Clinical social worker vs clinical psychologist

The differences between clinical social workers and clinical psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a clinical social worker and a clinical psychologist. Additionally, a clinical psychologist has an average salary of $97,659, which is higher than the $63,056 average annual salary of a clinical social worker.

The top three skills for a clinical social worker include social work, patients and behavioral health. The most important skills for a clinical psychologist are patients, rehabilitation, and clinical psychology.

Clinical social worker vs clinical psychologist overview

	Clinical Social Worker	Clinical Psychologist
Yearly salary	$63,056	$97,659
Hourly rate	$30.32	$46.95
Growth rate	9%	14%
Number of jobs	124,816	69,762
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	45	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a clinical social worker do?

A clinical social worker is an individual in social work, which provides help to individuals in need of improving their lives and their well-being. Clinical social workers must work with different individuals to help them address difficulties that they are trying to overcome. To perform counseling services, clinical social workers must take and pass the professional licensure examination. They also help disadvantaged individuals connect to resources and services that they may benefit from.

What does a clinical psychologist do?

A clinical psychologist is a healthcare professional who treats patients with various mental disorders through one-on-one or group settings. Clinical psychologists assist their patients in identifying their psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues so that a plan of action is created to help patients achieve personal and social development. To create a patient treatment plan, clinical psychologists must interview their patients who have different mental problems. They also collaborate with professionals such as social workers, nurses, and occupational therapists to provide the right treatment to their patients.

Clinical social worker vs clinical psychologist salary

Clinical social workers and clinical psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Social Worker	Clinical Psychologist
Average salary	$63,056	$97,659
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $92,000	Between $72,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Tucson Electric Power	Kaiser Permanente
Best paying industry	Education	Government

Differences between clinical social worker and clinical psychologist education

There are a few differences between a clinical social worker and a clinical psychologist in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Social Worker	Clinical Psychologist
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Social Work	Clinical Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Northwestern University

Clinical social worker vs clinical psychologist demographics

Here are the differences between clinical social workers' and clinical psychologists' demographics:

	Clinical Social Worker	Clinical Psychologist
Average age	45	43
Gender ratio	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	12%

Differences between clinical social worker and clinical psychologist duties and responsibilities

Clinical social worker example responsibilities.

Understand manage care, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
Provide clinical services to patients in rehabilitation and oncology including assessment, crisis intervention, grief therapy, and discharge planning.
Provide individual, group, family therapy, team coordination, discharge planning, utilization review and MSW student supervision.
Participate in weekly interdisciplinary team meetings to determine Medicare length of skil nursing stay.
Facilitate therapy, symptom management, and rehabilitation groups for mental health clients in partial hospitalization setting.

Clinical psychologist example responsibilities.

Manage high-utilizing patients with chronic health and behavioral health concerns to reduce inappropriate medical utilization and to promote better functional outcomes.
Supervise by Amanda Quayle, PsyD.
Utilize CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing techniques.
Provide CBT, DBT and psychodynamic-orient psychotherapy to adolescent and adult clients.
Intern with Dr. Ann-Marie Tripp-Pendelton, PsyD, in a therapeutic capacity.
Collaborate with a team of social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists to develop individualize treatment plans for war veterans.

Clinical social worker vs clinical psychologist skills

Common clinical social worker skills

Social Work, 28%
Patients, 17%
Behavioral Health, 6%
Patient Care, 5%
Community Resources, 4%
MSW, 3%

Common clinical psychologist skills

Patients, 16%
Rehabilitation, 7%
Clinical Psychology, 6%
Group Therapy, 5%
Veterans, 5%
Patient Care, 5%

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Clinical Social Worker vs Clinical Psychologist

Updated January 8, 2025

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