How to Describe a Clinical Social Worker

Clinical social workers are primarily mental health clinicians, trained to provide therapeutic help and support to individuals. Social work in general is a broad field encompassing many areas of specialization, including public health, international and policy work, social work administration and research. These broad practices differ greatly from the focus of clinical social work. People who are unaware of the diversity in the field often need help understanding the elements that differentiate clinical social work.

Instructions

• 1

  Explain the similarities and differences between clinical social workers and traditional social workers. State that all social workers use the person-in-environment approach, considering how policy, culture and community issues affect the individual. Clarify that clinical social workers, however, focus in on the therapeutic needs of the individual, concentrating on the client's psychological health.

• 2

  Describe the educational and licensing process that clinical social workers must undertake. For instance, all professional social workers must obtain a master's degree in social work, and participate in at least 900 hours of supervised fieldwork experience. Clarify that for clinical social work students supervision involves in-depth discussion of therapeutic work that the student undertakes with clients, often requiring rigorous reflection on the psychological dynamics of these interactions.

• 3

  Elucidate the specific work that a clinical social worker does. For instance, clinical social workers are trained in basic counseling techniques such as active listening, therapeutic facilitation, and using an empathetic understanding to help clients. Explain that clinical social workers generally specialize in one area. Examples of specializations include individual psychotherapy and group or family therapy. Point out that clinical social workers are trained to make mental health diagnosis, assess clients for issues such as substance abuse and other psychosocial needs and make referrals to other specialists as needed.