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Behavioral Health Therapist

What Is a Behavioral Health Therapist and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

Table of Contents

What Does a Behavioral Health Therapist Do?

A behavioral health therapist helps their clients deal with and recover from behavioral health issues such as substance abuse, self-harm, or addiction. As a therapist or counselor, your responsibilities are to help your clients address immediate issues and then develop long-term solutions to their problems. Your day-to-day duties may include leading both individual and group counseling sessions, following up with clients who are far along in the recovery process, and researching what underlying environmental or mental health issues may be affecting clients’ behaviors. The job requires great empathy, patience, and a desire to help people, many of whom may be deeply troubled and in need of significant help. Qualifications for becoming a behavioral health therapist include a master’s degree in behavioral health counseling or related subject and clinical experience in the mental health field. You need licensing as well, but state requirements vary drastically. Essential skills for the career include communication, analytical problem solving, and teamwork, as you often work in a facility with other specialists bent on providing the best treatment for clients.

How to Become a Behavioral Health Therapist

Each state determines the requirements to work as a Behavioral Health Therapist in that state. Qualifications in most states include passing a licensure exam and earning a master’s degree in mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, or other similar 60-hour graduate degree programs with required fieldwork. Additionally, most states require 3,000 hours of supervision by a qualified professional before one can become licensed. As a Behavioral Health Therapist you can work for organizations like hospitals, assisted living centers, schools, community centers, behavioral health clinics, or in private practice. Typical duties and responsibilities for a career as a Behavioral Health Therapist include working with individuals and groups to support mental health, providing court-ordered evidence or consultation, collaborating with a patient’s medical team, and ensuring a patient’s confidentiality is maintained.
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