens |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a senior therapist and a mental health therapist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Therapist | Mental Health Therapist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Master's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Social Work |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between senior therapists' and mental health therapists' demographics:
| Senior Therapist | Mental Health Therapist | |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0% | Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7% |
| 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, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 15% |