Therapist Resume Examples & Format

Therapist resume examples by experience level

All three samples are illustrative: the people, employers and every figure are made up.

Start your therapist resume

Related resume examples

• Social Worker resume
• Physical Therapist resume
• Massage Therapist resume
• Nurse resume
• Doctor resume
• Caregiver resume

What does a therapist do?

O*NET's mental health counselor profile lists counseling clients individually or in group sessions, encouraging them to talk about what is happening in their lives, guiding them toward coping skills and strategies, assessing suicide risk, performing crisis interventions, and keeping confidential treatment records. Reported titles include mental health therapist, licensed professional counselor (LPC) and licensed mental health counselor (LMHC). In the US, therapists work in group practices, community mental health centers, hospitals, schools, telehealth platforms and private practice. A therapist resume should name your license and state, your client populations and the methods you use, such as CBT or DBT, with caseloads and outcomes. This page covers mental health therapists and counselors; marriage and family therapists use a similar resume, and physical, occupational and massage therapists have their own pages.

Therapist duties to put on a resume

• Counsel clients individually or in group sessions.
• Assess clients, including risk of suicide, and perform crisis interventions.
• Guide clients in building skills and strategies for dealing with problems.
• Keep treatment records, progress notes and reports up to date.
• Keep client records confidential.

Best resume format for a therapist

• Put your license and state in the headline.
• Name client populations, methods and caseload for each role.
• Use outcome measures or program results as your numbers, never client details.

The section order and what goes in each are on the how to write a resume guide; the resume format guide covers every format by type and country.

Summary examples by level

• Entry-level: Counseling graduate with 700 supervised hours and 280 individual sessions with college students, trained in CBT and pursuing licensure.
• Mid-level: Licensed professional counselor with a weekly caseload of 26 adults, 74% of whom show reliable improvement by session 12.
• Senior: Clinical director leading 16 therapists and 20,000 sessions a year, who cut intake wait time from 5 weeks to 9 days.

Work experience bullet points

• Carried a caseload of 26 adult clients a week across in-person and telehealth sessions.
• Helped 74% of clients reach reliable improvement on the PHQ-9 or GAD-7 by session 12.
• Co-led a 6-week anxiety skills group for 3 cohorts of 8 students.
• Completed 120 intake assessments and suicide risk screenings with no missed follow-ups.
• Cut intake wait time from 5 weeks to 9 days by redesigning the scheduling process.
• Launched a teen DBT program that serves 60 families a year.
• Supervised 2 counseling interns through 600 clinical hours.
• Kept 100% of progress notes signed within 24 hours over 3 years of audits.

Key skills to list

Hard skills: Individual and group therapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), DBT or EMDR (if trained), Intake and diagnostic assessment, Suicide risk assessment, Crisis intervention, Treatment planning, Progress notes and documentation, Outcome measures (PHQ-9, GAD-7), Telehealth, Electronic health records.

Soft skills: Empathy, Active listening, Boundaries, Cultural humility, Calm in a crisis.

Education and certifications

• O*NET reports that 89% of mental health counselors say a master's degree is required; the rest report a post-master's certificate or professional degree. Name your degree, school and year.
• BLS says counselors in private practice need a master's degree, a set number of supervised clinical hours, a passing exam score and continuing education every year, and NBCC says every state requires one or more of its exams, such as the NCE or NCMHCE. Until you are fully licensed you work under your state's candidate title, such as LPC Candidate (LPCC) in Colorado; name it with your expected license date.
• List training in methods such as CBT, DBT or EMDR only if you completed it.

Sources

Checked on 5 October 2026.

• Colorado Division of Professional Occupations: Professional Counselor applications (LPC Candidate)
• NBCC: counselor licensure exams (NCE, NCMHCE)
• BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors (licensure)
• O*NET OnLine 21-1014.00 Mental Health Counselors (reported titles include Mental Health Therapist, LPC and LMHC): tasks and education