Therapy Resume Examples: 6 Samples for Therapist Jobs

By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published 2026-10-07 · Updated 2026-10-07

9 min read

Therapy resumes that get interviews put three things in the top third of the page: the license with its state, the population you treat, and the setting and caseload you carry. Every therapist job is screened that way, whether the posting says mental health therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech language pathologist, respiratory therapist or ABA therapist. The clinical director reading the pile has a schedule with empty slots in it and a credentialing team waiting, so a resume that hides the license on page two gets read last. Below are six complete therapy resume examples, one per discipline and career stage, with the duty language each field uses, taken from the federal O*NET database. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.

Tailor my CV to this job

What every therapy resume needs in the top third

A therapy resume is screened twice. First a recruiter or credentialing coordinator checks that you can legally practice in the state and that your credential matches the posting. Then the clinical director checks whether your patients look like theirs. Put the answers to both in the first six lines.

• Header: name, credential letters after it, city and state, phone, email.
• License line: the license type, the state, and any national certification such as NBCOT, CCC-SLP or RRT. Keep the license number for the application form.
• Summary: discipline, setting (hospital, outpatient, school, home health, private practice, community agency), population (age group and conditions) and caseload.
• Experience: each job with setting and caseload first, then bullets on assessment, treatment, documentation and outcomes.

CareerOneStop, the U.S. Department of Labor career site, puts it plainly: "Use the exact terms in your resume." If the posting asks for a licensed therapist with telehealth and EMR experience, those exact words belong in your summary and your bullets. The CareerOneStop resume guide shows how to pull those terms from a few postings, and our guide to ATS keywords from real job ads walks through the same exercise.

Mental health therapist resume example

Mental health postings use the title therapist for several licenses: LMFT, LPC or LMHC, and LCSW. Name yours exactly, because the license decides which services you can bill for. O*NET describes the core task of a marriage and family therapist as to "Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues." Write the treatment approaches you actually use, such as CBT, DBT skills or EMDR, only if you are trained in them. The full O*NET profile for marriage and family therapists lists the duty words clinics recognize.

For more on each license, our mental health counselor resume and marriage and family therapist resume pages go deeper on summaries and keywords.

Occupational therapy and physical therapy resume examples

Rehabilitation therapists are hired on setting and population, because inpatient rehab, outpatient orthopedics, skilled nursing, home health and schools run on different schedules and documentation rules. O*NET lists the occupational therapist's first task as to "Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients." For physical therapists, the matching task is to "Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention." Both say the same thing about your resume: evaluation and documentation are the job, so they belong in your bullets. See the O*NET profiles for occupational therapists and physical therapists.

The entry level example at the top of this page shows the occupational therapy version for a new graduate. Experienced occupational therapists keep the same order and replace fieldwork with jobs, as on our occupational therapist resume page; physical therapists will find more summaries on the physical therapist resume page.

Speech language pathologist resume example

Speech therapy resumes need the most care with credentials, because school districts and hospitals ask for different ones: a state license, a state education certificate for schools, and the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP). O*NET's task list for speech language pathologists includes to "Write reports and maintain proper documentation of information, such as client Medicaid or billing records or caseload activities, including the initial evaluation, treatment, progress, and discharge of clients." In schools, that means IEPs. Say how many you write and attend. The O*NET profile for speech language pathologists has the rest of the duty list.

Respiratory therapy resume example

Respiratory therapists are hired for hospital units and shifts, so the resume should say which units you cover and which equipment you run. O*NET describes the work as to "Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment." Name the ventilators and the units: adult ICU, NICU, emergency department. The O*NET profile for respiratory therapists has the full task list, and our respiratory therapist resume page covers summaries and keywords.

Certifications such as ACLS, PALS and BLS go on the license line with the issuing body, and our guide on how to put CPR certification on a resume shows the formats that read cleanly.

ABA therapy resume example

ABA therapy jobs are the most common entry point into therapy work, and the title on the posting is often behavior therapist or behavior technician. The credential that matters is the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) from the BACB, and the reader wants to know the ages you work with, the setting, and how you collect data. Our ABA therapist resume page shows how to grow this into a BCBA track resume.

Tailor my CV to this job

Mistakes that keep therapy resumes in the pile

• Leaving out the state on your license, or writing licensed without the license type.
• A summary that says compassionate therapist and names no setting, population or caseload.
• Listing every treatment approach you have read about. List the ones you are trained in and use.
• Writing duties without volume: no caseload, no patients a day, no number of IEPs.
• Including client details. Describe the population and the work, never a person.
• One resume for every setting. A school, a hospital and a private practice read for different things.

If the summary is the part you are stuck on, our resume summary examples show the same structure for other jobs.

Frequently asked questions

What should a therapist put on a resume?

Your license and state, national certification, setting, the population you treat, your caseload, the assessments and treatment approaches you use, documentation systems, and outcomes or programs you built. Put license, setting and population in the top third, because that is what a clinical director and a credentialing team check first.

How do I write a therapy resume with no experience?

Lead with your degree, your license status and your clinical hours: fieldwork, practicum, internship or clinical fellowship. Write each placement like a job, with setting, population, caseload and the evaluations and notes you completed. If your license is pending, write the expected date, so the employer can plan your start.

Should a therapy resume list a license number?

Usually not on the resume itself. Write the license type and the state, for example Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, California, and keep the number ready for the application form and the credentialing check. Some employers verify licenses online, so the name on your resume should match the name on the license.

How long should a therapist resume be?

One page for new graduates and therapists with a few years of experience. Two pages are fine for senior clinicians, supervisors and therapists with several settings, publications or a long list of certifications. Academic and research roles may ask for a full CV instead, which has no page limit.

Is a therapy resume different from a counselor resume?

The structure is the same: license, setting, population, caseload, then experience. The difference is the title and the license on the posting. A clinic hiring a therapist may accept an LMFT, LPC or LCSW, so match the title they use and state your license clearly.

Related articles

• Accountancy CV Example: 6 UK Accounts CVs by Career Level
• Accounting Interview Questions and Answers: 7 Full Examples
• Activity Resume Example: 6 Samples for College Applications
• Administration CV Example: 6 Admin CVs from Entry to Senior

More articles

• To Whom It May Concern Letter: 7 Examples and the Rules
• Is a 2-Page Resume OK? When It Works, With a Sample
• University Interview Questions and 8 Strong Sample Answers

Looking for a worked example for your job title? Browse the resume examples by job title.

Get your free ATS score · All articles