What does a Behavioral Therapist do?
A behavioral therapist is responsible for supporting patients with various developmental disorders and behavioral difficulties. Behavioral therapists conduct counseling to the patients, identifying their personal and social challenges, and administering treatment plans to modify unusual behaviors. They also coordinate with other medical professionals to plan activities and therapy sessions for patients' needs. A behavioral therapist maintains a record of the patients' progress, help them on developing social engagement, and adjust treatment strategies depending on the patients' noticeable changes.
Behavioral therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real behavioral therapist resumes:
- Manage behavioral program for each client assign (CPI training).
- Modele self-help and independent skills to assist autistic and developmentally delay children achieving their establish goals.
- Assist the BCBA in assessing new clients, supervising line therapists, providing parent training, and formulating client specific programs.
- Analyze and interpret results through graphing data collect from individual sessions.
- Work collaboratively with BCBA's and direct line staff to ensure care plan and procedures are being implement consistently and uniformly.
- Communicate with school administration, school teacher's and teaching assistants with helping create IEP's and behavior plans for individuals.
- Provide therapy to children diagnose with various forms of autism, including other disorders like ADHD, anxiety disorder, etc.
- Earn CPR certification and receive de-escalation training.
- Train parents in conduction of ABA procedures and behavioral modifications.
- Educate patients and family members regarding diagnosis, and therapeutic treatments.
- Facilitate sessions with patients in order to improve behavioral functioning capabilities.
- Implement one-to-one behavior intervention services and IEP educational goals with assign students.
- Participate in socialization program in a collaborative environment and maintain daily data via graphing, case notes and communication log.
- Educate and counsele parents and siblings about autism, and help transition families to function independently of a full-time behavioral therapist/nanny.
- Help start the first non-profit organization providing a therapeutically structure environment for the advancement of school-age children with autism spectrum disorders.
Behavioral therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Behavioral Therapists are proficient in Autism, Social Work, and Behavior Analysis. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Speaking skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Behavioral Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Autism, 15%
Educated and counseled parents and siblings about autism, and helped transition families to function independently of a full-time behavioral therapist/nanny.
- Social Work, 12%
Maintained consistent contact and collaborated with client's teachers, social worker and staff often.
- Behavior Analysis, 11%
Implemented applied behavior analysis strategies in early childhood intervention therapy for children with ASD or other developmental delays
- Patients, 10%
Program philosophy was cognitive behavior based; Provided behavioral counseling to patients desiring to improve wellness through non-surgical weight loss.
- Provide ABA, 6%
Provide ABA therapy to children and adolescents (ages 3-21) who have varying symptoms associated with ASD.
- Applied Behavior Analysis, 5%
Implement behavior modification programs using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to conduct lessons that emphasize cognitive development and emotional coping.
"autism," "social work," and "behavior analysis" are among the most common skills that behavioral therapists use at work. You can find even more behavioral therapist responsibilities below, including:
Listening skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a behavioral therapist to have is listening skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "marriage and family therapists need to give their full attention to their clients to understand their problems, values, and goals." Behavioral therapists often use listening skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "communicated with teacher, services providers and bcba. "
Speaking skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling behavioral therapist duties is speaking skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "marriage and family therapists need to be able to communicate with clients effectively." According to a behavioral therapist resume, here's how behavioral therapists can utilize speaking skills in their job responsibilities: "showed daily data collection and presented analysis through power point reports. "
Organizational skills. behavioral therapists are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to behavioral therapist responsibilities, because "marriage and family therapists in private practice must keep track of payments and work with insurance companies." A behavioral therapist resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "work with emotionally and behaviorally challenging children, assist with social skills, organizational skills, anger management and other emotional issues"
Compassion. For certain behavioral therapist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "compassion." The day-to-day duties of a behavioral therapist rely on this skill, as "marriage and family therapists often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be compassionate and empathize with their clients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what behavioral therapists do: "involved in the social committee, compassion fatigue, culture committee, and the welcoming committee. "
Interpersonal skills. Another common skill required for behavioral therapist responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." This skill comes up in the duties of behavioral therapists all the time, as "marriage and family therapists work with different types of people." An excerpt from a real behavioral therapist resume shows how this skill is central to what a behavioral therapist does: "connected with children while teaching them interpersonal and language skills. "
The three companies that hire the most behavioral therapists are:
- Discovery Behavioral Health68 behavioral therapists jobs
- Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family21 behavioral therapists jobs
- Maxim Healthcare Group16 behavioral therapists jobs
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Compare different behavioral therapists
Behavioral therapist vs. Youth advocate
Youth advocates are individuals who responsible for maintaining the human rights of youth while assisting them in developing their skills in all areas of life, such as education, health, employment, and relationships. These advocates are required to discuss youth development and involvement with various leaders in the community. They must provide crisis interventions by performing one-on-one and group meetings with young adults. Youth advocates must also work with mental health professionals within the community so that they can guide teenagers with drug or alcohol problems and mental health issues.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between behavioral therapists and youth advocate. For instance, behavioral therapist responsibilities require skills such as "autism," "behavior analysis," "patients," and "provide aba." Whereas a youth advocate is skilled in "mental health," "foster care," "community resources," and "youth development." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Youth advocates earn the highest salaries when working in the automotive industry, with an average yearly salary of $31,171. On the other hand, behavioral therapists are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $41,338.The education levels that youth advocates earn slightly differ from behavioral therapists. In particular, youth advocates are 3.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a behavioral therapist. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Behavioral therapist vs. Family counselor
A Family Counselor treats married couples or family members in order to help them overcome mental or emotional problems. They provide effective treatment measures to help the family members resolve their issues.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, behavioral therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "autism," "behavior analysis," "patients," and "provide aba." Meanwhile, a family counselor has duties that require skills in areas such as "community resources," "poc," "family support," and "dod." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, family counselors earn a higher salary than behavioral therapists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, family counselors earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $40,967. Whereas behavioral therapists have higher pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $41,338.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Family counselors tend to reach higher levels of education than behavioral therapists. In fact, they're 17.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Behavioral Therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Lesley Casarez Ph.D.
Director, Quality Enhancement Plan Program Coordinator, M.S. Professional School Counseling Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Angelo State University
Behavioral therapist vs. Intensive in-home counselor
An Intensive In-Home Counselor conducts individual counseling sessions for parents and deals with delicate issues like sexual addiction. They also prepare progress reports for clients.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, behavioral therapists are more likely to have skills like "autism," "social work," "behavior analysis," and "patients." But a intensive in-home counselor is more likely to have skills like "mental health issues," "intensive in-home," "community resources," and "therapeutic interventions."
Intensives in-home counselor earn the highest salary when working in the utilities industry, where they receive an average salary of $56,398. Comparatively, behavioral therapists have the highest earning potential in the energy industry, with an average salary of $41,338.intensives in-home counselor typically earn higher educational levels compared to behavioral therapists. Specifically, they're 9.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Behavioral therapist vs. Mental health associate
As a mental health associate, you will assist the medical team members in diagnosing and treating individuals with mental, developmental, and behavioral conditions. You may be tasked to facilitate individual and group therapy sessions, help patients with their day-to-day activities such as self-care and hygiene, and assist in administering medications prescribed by physicians. Other duties include planning and leading program activities, attending treatment rounds, and assisting with the physical care of patients. The qualifications and skills required for this role include a bachelor's degree in social science or psychology, previous work experience, and certification on basic life support.
Types of behavioral therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
