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What does a treatment specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Juleen Buser Ph.D.
What does a treatment specialist do

The duties of a treatment specialist depend on their line of work or industry of employment. In the medical industry, a treatment specialist is primarily responsible for developing treatments according to the needs and conditions of a patient. They gather and analyze a patient's medical history and records, conduct extensive tests and examinations, coordinate with other medical experts, and discuss the extent of treatments to patients. Furthermore, a treatment specialist must maintain an active communication line with staff for a smooth and efficient workflow.

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Treatment specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real treatment specialist resumes:

  • Provide individualize intervention for problematic behaviors using TCI techniques such as de-escalation, to prevent and/or manage crisis.
  • Med aid, CPR, and a certified.
  • Med train, CPR certify.
  • Provide administrative oversight to several projects, including a provider incentive program and the drafting of the Medicaid request for qualifications.
  • Work with students within the classroom and develop interventions to increase progress towards IEP goals.
  • Retain proper certifications for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, first aid, driver's license and insurance.

Treatment specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 18% of Treatment Specialists are proficient in Social Work, Mental Health, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Emotional stability, Organizational skills, and Communication skills.

We break down the percentage of Treatment Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Social Work, 18%

    Provided professional social work services in support of program requirements and initiatives.

  • Mental Health, 12%

    Served as an Associate Professional under a Qualified Mental Health Professional in leading a classroom in delivering psycho-educational activities to consumers.

  • Rehabilitation, 9%

    Provided one-on-one monitoring and care for residents with extra needs Escorted residents to rehabilitation classes.

  • Criminal Justice, 8%

    Collaborated on the development of a community-based outpatient and intensive outpatientcriminal justice/substance abuse program for adolescents and adults.

  • Crisis Intervention, 7%

    Certified in first aid and crisis intervention and provided structured supervision of adolescents in accordance with treatment plans and activity schedules.

  • Substance Abuse, 6%

    Provided intensive community based psychiatric services to vulnerable adult population with mental illness, substance abuse, and/or chronic medical conditions.

Common skills that a treatment specialist uses to do their job include "social work," "mental health," and "rehabilitation." You can find details on the most important treatment specialist responsibilities below.

Organizational skills. Many treatment specialist duties rely on organizational skills. "probation officers and correctional treatment specialists must be able to manage multiple cases at the same time.," so a treatment specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways treatment specialist responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "gained valuable leadership, responsibility and organizational skills through leading team activities"

Communication skills. treatment specialists are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to treatment specialist responsibilities, because "probation officers and correctional treatment specialists must be able to effectively convey information to different types of people, including clients and their families, lawyers, judges, and treatment providers." A treatment specialist resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "facilitate weekly individual therapy with male offenders with a focus on adjustment issues, criminal thinking, and interpersonal communication. "

See the full list of treatment specialist skills

The three companies that hire the most treatment specialists are:

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Treatment Specialist Resume

Compare different treatment specialists

Treatment specialist vs. Youth counselor

A Youth Counselor's role is to provide guidance and interact with children or teenagers in need of care and counseling. The duty of a Youth Counselor is diverse, and it highly depends on the organization or employer. However, the responsibilities mostly revolve around establishing rapport with the youngster while trying to work on their issues, ensuring their welfare by monitoring their emotional and physical state, coordinating with families or other facilities, suggesting treatments, and performing crisis intervention if necessary.

We looked at the average treatment specialist salary and compared it with the wages of a youth counselor. Generally speaking, youth counselors are paid $16,919 lower than treatment specialists per year.Even though treatment specialists and youth counselors are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require social work, mental health, and crisis intervention in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between treatment specialists and youth counselor. For instance, treatment specialist responsibilities require skills such as "rehabilitation," "criminal justice," "mental illness," and "social histories." Whereas a youth counselor is skilled in "necessary paperwork," "emergency first aid," "cpi," and "tuberculosis." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Youth counselors really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $38,048. Comparatively, treatment specialists tend to make the most money in the non profits industry with an average salary of $44,419.On average, youth counselors reach lower levels of education than treatment specialists. Youth counselors are 7.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Treatment specialist vs. Counselor

Often, counselors are known to be the go-to person in times we are in need of emotional and psychological support. They help people to manage and overcome the issues which affect their mental health and well-being. Counselors face different kind of situations which may involve trauma, addiction, disabilities, abuse, suicide, anger management, career, and even personal relationships. They provide care, counseling, rehabilitation, and support services. Every counseling requires collaborative effort both from the counselor and client to become effective.

On average, counselors earn a $17,448 lower salary than treatment specialists a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both treatment specialists and counselors have skills such as "social work," "crisis intervention," and "substance abuse. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, treatment specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "mental health," "rehabilitation," "criminal justice," and "social histories." Meanwhile, a counselor has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "mental health issues," "intake assessments," and "social services." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Counselors earn a lower average salary than treatment specialists. But counselors earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $37,750. Additionally, treatment specialists earn the highest salaries in the non profits with average pay of $44,419 annually.counselors earn similar levels of education than treatment specialists in general. They're 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for treatment specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Juleen Buser Ph.D.

Professor and Director, School Counseling and Coaching Programs, Rider University

I believe the methods of distance-based services will be more relevant and prevalent. Remote counseling services have been growing in the field for some time, but I would expect the pandemic and the shift for remote counseling during this time will lead to even higher use of such modalities in the future.

Treatment specialist vs. Youth worker

Youth workers specialize in handling and providing support to young individuals with behavioral difficulties. They are primarily responsible for devising recreational projects, handling the budget, producing progress reports, managing intervention programs, and counseling troubled youth while keeping their information confidential. There may be instances where one must also search for opportunities and apply for funding or sponsorship. Furthermore, as a youth worker, it is vital to assess an individual's condition to determine their needs and ensure that they will receive the proper treatment.

An average youth worker eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of treatment specialists. The difference in salaries amounts to youth workers earning a $21,431 lower average salary than treatment specialists.By looking over several treatment specialists and youth workers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "mental health," "crisis intervention," and "substance abuse." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, treatment specialists are more likely to have skills like "social work," "rehabilitation," "criminal justice," and "mental illness." But a youth worker is more likely to have skills like "youth development," "child care," "support services," and "youth program."

Youth workers earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $32,651. Treatment specialists earn the highest pay from the non profits industry, with an average salary of $44,419.Most youth workers achieve a lower degree level compared to treatment specialists. For example, they're 9.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Treatment specialist vs. Program counselor

A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum. This person is also tasked to help students resolve issues and problems that may hinder any educational progress. They are also part of the disciplinary team intended to instill good morals, ethics, and decency in students. The Program Counselor is one of the teacher or professor who has expertise or has a high educational degree in a particular subject or field.

Program counselors average a lower salary than the annual salary of treatment specialists. The difference is about $9,853 per year.While both treatment specialists and program counselors complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like social work, crisis intervention, and substance abuse, the two careers vary in some skills.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A treatment specialist uses "mental health," "rehabilitation," "criminal justice," and "social histories." Program counselors are more likely to have duties that require skills in "patients," "community integration," "medication administration," and "compassion. "The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for program counselors, with average annual pay of $41,845. Comparatively, the highest treatment specialist annual salary comes from the non profits industry.program counselors reach similar levels of education compared to treatment specialists, in general. The difference is that they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of treatment specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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