All examples

Behavioral Therapist resume example & writing guide

Behavioral therapists play a vital role in the healthcare profession, providing comprehensive care, therapy, and support to individuals with diverse mental health issues. This can include working with adults and children who are experiencing anxiety, addiction, phobias, and other mental health issues. If you’re a behavioral therapist looking to create a better resume, follow our resume example and writing guide so you can secure a rewarding role where your skills, experience, and education can make a positive difference for many people.

Why use this behavioral therapist resume example?

When you apply for a role as a behavioral therapist, your resume needs to highlight your credentials and experience in the field, as well as your passion to help people develop healthy behaviors and make productive lifestyle choices. 

Our resume example and writing guide will ensure you tick all these boxes and increase your chances of progressing in your career. Creating a strong resume will help you find the best place to provide individualized treatment for the patient groups you want to serve.   

How to write a great behavioral therapist resume

Once you have created your professional resume header with your contact information, create your professional profile. This should outline your specific therapeutic experience, the types of patients you have supported, and your commitment to supporting their continued wellness. Combine this with your soft skills, such as interpersonal skills, cross-functional collaboration, and organizational abilities. 

Include an expertise section to follow your professional summary with no more than 10 keywords. This is a great way to provide a snapshot of your expertise to the hiring manager. Check relevant job descriptions for keyword inspiration, and focus on listing hard (industry-specific) skills at the beginning of this section so they are more prominent.

Education and certifications in the field of behavioral therapy are vital. Include your education section prior to your professional experience; list your relevant and highest qualifications first, followed by any licenses or applicable training courses. 

Your professional experience section comes next. Start with your most recent experience, and work back to earlier roles, covering no more than 15 years of experience. Focus on using action verbs at the start of each sentence, such as “deliver,” “represented,” or “tracked.” Highlight any specific accomplishments and positive results from your therapy work to back up the skills and experience being put forward.

Finally, ensure you proofread your entire resume before you submit your job application. Spelling errors, typos, and grammatical mistakes show a lack of attention to detail, which is not the professional image you want to project as a behavioral therapist.

Which skills are relevant for a behavioral therapist resume?

When outlining skills on a behavioral therapist resume, make sure they are relevant to the job opportunity by checking the job description or other target roles to identify in-demand skills. Here are some hard and soft skills to include:

  • Emotionally focused therapy 

  • Trauma treatment

  • Crisis response 

  • Applied behavior analysis

  • Best practice 

  • Treatment plans

  • Regulatory compliance

  • Records management

  • Adaptability

  • Client relations

  • Communication

  • Empathy

  • Time management

  • Leadership

  • Client success

Behavioral therapist resume example

Example

Summary example

  • Deep dedication, compassion, and strong affinity for serving as a behavioral therapist for adults, children, and families.

  • Proven ability to provide best practice therapeutic interventions to adults, children, couples, family, and groups.

  • Strong background working therapeutically with trauma in adults and children, including extensive training in EMDR.

  • Expertise in offering therapeutic services to individuals, adults, children, couples, families, and groups from various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

  • Effectively work with children, adolescents, and families in both school and therapeutic settings as well as a private practice.

  • Driven to contribute to mental health and wellness for clients from cross-cultural backgrounds; fluent in Spanish.

  • 7+ years’ as a Spanish bilingual therapist since 2009 with added experience as a School Counselor.

Employment history example

Behavioral Therapist at Kaiser Permanente, Santa Rosa, CA

2013 - Present Deliver comprehensive psychotherapy services to individuals and groups, including assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Serve as Triage Specialist on new cases to ensure effective alignment of resources to address critical/urgent needs. Serve as group treatment co-facilitator on topics including Bipolar Support, Bipolar Education, Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for monolingual Spanish speakers, Mindfulness and Communication, Codependency Group, Women’s process group, Breast Cancer Support Group, Spanish Coping Skills, and Anxiety Orientation. Track and chart patient status/progress. Serve as staff EMDR therapist, providing EMDR trauma treatment as needed. Serve on-call for Emergency Department for Kaiser Hospital, assessing requirements for psychiatric hospitalization or release.

  • Created current Bipolar Education curriculum and facilitated evolution over time to an extensive educational series for bipolar patients and their families.

  • Highly regarded for expertise related to clinical and procedural questions, acting as subject matter resource staff in multiple areas.

  • Earned reputation for exceptional ability to collaborate effectively and efficiently with colleagues to coordinate treatment plans and optimize patient outcomes.

Behavioral Therapist at Community and Family Service Agency, Santa Rosa, CA

2009 - 2012

Provided behavioral therapy in both Spanish and English to adults, children, adolescents, couples, families, and groups. Assessed, diagnosed, and treated mental health conditions across diverse community population, specializing in the Latino population. Developed formal treatment plans. Wrote case progress notes conforming to professional standards. Collaborated with colleagues in group supervision and as a co-facilitator of group process. Performed duties of Spanish Intake Specialist.

  • Worked closely with the Victim/Witness protection program, providing EMDR trauma treatment for victims of violent crimes.

  • Utilized EMDR training to provide treatment of trauma for children and adults.

  • Provided support to the Batter’s Intervention Program, treating men and women that were referred by the Family Justice Center both individually and in groups, in Spanish and English.

  • Worked with Latino monolingual parents of children with mental disabilities in group sessions, referred by Becoming Independent in Santa Rosa, CA.

  • Served as Spanish Intake Specialist, scheduling services and providing crisis intervention in Spanish.

Education example

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology at the University of San Francisco

Bachelor of Arts in Literatures of the World at the University of California San Diego

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Skills example

  • Intensive Outpatient Program

  • Clinical & Emergency Triage

  • Bipolar Support & Education

  • EMDR Trauma Treatment

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples & Families

  • Regulatory Compliance

  • Childhood Trauma Treatment, including Sexual Abuse

  • Crisis Response in Emergency Department

Share this article