Social Workers as Therapists??

MiloL June 07, 2018 at 01:27 1025 views 1 comments

Where does this group stand on the issue of social workers as therapists. I've noticed more often than not mental health facilities employ social workers to screen patients for mental health conditions. Am I confused or is this not an area covered more than briefly in the social work matriculation? Seems to me they are taking a huge risk is something being missed. I don't know this to be true but I can't imagine them being qualified to make actual diagnosis. would someone like to elaborate on this practice and just how beneficial it is and why?

Comments (1)

BC June 07, 2018 at 04:15 #186198 0 likes

"Social Work" is not a once-size-fits-all degree. The are bachelor level social work degrees, masters level social work degrees, and masters degrees with post-graduate training. Some masters level social workers have ACSW after their name -- meaning they are "academy of social work certified". Additionally trained masters level social workers can not only screen patients, they can provide the therapy in some clinics.

Should social works screen patients? MA level, sure. Sorting out the merely unhappy from the seriously depressed isn't all that hard--the janitor could probably do that. It's the more complex things like identifying borderline personality disorder, schizoid affective disorder, bipolar, schizophrenic, and such diagnoses that require higher level diagnostic training.

Social workers and doctorate-level therapists can't prescribe medicine, generally, but are qualified to provide therapy and support for mental patients. Psychiatrists normally do not actually provide much therapy--it's a rare practice that does. Mostly they write prescriptions, because medicine is often the main ingredient in effective therapy. All the good counseling in the world won't calm down a psychotic individual.