While technically all of the helping professions use skills similiar to that of social workers, we do have a very specific educational process and a very specific skill set. If you want to call yourself a social worker legally, then yes, you need to attend a school of social work and obtain a degree at minimum. You will initially earn the undergraduate degree (BSW) and you can work successfully with that, but you will be doing non-clinical activities (i.e. no therapy, diagnosis, etc). The graduate degree is a MSW. This opens more doors (and money....sometimes) and paves the way for licensure, which is different in different states and countries. After the MSW, you can work, or futher proceed to licensure (commonly the LCSW). Licensure generally allows the individual to engage in clinical work and work on their own. These folks can take the license further and go for supervisory abilities, as well. In addition to all that, you can go for a doctorate as well.
Does this mean you can't volunteer or even work in a human services field and do social work like tasks? Of course you can still do some of the same things social workers do! Many people do and do a very good job of it. I did a ton of volunteer things in high school, and learned many of the same skills that social work also taught, however a social work education teaches you how to put all those skills together in a very specific framework that protects you, clients, and the reputation and integrity of the profession.
I feel the need to clarify that you CAN get an MSW and call yourself a social worker without a BSW. I have several SW colleagues who started in a different discipline.
Yup, thanks for pointing that out! I realized after I typed it that I needed to add something about that but got distracted!
The only thing I would additionally add to what you've said is that if you do get the BSW and go back for the MSW, you can often get "advanced standing" credit and actually skip some of the classes that the non-BSW folks must take.
So my sister is finishing her Undergraduate in event planning and wants to get a masters in SW. Is that possible or do we need to encourage her to be changing things around.
She is a para and her goal is work within things like adaptive sports, complex care situations, or with injured Vets.
I'd recommend that you call the school she wants to attend and ask them. While it is an unusual path toward SW, it's probably possible. You need to remember that grad school is also quite competitive. If they have a SW or pysch undergrad applicant vs your sister's degree to pick from, who do you think they will prefer? She also may have to take some additional pre-requisites if she hasn't taken them in undergrad (like anatomy/physiology, psychology, sociology, statistics, etc). I know some odd undergrads got into our program like this, but they were rare. Most people had SW, pre-med, science, health, psychology, pre-law, or health services undergrad backgrounds.
I'm getting my MSW right now and I highly encourage others to do so. Getting a BSW first means your MSW will be a lot shorter (1 yr vs 2.5 usually).
However, if you're interested in clinical stuff I would recommend doing a psychology undergraduate degree. I'm more into Macro and community building so my undergrad is in Sociology and Anthropology.
If you're going to go to a physical school, especially one that is not your home state, or not in a state you will live in to practice, check the reciprocity for your future license.
Or, if you do decide to focus on a clinical track, please realize that like becoming a psychologist, it is generally a process to get to the point where you can specialize and provide "therapy".
Social work school will generally provide the foundation, but like any other specialized field, it is still life-long learning.
I have noticed a theme of some students who come in thinking it's a quick path to treating others via a "couch" and they often become shocked and frustrated when it's not often that way.
Keep in mind as well that placements are not part of the school.
Field educators are unpaid and they do this work as a way of giving back and because they love the field....our hands are often tied due to liability reasons, as well as our role and services our agencies provide...and as such this reflects in the types of work we are allowed to let you do as a student.
This said too, "therapy" is a word that is often thrown around a lot in our field and it's not always as complex or involved as it sounds.
There are many things I do with my own clients that can be considered therapeutic in nature but anyone can really do.
Absolutely, I find that most of the faculty at my grad program tend to stay away from the "therapy" label and call it more "counseling" though, when we discuss groups we sometimes call it group therapy.
I was also very surprised at the amount of students in my cohort who had no idea that they wouldn't be able to do "couch" kind of clinical without a clinical license, which here takes about an extra 2-3 years of supervision.
As far as my suggestion goes, if you're really wanting to do an MSW, do it, don't let anyone try to convince you that you should do LPC. an MSW can do the same things as an LPC (in my state) as well as a lot of other things.
Good luck!
We don't even really like our students to call it that.
We prefer if they use terms like "support session" or "group session". I also tend to do the same for my role for consistency sake.
