A therapist is the keeper of secrets. Neither therapist nor client is likely to advertise what is going on during sessions. You might have pinned down therapists as doctors of psychology who try to help the weak and crazy among us.
Well, the truth is contrary: it is a humble and courageous gesture to seek the help of a professional, not only in moments of crisis, trying to deal with harmful mental patterns or toxic core beliefs, which cause suffering to the patient and his or her environment alike, but also on a preventive basis.
So, just as much as it is the job of therapists to diagnose mental health problems and propose and conduct treatments, it is also their responsibility to make sure a diagnosis will never be necessary.
Therapist Overview
Therapist Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a therapist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.67 an hour? That's $51,306 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 22% and produce 54,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Therapist Do
There are certain skills that many therapists 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 detail oriented, dexterity and physical stamina.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a therapist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 17.7% of therapists included group therapy, while 16.1% of resumes included crisis intervention, and 11.0% of resumes included treatment plans. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the therapist job title. But what industry to start with? Most therapists actually find jobs in the health care and non profits industries.
How To Become a Therapist
If you're interested in becoming a therapist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 15.6% of therapists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 68.4% of therapists have master's degrees. Even though most therapists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a therapist. When we researched the most common majors for a therapist, we found that they most commonly earn master's degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on therapist resumes include doctoral degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a therapist. In fact, many therapist jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many therapists also have previous career experience in roles such as case manager or counselor.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Therapist Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a therapist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as clinician, progress to a title such as case manager and then eventually end up with the title director of case management.
Therapist
Director Of Case Management
11 Years
Director Of Program Services
8 Years
Utilities Manager
8 Years
Director Of Residential Services
7 Years
Clinical Care Manager
9 Years
Director Of Social Work
6 Years
Show More
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Therapist
Therapists in America make an average salary of $51,306 per year or $25 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $67,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $39,000 per year.
Average Salary
$51,306
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
KVC Health Systems Therapist Therapist | KVC Health Systems KVC Health Systems | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $46,00001/27/2021 $46,000 |
University of Colorado Boulder Triage/Crisis Therapist Triage/Crisis Therapist | University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Boulder | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $70,00001/27/2021 $70,000 |
Merakey Co-Occurring Therapist Co-Occurring Therapist | Merakey Merakey | 01/21/2021 01/21/2021 | $37,56601/21/2021 $37,566 |
KVC Health Systems Therapist Therapist | KVC Health Systems KVC Health Systems | 01/21/2021 01/21/2021 | $40,00001/21/2021 $40,000 |
Familylinks Drug & Alcohol Therapist Drug & Alcohol Therapist | Familylinks Familylinks | 01/15/2021 01/15/2021 | $52,17501/15/2021 $52,175 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Therapist Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Therapist. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Therapist Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Therapist resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Therapists
1. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Public
In-State Tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
2. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Public
In-State Tuition
$7,182
Enrollment
16,205
3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
In-State Tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
4. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
6. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
7. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
8. SUNY at Albany
Albany, NY • Public
In-State Tuition
$10,011
Enrollment
13,434
9. San Jose State University
San Jose, CA • Public
In-State Tuition
$7,796
Enrollment
27,125
10. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,399
Enrollment
7,356
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary
Top Skills For a Therapist
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, 17.7% of therapists listed group therapy on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and dexterity are important as well.
- Group Therapy, 17.7%
- Crisis Intervention, 16.1%
- Treatment Plans, 11.0%
- Mental Health, 8.9%
- Psychosocial Assessments, 4.3%
- Other Skills, 42.0% See All Therapist Skills
Best States For a Therapist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a therapist. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Alaska, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Therapists make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $63,953. Whereas in Alaska and New Hampshire, they would average $61,802 and $61,599, respectively. While therapists would only make an average of $61,511 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. New Hampshire
Total Therapist Jobs:
558
Highest 10% Earn:
$92,000
Location Quotient:
1.65
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$61,599
Avg. Salary
2. Massachusetts
Total Therapist Jobs:
2,419
Highest 10% Earn:
$92,000
Location Quotient:
1.36
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$61,511
Avg. Salary
3. Alaska
Total Therapist Jobs:
231
Highest 10% Earn:
$77,000
Location Quotient:
1.43
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$61,802
Avg. Salary