We are frequently asked questions regarding the difference between educational therapy and tutoring. This is a hugely important topic for us. We are going to dig into the differences between the two, how the two can work in tandem, and how sometimes tutoring can work against the goals of educational therapy. This is the second post of our educational therapy series. Be sure to go back to blog 06 where we discuss dreaded homework for the first post in our educational therapy series.

What is the difference between educational therapy and tutoring? We get asked this question all of the time. We are happy to clarify this mystery for you. We know there is confusion about this so we have broken the topic down into seven main points of comparison.

The definition of ed therapy and the definition of tutoring:

Educational therapy is about strategy. It is about building a toolbox of strategies, how you approach learning, and the classroom environment. Educational therapy is much broader than tutoring. An ed therapist is a case manager for the whole team which includes the child, parent, teacher, tutors, psychiatrists, therapists, etc. An ed therapist is interested in supporting the whole child. Educational therapy is a long-term play. A common misconception is that ed therapy is just for students with a learning disability but that is not true. Students come to us for a variety of reasons--anywhere from test anxiety to a desire to learn how to be a more efficient student.

On the other hand, when it comes to tutoring it is really all about tactics rather than strategy. Tutoring is short term. It is about content and classroom curriculum. Tutors teach specific subject matters. Usually, a tutor is not going to communicate with the teacher or be a case manager on behalf of the student or the family. Tutoring is a shorter term solution. While an educational therapist is an expert on learning, a tutor should be an expert in their subject area.

There is a caveat to this in that there is a slight overlap between educational therapy and tutoring. Sometimes an educational therapist has to cover a content area in order to teach a strategy. Educational therapy definitely does support classroom learning and content areas but has a much wider, more global view on how strategies can get used over the long term. When considering the difference between educational therapy and tutoring just remember that tutoring is very focused and educational therapy is global.

Education of ed therapists versus a tutor:

An educational therapist is highly trained usually with a masters degree in special education or learning. There are only a few master degree programs in the country and only a couple of them offer a certification in ed therapy. We met each other at the California State University of Northridge program which provides certification in educational therapy and Masters degrees in educational therapy and special education.

Figuring out who is an educational therapist can be difficult because anyone can call themselves an educational therapist. As a field, we do not have licensure the way that speech and language pathologists or psychotherapists do. One way to tell if the professional that you are working with is an educational therapist is to check the Association of Educational Therapy website to see if they are listed as an educational therapist. The Association of Educational Therapists, or AET, has guidelines and course requirements that provide some oversight internally. There are people who are not members of AET but who have still met the qualifications to be an educational therapist.

Ask whoever you are working with for more information if they are calling themselves an educational therapist. Although it can be a little tricky, generally, educational therapists are a member of AET and sanctioned to practice ed therapy by the ...