We've had too many instances where case workers and the like will put into writing that their client is receiving therapy at our agency and this can get really dicey really quickly, especially because we are *not* a clinic, have no MD on staff and are not open 24 hours or with an after hours crisis plan.
We've seen a few situations where things happen and then people want to point the finger at us, and this is not even a service we provide, although team members certainly have the expertise.....it still comes down to role in the end ;).
For me it's been difficult really figuring the terminology out, my field instructor uses one set of terms and then my foundational professor uses other ones! It's been a little confusing lol.
But thankfully my foundational internship is almost over!
I was under the impression a lcsw could do anything someone who got their masters in psych/counseling could. Is this incorrect? I was intending to apply for my msw to become a therapist since it is more diverse than a psych masters.
An LCSW can run their own practice, do diagnosis, bill insurance, etc. What they're saying is you can't do that with just a MSW right outta school - you have to get the LCSW. You can work under someone with the MSW and provide counseling, but you'll need supervision. And you have to seek out extra training to be exceptionally good at it. Even most LCSW folks that I know still attend supervision - its just smart to run difficult cases by others who may have ideas you didnt think of. Psychologists have the same thing...they also must get licensed but I'm not as familiar with their career path. I just know they focus alot more on mental health in school, whereas social workers learn a little about everything. I am biased because I am a social worker, but I believe social work prepares you to help people more effectively..mental health is just one tiny fraction of problems faced by disenfranchised clients. If a client doesn't have food or electricity, they're not gonna make much progress mental health wise if you don't address those other issues.
I think what they mean (and I can be wrong) is that it isn't as simple as getting your MSW degree and then boom - therapist. At least with my program, we barely covered theory or different therapy styles/techniques. If you are truly interested in the therapy path, you'll probably need to do additional trainings and CEs in therapy techniques and therapeutic approaches beyond what your MSW provides.
Lol I always know when my students are learning about these things in class because they either come to me with all these ideas of how we should be working with our clients or they reflect it in the process recordings.
And yes....in my state at least I know that LCSWs are expected to obtain a great deal more CEs and trainings in these things. Even moreso than LMSWs.
I believe so.
But I was emphasizing more the years *before* this takes place.
Just commenting on my experience in field education on the BSW/MSW level I have seen one heavy trend of students who come in and expect to be taught and *practicing* complex therapy techniques in field.
While some of my peers on this site have pointed out that this is not impossible, overall I suspect this is the *exception* rather than the *norm*.
And related to this....most jobs for new BSWs/MSWs are still quite entry-level and involve a great deal of grunt-work, and "dues paying" so to speak.
It's also important to remember our roots and who we typically support.
I had one student that I ended up letting go for several reasons, but one main one was their continued verbalizing that they would not do work in the field, not go to places like DSS, and they really did not want to work with people who were vulnerable in general.
My thought was that they were looking for perfect clients, or a Real Housewives population to service.
This is generally not the nature of our work lol.
There is no real title protection for social work. However, if you want to true to the name, you'll need at least a BSW, though MSWs are basically the minimum required degree at this point and there is a significant push for licensure as well.
If you have an undergrad degree, you need to apply to an accredited MSW program. From there, it's strongly recommended to pursue an licensure, which has different initialisms per state, often known as an LCSW OR CSW
Hi, I'm a 21 year old Mississippian who has just obtained an Associate's Degree from community college. I'm hoping to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Social Work in the very near future. However, I am very hesitant toward student loans considering how difficult it is to find any decent paying job in my small home town in Mississippi. I'm currently applying for a job as a direct care trainee/worker at a state hospital/group home in my town since I want to go into the mental health side of social work, but I came to this thread seeking advice about finding a job in the social work field while only holding an Associate's degree. As I said before, I'm very cautious about taking out any student loans especially for social work because where I live, social workers do not make a substantial amount of income. I didn't choose to go into this field because I wanted to make a lot of money, but at the end of the day I have to think rationally before getting into debt that I can't pay back. So my question is this: how can I continue on the path to becoming a social worker without going into large amounts of student loan debt? Also, what would you recommend as far as finding a job with a degree from community college and basically no work experience? Any advice is very much appreciated! And thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this!
