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On average, therapists make an average salary of $85,330 a year and an average hourly wage of $41.02 an hour.
When looking for a career it is important to consider many factors. You'll want to think about how much schooling is involved, the salary potential, the job outlook, and the workplace environment you can expect to have in this field.
Much of what determines whether education is a worthwhile investment is how much you can expect to make each year in the end.
This will determine the kind of life a psychology education can provide for you and it will determine how long you will need to pay off any student loans.
What Do Therapists Do?
Therapists are licensed mental health professionals who help people in all facets of life. They help their clients lead better lives and improve their mental, emotional, or even physical well-being.
Most therapists are psychologists who go into therapy. Other psychologists might go into research and studies to further the science of psychology rather than becoming practicing therapists.
You can also become a therapist without becoming a psychologist but your earning potential will be lower since you aren't a doctor in psychology.
Psychologist vs Therapist vs Counselor
The work of a therapist is very vast and complex. There are many different kinds of therapists and there are many different fields and specializations.
Ultimately, there are therapists, psychologists, and counselors. The main difference between these 3 types of therapists are in education and credentials.
Psychologists have the most education, receive the highest salaries, and are held to the highest standards. They can also be referred to as therapists, but they are technically Doctors of Psychology. Psychologists have a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) in psychology or a Doctor of Psychology Degree (PsyD).
Therapists without a doctorate in psychology have a moderate amount of education and earning potential. They also go through the process of becoming licensed practitioners but they do not go through the same courses of education as a Doctor in Psychology does.
Counselors have the least amount of education and expertise, but can still become great assets in their field through lots of real-world experience.
How to Become a Therapist
The therapy profession is a great field because there are options for how much schooling you want to do before entering the field. You can become a counselor by getting a certification, you can go to some schooling and become a therapist, or you can get a PhD and become a psychologist. It’s up to you!
1. Get a Bachelor's Degree (4 years)
The first thing you'll do on your journey toward becoming a therapist is get a bachelor's degree. This is the standard 4-year degree that many people today receive in college.
Ideally, you'll want to major and minor in psychology and other related fields. A related field might involve a bachelor's degree in social work or human services.
2. Get a Master's Degree (2-3 years)
Now that you've graduated from college it's time to seek out an even higher form of learning. Many therapists choose to pursue a 2-3 year master's degree in psychotherapy rather than a doctorate degree because it involves less time and is less intense.
3. Get Clinical Service Hours (1,000 to 1,500 hours)
While you are going through your master's program, you can start getting clinical hours, which you will need to get licensed in the end. In the US you need 1,000 to 1,500 hours of clinical service during your schooling.
4. Get a Doctoral Degree (5-7 years)
A doctoral degree is a 5-7 year research degree that will include doing your own research, writing a dissertation about that research, and passing a comprehensive exam.
You can also get a PsyD where you don't have to do as much research. This degree involves more practical work and examinations rather than a dissertation and your own research.
Students who pursue a PsyD will often complete a 1-year internship during this time as well to gain real-life experience.
If you want to specialize as a school psychologist or counselor then you might get an Education Specialist Degree (EdS). This will give you knowledge specific to education since you will primarily deal with students in school.
5. Get Supervised Clinical Hours (1-2 years)
Many schools require therapists to complete clinical hours both during and after their education. So once your schooling is over, you can expect to go through around 1,500 more hours of supervised clinical service before you can become officially certified.
Even while you're waiting for a license you can still practice as an associate or intern before you become officially certified.
6. Pass the Standardized Clinical Licensing Exam
7. Get Licensed
In order to be called a psychologist and keep that title, you have to maintain your license. The laws and requirements for a psychologist's license vary depending on your state. Most licenses require a doctorate in psychology, an internship, and 1 or 2 years of supervised clinical hours for professional experience.
8. Get Specialized
These areas include the following branches of therapy:
- behavioral and cognitive therapy
- clinical child and adolescent therapy
- clinical health therapy
- clinical therapy
- clinical neuropsychology therapy
- counseling therapy
- couple and family therapy
- forensic therapy
- geropsychology therapy
- group therapy
- organization and business consulting therapy
- police and public safety therapy
- psychoanalysis therapy
- rehabilitation therapy
- school therapy
How long does it take to become a therapist?
After completing your education, internships, and clinical service hours, it can take the average person anywhere from 8 to 13 years to become a therapist.
The difference in years mostly depends on how high you want to go with your education. By doing the minimum bachelor's and doctorate degrees you can start practicing in as little as 8 years.
However, you can gain more expertise, experience, and knowledge and earn higher salaries by going to school for longer and specializing in a specific form of counseling.
Skills Therapists Need
The field of psychology comes with very specific requirements and skills. As a therapist, you deal with some of the most intimate parts of people's lives. Because of this, a good therapist needs a special set of skills and abilities.
Analytical and Observational Skills
As a therapist, you'll need to be able to analyze data and draw conclusions from it, in order to successfully treat your patients. You need keen observational skills to see details patients otherwise miss within themselves. You'll have to use your knowledge, observations, and gathered data to create an individualized treatment plan for each client.
You might also need to learn how to accurately read body language and facial expressions. Learning how to read people without making incorrect assumptions will be paramount to succeeding as a therapist and having productive sessions with each client.
Communication Skills
It almost goes without saying but therapists don't just listen. They need communication skills as well. One of the primary aspects of therapy and counseling work is to communicate effectively with your clients. You'll need to learn how to talk tactfully and sensitively about difficult subjects, while still getting your point across successfully.
Ethics and Integrity
Therapists deal with a wide range of personal and private matters. Therapists need to be discreet and keep things in confidence to gain the full trust of their patients.
Having a full understanding of ethics is also important in knowing how to tackle a variety of new and surprising scenarios. You will need a strong background in ethics studies in order to make hard decisions every day.
Patience
The help you give as a therapist is rewarding, but it can often take a lot of time to get the results you and your clients desire. Months and sometimes years can go by before either of you see any results or improvements.
Other jobs might have deadlines for projects but therapy doesn't work that way. Therapy is a continual effort and some clients will need your services their entire lives. For this reason, a good therapist needs to have an incredible amount of patience.
How Much Do Therapists Make?
How Much Do Therapists Make a Year?
The lowest 10% of therapists make $48,010 a year, the median annual wage for therapists is $85,330 a year, and the highest 10% of therapists make $141,910 a year.
How much you earn as a therapist can also depend on where you work as a therapist or what kind of therapy you do. For instance, psychologists who work in government make an average annual salary of $106,690, therapists who work in hospitals make an average annual salary of $101,030, and therapists who work in elementary and secondary schools make an average annual salary of $81,620.
How Much Do Therapists Make in a Month?
On average, therapists in the lower 10% of their earning potential can expect to make about $4,000 a month, therapists on average make about $7,110 a month, and therapists in the highest 10% make an average of $11,825 a month.
How Much Do Therapists Make in a Week?
On average, therapists make about $41.02 an hour, meaning that if a therapist works a regular 40-hour workweek, they can make about $1,640 a week.
This means that therapists in the lower 10% can expect to make about $935 a week, therapists in the median pay range can make about $2,378 a week, and therapists in the highest 10% make about $6,208 a week.
Therapist Pay by Location
Therapist Pay by Experience
Therapists with more experience can also make more than therapists with less experience. For example, therapists with less than 1 year of experience can make about $73,678, 1 to 4 years of experience make $82,012, 5 to 9 years of experience make $91,093, 10 to 19 years of experience make $95,980, and therapists with 20 years or more make about $102,344 a year.
