Quote:© The practice of occupational therapy does not include diagnosis or psychological services of the type typically
performed by a licensed psychologist.

(01-21-2019, 09:52 PM)TonyaBay Wrote: $20 an hour is not enough to get kicked, punched by someone's autistic kid, pissed on and screamed at as a registered behavioral psychologist. It's very hard work and it's not for everyone. Maybe your friend should try before she buys??

(01-21-2019, 11:08 PM)sanantone Wrote: Occupational therapists do not practice counseling psychology; you need to be licensed as a psychologist or psychological associate/assistant/technician to practice psychology. Whether or not occupational therapists can provide psychotherapy depends on the state, but I doubt this is one of their main duties.

There aren't registered behavioral psychologists. There are registered behavior technicians; this is a credential that only requires a high school diploma. In 2014, the average salary for a behavior analyst with a graduate degree was $55k, so they make more than $20 per hour. Yes, occupational therapists make a lot more. Becoming an occupational therapist is a lot more expensive, but the difference in salary gets you a better ROI.

https://online.sage.edu/applied-behavior-analysis-and-autism/salary-information-applied-behavior-analysis-therapists/

Being a behavioral psychologist simply means that you subscribe to behaviorism. Behaviorism is a school of thought that believes that people can never fully understand thoughts and feelings, so they should focus on conditioning to change behavior. Think of the Pavlov dog study. Pavlov believed that psychologists should focus on what's observable. Behavioral psychology is an area of research and an approach to treating psychological disorders.

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Here's an example of legal limitations for occupational therapists. Unlike clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors/mental health counselors, and psychologists, occupational therapists cannot diagnose mental health problems or provide psychological services in my state. Your friend will have to look at the laws for her state.

Quote:© The practice of occupational therapy does not include diagnosis or psychological services of the type typically
performed by a licensed psychologist.

https://www.ptot.texas.gov/idl/8E9BFE41-D955-3A7C-9A17-38F368422D7C

(01-22-2019, 08:40 PM)TonyaBay Wrote:

(01-21-2019, 11:08 PM)sanantone Wrote: Occupational therapists do not practice counseling psychology; you need to be licensed as a psychologist or psychological associate/assistant/technician to practice psychology. Whether or not occupational therapists can provide psychotherapy depends on the state, but I doubt this is one of their main duties.

There aren't registered behavioral psychologists. There are registered behavior technicians; this is a credential that only requires a high school diploma. In 2014, the average salary for a behavior analyst with a graduate degree was $55k, so they make more than $20 per hour. Yes, occupational therapists make a lot more. Becoming an occupational therapist is a lot more expensive, but the difference in salary gets you a better ROI.

https://online.sage.edu/applied-behavior-analysis-and-autism/salary-information-applied-behavior-analysis-therapists/

Being a behavioral psychologist simply means that you subscribe to behaviorism. Behaviorism is a school of thought that believes that people can never fully understand thoughts and feelings, so they should focus on conditioning to change behavior. Think of the Pavlov dog study. Pavlov believed that psychologists should focus on what's observable. Behavioral psychology is an area of research and an approach to treating psychological disorders.

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Here's an example of legal limitations for occupational therapists. Unlike clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors/mental health counselors, and psychologists, occupational therapists cannot diagnose mental health problems or provide psychological services in my state. Your friend will have to look at the laws for her state.

Quote:© The practice of occupational therapy does not include diagnosis or psychological services of the type typically
performed by a licensed psychologist.

https://www.ptot.texas.gov/idl/8E9BFE41-D955-3A7C-9A17-38F368422D7C

No OT's don't do therapy per se but just because it's not in the job description doesn't mean it's not done. They can and do work in mental health facilities and many are trained to lead group therapy sessions and individual session if they so desire to acquire additional certifications. I know because I've been there   . 
The OT also met privately with all the patients to help them out with discharge planning. But you're correct, it's not psychotherapy or behavioral therapy BUT it's a field that has been influenced by psychological research.

Another field that is kind of an alternate route to therapy (behavioral or otherwise) is registered nursing. Your friend would go from RN --->NP---> independent practice depending on your state. 
I totally didn't mean to be rude and I'm sorry if I did. The truth is I'm also looking at getting a psychology degree myself but I'm a little bit on the older end of the spectrum and I've seen too many kids who are in debt for their psychology degrees and they're not using it, in-spite of doing internship after internship. I think melding psychology with something like OT, RN or even Recreational Therapy is a good idea so your friend can make money while they are growing their business and brand. Like Cook said, there are many options so it probably doesn't make sense to worry about it too much at the moment.