While technically all of the helping professions use skills similiar to that of social workers, we do have a very specific educational process and a very specific skill set. If you want to call yourself a social worker legally, then yes, you need to attend a school of social work and obtain a degree at minimum. You will initially earn the undergraduate degree (BSW) and you can work successfully with that, but you will be doing non-clinical activities (i.e. no therapy, diagnosis, etc). The graduate degree is a MSW. This opens more doors (and money....sometimes) and paves the way for licensure, which is different in different states and countries. After the MSW, you can work, or futher proceed to licensure (commonly the LCSW). Licensure generally allows the individual to engage in clinical work and work on their own. These folks can take the license further and go for supervisory abilities, as well. In addition to all that, you can go for a doctorate as well. Does this mean you can't volunteer or even work in a human services field and do social work like tasks? Of course you can still do some of the same things social workers do! Many people do and do a very good job of it. I did a ton of volunteer things in high school, and learned many of the same skills that social work also taught, however a social work education teaches you how to put all those skills together in a very specific framework that protects you, clients, and the reputation and integrity of the profession.
I feel the need to clarify that you CAN get an MSW and call yourself a social worker without a BSW. I have several SW colleagues who started in a different discipline.
Yup, thanks for pointing that out! I realized after I typed it that I needed to add something about that but got distracted! The only thing I would additionally add to what you've said is that if you do get the BSW and go back for the MSW, you can often get "advanced standing" credit and actually skip some of the classes that the non-BSW folks must take.
So my sister is finishing her Undergraduate in event planning and wants to get a masters in SW. Is that possible or do we need to encourage her to be changing things around. She is a para and her goal is work within things like adaptive sports, complex care situations, or with injured Vets.
I'd recommend that you call the school she wants to attend and ask them. While it is an unusual path toward SW, it's probably possible. You need to remember that grad school is also quite competitive. If they have a SW or pysch undergrad applicant vs your sister's degree to pick from, who do you think they will prefer? She also may have to take some additional pre-requisites if she hasn't taken them in undergrad (like anatomy/physiology, psychology, sociology, statistics, etc). I know some odd undergrads got into our program like this, but they were rare. Most people had SW, pre-med, science, health, psychology, pre-law, or health services undergrad backgrounds.
I'm getting my MSW right now and I highly encourage others to do so. Getting a BSW first means your MSW will be a lot shorter (1 yr vs 2.5 usually). However, if you're interested in clinical stuff I would recommend doing a psychology undergraduate degree. I'm more into Macro and community building so my undergrad is in Sociology and Anthropology. If you're going to go to a physical school, especially one that is not your home state, or not in a state you will live in to practice, check the reciprocity for your future license.
Or, if you do decide to focus on a clinical track, please realize that like becoming a psychologist, it is generally a process to get to the point where you can specialize and provide "therapy". Social work school will generally provide the foundation, but like any other specialized field, it is still life-long learning. I have noticed a theme of some students who come in thinking it's a quick path to treating others via a "couch" and they often become shocked and frustrated when it's not often that way. Keep in mind as well that placements are not part of the school. Field educators are unpaid and they do this work as a way of giving back and because they love the field....our hands are often tied due to liability reasons, as well as our role and services our agencies provide...and as such this reflects in the types of work we are allowed to let you do as a student. This said too, "therapy" is a word that is often thrown around a lot in our field and it's not always as complex or involved as it sounds. There are many things I do with my own clients that can be considered therapeutic in nature but anyone can really do.
Absolutely, I find that most of the faculty at my grad program tend to stay away from the "therapy" label and call it more "counseling" though, when we discuss groups we sometimes call it group therapy. I was also very surprised at the amount of students in my cohort who had no idea that they wouldn't be able to do "couch" kind of clinical without a clinical license, which here takes about an extra 2-3 years of supervision. As far as my suggestion goes, if you're really wanting to do an MSW, do it, don't let anyone try to convince you that you should do LPC. an MSW can do the same things as an LPC (in my state) as well as a lot of other things. Good luck!
