How to Become a
Behavioral Therapist

Insights From a Behavioral Therapist

In order to get an insider’s perspective on how to become a Behavioral Therapist, we talked to Dr. Harold Jonas, PhD, LMHC, CAP, a Behavioral Therapist as well as the CEO and founder of Recovery Coaches.

What is the common career path for Behavioral Therapists?

A Behavioral Therapist is not one specific job but rather a position where a person works in solo or group practices, hospitals, schools or social services centers applying the theory and principles of behavioral therapy in one of the following areas: substance abuse and behavior disorders, mental health or clinical and counseling psychology jobs. The level of education varies depending on the sector chosen, but all require at least a Bachelor’s degree, and many require a Master’s Degree or a Doctorate. Each state also has a licensing board. If you are just starting out and want to explore being a Behavioral Therapist – before spending tens of thousands of dollars on advanced degrees beyond a Bachelor’s – becoming a Recovery Coach for those recovering for alcohol and substance abuse is a great way to dip your toe in the water to see if you like it [and] to get experience without spending a lot of money.

What should someone consider before becoming a Behavioral Therapist?

Before becoming a Behavioral Therapist, ask yourself why you are doing it. If you want to do it to help people and for the common good of society, then move forward. If you want to make a lot of money, this is not the place to traditionally do it. If you want to move into human services you will be working for much less money. However, if you have a sense of idealism – and you are willing to sacrifice income potential to help others and for the greater good – this will be a very rewarding career choice for you.

What type of person excels in this job?

The person who excels as a Behavioral Therapist must have both empathy and sympathy, be attentive, a good listener, express compassion, often take the side of the underdog, be introspective, have good reasoning skills, be highly observant, and enjoy verbalizing ideas into action. They are good solution providers.

What are some of the most important skills for Behavioral Therapists to have?

The most important hard skills: If you want to make a living you can support yourself on and also be a decent service provider, you must have a sense of business acumen. This includes managing money, scheduling, handling complex insurance provider information, billing, budgeting and marketing. This is especially true for the solo behavioral therapist. [As far as] the soft skills: The type of person you are is important. Anyone can get multiple college degrees, but are you kind, empathetic, sympathetic, intuitive, logical and a good listener? The type of person you naturally are is very important. You must have high moral standards.

What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of being a Behavioral Therapist?

The most rewarding aspect of being a Behavioral Therapist is having the opportunity to be a part of someone’s path to positive change in their life. There is no better feeling. For example, when a person comes back to me to make a follow-up appointment after a few months or a year away, and I see how they are healthy and doing very well in life, that feels good. It’s also great when your patients trust and have confidence in you as a therapist, enough to recommend you to others they know who may need help to make a behavior change in their life. When you start receiving referrals, this is a good feeling because you know you are truly helping others and they believe you can help bring about positive change in other people’s lives too.