Clinical social worker vs mental health therapist

The differences between clinical social workers and mental health therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a clinical social worker, becoming a mental health therapist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a clinical social worker has an average salary of $63,056, which is higher than the $50,259 average annual salary of a mental health therapist.

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

Clinical social worker vs mental health therapist overview

	Clinical Social Worker	Mental Health Therapist
Yearly salary	$63,056	$50,259
Hourly rate	$30.32	$24.16
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	124,816	114,386
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 54%	Master's Degree, 49%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	4

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 mental health therapist do?

The job of mental health therapists is to guide individuals, groups, couples, and families with problems that are impacting their well-being and mental health. Their duties and responsibilities include encouraging clients to talk about their experiences, examining issues that may affect mental health such as substance abuse and bullying, and assisting clients in defining their goals and action plans. Mental health therapists are also responsible for developing therapeutic processes, referring clients to other services or resources like psychologists, and helping them adjust to life changes.

Clinical social worker vs mental health therapist salary

Clinical social workers and mental health therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Social Worker	Mental Health Therapist
Average salary	$63,056	$50,259
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $92,000	Between $35,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Connecticut
Best paying company	Tucson Electric Power	Tykes And Teens
Best paying industry	Education	Non Profits

Differences between clinical social worker and mental health therapist education

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

	Clinical Social Worker	Mental Health Therapist
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 54%	Master's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Social Work	Social Work
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Long Beach

Clinical social worker vs mental health therapist demographics

Here are the differences between clinical social workers' and mental health therapists' demographics:

	Clinical Social Worker	Mental Health Therapist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%	Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%
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, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	13%	15%

Differences between clinical social worker and mental health therapist 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.

Mental health therapist example responsibilities.

Create and lead PTSD group for women, depression and stress management groups for men and women.
Collaborate with patients to develop individualize treatment plans and evaluate plans periodically to monitor progress towards achieving identify goals and objectives.
Provide clinical supervision for MFT intern and participate in peer to peer reviews.
Receive training in diagnoses, physical restraints and CPR.
Care for children with autism and document daily data collection.
Utilize therapy techniques from various modalities including EMDR, TF-CBT, and DBT

Clinical social worker vs mental health therapist skills

Common clinical social worker skills

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

Common mental health therapist skills

Social Work, 35%
Patients, 10%
Mental Health, 6%
Group Therapy Sessions, 5%
Mental Health Issues, 3%
Community Resources, 3%

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Clinical Social Worker vs Mental Health Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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