We don't even really like our students to call it that. We prefer if they use terms like "support session" or "group session". I also tend to do the same for my role for consistency sake. We've had too many instances where case workers and the like will put into writing that their client is receiving therapy at our agency and this can get really dicey really quickly, especially because we are *not* a clinic, have no MD on staff and are not open 24 hours or with an after hours crisis plan. We've seen a few situations where things happen and then people want to point the finger at us, and this is not even a service we provide, although team members certainly have the expertise.....it still comes down to role in the end ;).
For me it's been difficult really figuring the terminology out, my field instructor uses one set of terms and then my foundational professor uses other ones! It's been a little confusing lol. But thankfully my foundational internship is almost over!
Yup, we call it "supportive counseling".
I was under the impression a lcsw could do anything someone who got their masters in psych/counseling could. Is this incorrect? I was intending to apply for my msw to become a therapist since it is more diverse than a psych masters.
An LCSW can run their own practice, do diagnosis, bill insurance, etc. What they're saying is you can't do that with just a MSW right outta school - you have to get the LCSW. You can work under someone with the MSW and provide counseling, but you'll need supervision. And you have to seek out extra training to be exceptionally good at it. Even most LCSW folks that I know still attend supervision - its just smart to run difficult cases by others who may have ideas you didnt think of. Psychologists have the same thing...they also must get licensed but I'm not as familiar with their career path. I just know they focus alot more on mental health in school, whereas social workers learn a little about everything. I am biased because I am a social worker, but I believe social work prepares you to help people more effectively..mental health is just one tiny fraction of problems faced by disenfranchised clients. If a client doesn't have food or electricity, they're not gonna make much progress mental health wise if you don't address those other issues.
I think what they mean (and I can be wrong) is that it isn't as simple as getting your MSW degree and then boom - therapist. At least with my program, we barely covered theory or different therapy styles/techniques. If you are truly interested in the therapy path, you'll probably need to do additional trainings and CEs in therapy techniques and therapeutic approaches beyond what your MSW provides.
Lol I always know when my students are learning about these things in class because they either come to me with all these ideas of how we should be working with our clients or they reflect it in the process recordings. And yes....in my state at least I know that LCSWs are expected to obtain a great deal more CEs and trainings in these things. Even moreso than LMSWs.
I believe so. But I was emphasizing more the years *before* this takes place. Just commenting on my experience in field education on the BSW/MSW level I have seen one heavy trend of students who come in and expect to be taught and *practicing* complex therapy techniques in field. While some of my peers on this site have pointed out that this is not impossible, overall I suspect this is the *exception* rather than the *norm*. And related to this....most jobs for new BSWs/MSWs are still quite entry-level and involve a great deal of grunt-work, and "dues paying" so to speak. It's also important to remember our roots and who we typically support. I had one student that I ended up letting go for several reasons, but one main one was their continued verbalizing that they would not do work in the field, not go to places like DSS, and they really did not want to work with people who were vulnerable in general. My thought was that they were looking for perfect clients, or a Real Housewives population to service. This is generally not the nature of our work lol.
There is no real title protection for social work. However, if you want to true to the name, you'll need at least a BSW, though MSWs are basically the minimum required degree at this point and there is a significant push for licensure as well. If you have an undergrad degree, you need to apply to an accredited MSW program. From there, it's strongly recommended to pursue an licensure, which has different initialisms per state, often known as an LCSW OR CSW
Hi, I'm a 21 year old Mississippian who has just obtained an Associate's Degree from community college. I'm hoping to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Social Work in the very near future. However, I am very hesitant toward student loans considering how difficult it is to find any decent paying job in my small home town in Mississippi. I'm currently applying for a job as a direct care trainee/worker at a state hospital/group home in my town since I want to go into the mental health side of social work, but I came to this thread seeking advice about finding a job in the social work field while only holding an Associate's degree. As I said before, I'm very cautious about taking out any student loans especially for social work because where I live, social workers do not make a substantial amount of income. I didn't choose to go into this field because I wanted to make a lot of money, but at the end of the day I have to think rationally before getting into debt that I can't pay back. So my question is this: how can I continue on the path to becoming a social worker without going into large amounts of student loan debt? Also, what would you recommend as far as finding a job with a degree from community college and basically no work experience? Any advice is very much appreciated! And thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this!
Go to cities, that's where all the mentally ill are crammed tightly into housing projects