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Therapist vs family therapist

The differences between therapists and family therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a therapist has an average salary of $55,943, which is higher than the $50,774 average annual salary of a family therapist.

The top three skills for a therapist include social work, patients and group therapy sessions. The most important skills for a family therapist are social work, patients, and rehabilitation.

Therapist vs family therapist overview

TherapistFamily Therapist
Yearly salary$55,943$50,774
Hourly rate$26.90$24.41
Growth rate17%14%
Number of jobs159,770106,982
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4141
Years of experience-4

What does a therapist do?

A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.

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.

Therapist vs family therapist salary

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

TherapistFamily Therapist
Average salary$55,943$50,774
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $80,000Between $37,000 And $67,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CARochester, NY
Highest paying stateCaliforniaOregon
Best paying companyChildhelpDignity Health
Best paying industryGovernmentHealth Care

Differences between therapist and family therapist education

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

TherapistFamily Therapist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Therapist vs family therapist demographics

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

TherapistFamily Therapist
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 24.4% Female, 75.6%Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.6% 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 Percentage12%6%

Differences between therapist and family therapist duties and responsibilities

Therapist example responsibilities.

  • Manage ventilator and BiPAP's and create or update care plans per patient needs.
  • Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
  • Provide on-call crisis intervention as well as standard treatment, rehabilitation and support services with some interventions requiring specialize therapy services.
  • Develop and implement an effective curriculum of DBT inform group and art therapy classes specifically tailor for chemically dependent patients.
  • Provide trauma-inform individual psychotherapy, TREM group treatment protocol, and EMDR.
  • Utilize current brain base therapeutic techniques to teach clients adaptive skills to utilize in daily lives.
    • Show more

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.

Therapist vs family therapist skills

Common therapist skills
  • Social Work, 23%
  • Patients, 12%
  • Group Therapy Sessions, 8%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Mental Health, 4%
  • Patient Care, 3%
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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