What Type of Therapist Should I Be

One press picks a kind of therapist to look into, with what the work involves.

What Type of Therapist Should I Be

  1. Rehabilitation counselorWorks with students, veterans and others with disabilities, at each stage of life. Entry: master's degree.
All 26

Next step Compare a nursing specialtyCompare a doctor's specialty

How it works

Asking yourself what type of therapist should I be? Press the button for a kind of therapist or counselor to look into, with who they work with, what they do and the usual entry degree.

Read the full guide

Start with who you want to help

After your first press, a list under the button narrows the draw. Mind and relationships holds counselors and psychologists. Body and movement holds physical and occupational therapy. Speech, hearing and breathing and Creative arts hold the rest.

Or start with the degree

Three more groups sort the jobs by the usual entry degree: below a master's, a master's, or a doctorate. The entry degrees come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The arts therapies, play therapy and horticultural therapy come from Wikipedia and carry no degree line.

Tips
  • Rules for licenses and titles differ by state and country, so check with your state board before you choose a course.

Questions and answers

What are the different types of therapists?

Some work with the mind and relationships, such as a marriage and family therapist or a school counselor. Some work with the body, such as a physical therapist. Others work with speech, hearing or breathing, or through art, music, dance and drama.

How do I know what kind of therapist I should be?

Ask who you want to work with and where: children in a school, patients in a hospital, couples in an office. Then look at the entry degree on the card, and ask to shadow someone in that job for a day.

Which therapy jobs start below a master's degree?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics gives an associate's degree for physical therapist assistants, occupational therapy assistants, respiratory therapists and radiation therapists, a bachelor's degree for recreational therapists and a postsecondary nondegree award for massage therapists.

Is this a quiz?

No. It is a draw from a checked list of real jobs, to give you something to look into. It does not test you or tell you which job fits you.

More tools

Browse People and Jobs

All 26 roles

Mind and relationships 10

  • Career counselor Helps students and adults choose a career and the training that leads to it. Entry: master's degree.
  • Clinical or counseling psychologist Tests clients and gives psychotherapy to individuals, families and groups. Entry: doctorate.
  • Clinical social worker Gives individual, group, family and couples therapy. Entry: master's degree.
  • Genetic counselor Goes through genetic test results with individuals and families. Entry: master's degree.
  • Marriage and family therapist Sees individuals, couples and families, always with the family's ties in view. Entry: master's degree.
  • Mental health counselor Advises individuals, couples, families and groups on emotional health. Entry: master's degree.
  • Play therapist Works with children, using play to help them express experiences and feelings.
  • Rehabilitation counselor Works with students, veterans and others with disabilities, at each stage of life. Entry: master's degree.
  • School counselor Meets students one to one, in groups or in class, in public and private schools. Entry: master's degree.
  • School psychologist Works on problems that affect students' learning; counsels families too. Entry: master's degree.
Show all 26 roles (16 more)

Body and movement 9

  • Dance/movement therapist Uses movement and dance to support emotional and motor functions.
  • Horticultural therapist Uses gardening activities as part of rehabilitation.
  • Massage therapist Treats clients by applying pressure to the body's soft tissues and joints. Entry: a nondegree award.
  • Occupational therapist Helps people with injuries, illnesses or disabilities with daily living skills. Entry: master's degree.
  • Occupational therapy assistant Helps an occupational therapist give treatment to clients. Entry: associate's degree.
  • Physical therapist Sees patients of all ages in clinics, hospitals and homes, mostly on their feet. Entry: doctorate.
  • Physical therapist assistant Helps patients regain movement, supervised by a physical therapist. Entry: associate's degree.
  • Radiation therapist Gives doses of radiation to patients with serious diseases. Entry: associate's degree.
  • Recreational therapist Plans recreation-based treatment, such as adaptive sports, for all ages. Entry: bachelor's degree.

Speech, hearing and breathing 3

  • Audiologist Diagnoses, manages and treats hearing and balance problems. Entry: doctorate.
  • Respiratory therapist Works in hospitals with patients from premature infants to older adults. Entry: associate's degree.
  • Speech-language pathologist Assesses and treats people who have communication disorders. Entry: master's degree.

Creative arts 4

  • Art therapist Uses painting, drawing or modeling to help people express their feelings.
  • Drama therapist Uses acting techniques with individuals, couples, families and groups.
  • Music therapist A trained musician who uses music in a clinical setting to reach therapy goals.
  • Psychodramatist Directs a group as it acts out real-life situations to gain insight into them.

How this list was compiled: Kinds of therapist and counselor to look into. Most are from the Occupational Outlook Handbook of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/, a work of the US government. bls.gov refused automated requests on 2026-09-30, so the Handbook was read in the Internet Archive's copies, each at https://web.archive.org/web/2026/ followed by the page's own address (captured between 2026-09-04 and 2026-09-30; the psychologists page in the capture of 2025-12-31), on 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-01. Each role keeps its Handbook page in x.src, the Handbook's name for the occupation in x.bls and its entry-level education in x.entry; x.who and x.where repeat who the page says they work with and where, and are left out where it does not say. The rest are from English Wikipedia, read 2026-09-30 (address in x.src): art, music, dance/movement, drama and play therapy, psychodrama and horticultural therapy; they carry no entry degree. The lines are the sources' summaries in our words. Left out: substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors, athletic trainers, exercise physiologists and psychiatrists. No pay, job-outlook, licensing or treatment claims. Licence: own work