Counseling psychologist vs clinical social worker

The differences between counseling psychologists and clinical social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a counseling psychologist, becoming a clinical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a counseling psychologist has an average salary of $80,294, which is higher than the $63,056 average annual salary of a clinical social worker.

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

Counseling psychologist vs clinical social worker overview

	Counseling Psychologist	Clinical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$80,294	$63,056
Hourly rate	$38.60	$30.32
Growth rate	14%	9%
Number of jobs	12,337	124,816
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Master's Degree, 54%
Average age	43	45
Years of experience	6	2

Counseling psychologist vs clinical social worker salary

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

	Counseling Psychologist	Clinical Social Worker
Average salary	$80,294	$63,056
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $116,000	Between $42,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Berkeley, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between counseling psychologist and clinical social worker education

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

	Counseling Psychologist	Clinical Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Master's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Pennsylvania

Counseling psychologist vs clinical social worker demographics

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

	Counseling Psychologist	Clinical Social Worker
Average age	43	45
Gender ratio	Male, 35.0% Female, 65.0%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	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%	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%
LGBT Percentage	12%	13%

Differences between counseling psychologist and clinical social worker duties and responsibilities

Counseling psychologist example responsibilities.

Conduct and write triennial and initial assessments, participate and lead IEP meetings, functional behavioral assessments, behavior support plans.
Advance training in DBT and EMDR.
Establish a join ADHD clinic with one of the local pediatricians.
Provide psycho-diagnostic and psycho therapeutic services to cancer patients.
Develop a team orient treatment plan for patients producing quantitative measurable results.
Develop training materials for alcohol abuse treatment & rehabilitation services, including prevention of domestic violence, child abuse and homelessness.

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.

Counseling psychologist vs clinical social worker skills

Common counseling psychologist skills

Mental Health, 27%
Crisis Intervention, 18%
Behavioral Health, 9%
Social Work, 7%
Psychological Services, 7%
Rehabilitation, 5%

Common clinical social worker skills

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

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Counseling Psychologist vs Clinical Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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