What is a Behavioral Therapist and How to Become One?

A behavioral therapist leads people to better lives by understanding their needs. With their needs and actions understood, behavioral therapists work with patients to develop healthy behaviors and habits. Want to know how to become a behavioral therapist? In this article, we will cover the steps required to enter the profession and uncover what a behavioral therapist does.

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What is a Behavioral Therapist?

A behavioral therapist, also known as a behaviorist, helps patients overcome their own behavior problems. Examples of behavior problems include phobias, obesity, eating disorders, bereavement, mood disorders, alcohol/drug abuse, anxiety, depression, panic disorders, and trouble with interpersonal relationships, to name a few.

Behavioral therapists work to figure out what stimulus is paired with specific behaviors (or reactions). With this information, patients can learn new and better behaviors that are healthier. The foundation of behavioral therapy is the belief that all behaviors are learned and that actions can be changed.

What Does a Behavioral Therapist Do?

Behavioral therapists base their plans and approach on the individual’s problem or needs. Unlike other traditional therapies that look to figure out the root cause of actions or seek to understand unresolved trauma, behavioral therapy is all about how people can change their current actions to better their own lives.

In an effort to do so, behavioral therapists have a variety of responsibilities, which include:

• Conducting patient assessments
• Recording data
• Developing treatment plans
• Collaborating with medical team members
• Communicating with parents and caregivers regarding treatment

Behavior therapists are licensed clinical therapists with extra training. The two main disciplines that behavioral therapists learn to enact are applied behavior analysis (ABA) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

Their methodologies used with patients may span the following techniques:

• Positive reinforcement: Providing positive responses to certain events and stimulus
• Systematic desensitization: Exposure therapy in which patients can be exposed to their triggered fears over controlled sessions to overcome their fears
• Aversion therapy: Creating a negative association with unwanted behaviors
• Operant conditioning: using external stimuli as reinforcement or punishment to condition behavioral control

It can often become confusing because the behavioral therapist isn’t always a legal designation. Mental health professionals who can administer behavioral therapists can be:

• Clinical psychologists
• Mental health counselors
• Psychoanalysts
• Marriage and family therapists
• Clinical social workers

How to Become a Behavioral Therapist?

Becoming a behavioral therapist requires dedication and motivation.

Let’s take a look at the steps you need to complete in order to work in the field:

Education

The first step you need to take is to earn a bachelor’s degree. If you look for a behavioral therapist degree, you will be hard-pressed to find it. Look for degrees that are related to mental health, such as social work, psychology, or education. These will set the basis for your knowledge and understanding in the field as a therapist.

Once you complete your bachelor’s degree, you can continue to earn a master’s or doctoral degree. You’ll come to find that most people working as behaviorists have a master’s or doctoral degree. By continuing your education, you will be a more desirable candidate for the future positions that you wish to obtain.

Graduate programs provide you with more specialized knowledge and skills, along with research experience. Also, many master’s degree programs will involve clinical work experience with practical internships and/or observational rotations.

Get Licensed

Many states in America will require you to be licensed to work as a behavioral therapist. If you wish to work in countries outside of America, you also have the option to obtain the International Behavior Therapist (IBT) certification. 

In America, students can contact their state’s behavioral science board or government departments to learn more about what may be required to practice. Additionally, it may be the case that even once you work as a behavioral therapist, you’ll have to enroll in continuing education courses.

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Job Outlook, Required Skills, and Expected Salary

As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors earn an average of $48,520 per year. The field is growing much faster than average at an expected 23% between 2020 and 2030.

Mental health counselors who are qualified as behavioral therapists work in many different settings. They can be found in community health centers, mental health centers, private practices, and even prisons and schools.

To be a successful behavioral therapist, it’s recommended to have strong interpersonal skills and leadership abilities. Behavioral therapists are expected to provide their patients with a safe and comfortable environment to open up in without judgment. Furthermore, behavioral therapists should have analytical skills to accurately assess a patient’s needs and move forward with a treatment plan that is fitting.

For behavioral therapists that open their own practice, an understanding of business proves to be crucial. If you’ve earned degrees that are related to mental health but wish to expand your knowledge of business, consider enrolling in a certificate program at the University of People. We offer tuition-free business administration certificates in Finance, Strategy, Marketing, Accounting, and Entrepreneurship. Alternatively, you can take part in our Certificate in Behavioral Health, which provides students with an understanding of what factors contribute to health and offers the foundational knowledge of how to treat mental illness.

Closing Thoughts

Knowing how to become a behavioral therapist is the first step in becoming one. As a behavioral therapist, you can work with a variety of different people with several different issues. It is then up to you to decide what kind of approach to take to offer them treatment and support.

The position can be challenging because of the wide degree of knowledge you must possess, along with different levels of severity on behalf of patients. However, when you do work with patients and see their growth, it can be incredibly rewarding knowing that you have made such a great and positive impact in the lives of another.