Crisis worker vs clinical social worker

The differences between crisis workers and clinical social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a crisis worker, becoming a clinical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a clinical social worker has an average salary of $63,056, which is higher than the $33,805 average annual salary of a crisis worker.

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

Crisis worker vs clinical social worker overview

	Crisis Worker	Clinical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$33,805	$63,056
Hourly rate	$16.25	$30.32
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	99,201	124,816
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Master's Degree, 54%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	2

What does a crisis worker do?

A crisis worker is a mental health professional specializing in providing counseling and support services to individuals under emotional distress often caused by mental and behavioral issues, conducting interventions as needed. They are usually assigned in institutions or medical facilities, sometimes working for crisis hotlines where they must answer phone calls from clients, remain calm and rational during conversations, offer advice, and refer them to other support agencies to prevent them from taking drastic measures. A crisis worker engages with clients of all ages, requiring them to be proactive at all times.

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.

Crisis worker vs clinical social worker salary

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

	Crisis Worker	Clinical Social Worker
Average salary	$33,805	$63,056
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $49,000	Between $42,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Portland, ME	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Northwestern Medicine	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Education

Differences between crisis worker and clinical social worker education

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

	Crisis Worker	Clinical Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Master's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Pennsylvania

Crisis worker vs clinical social worker demographics

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

	Crisis Worker	Clinical Social Worker
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	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%	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	15%	13%

Differences between crisis worker and clinical social worker duties and responsibilities

Crisis worker example responsibilities.

Find placements for patients needing inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations, and provide community referrals to those requiring lower levels of care.
Conduct psychiatric screenings in hospital settings to determine if patients meet the criteria for involuntary/voluntary commitment as mandated by state laws.
Coordinate care with community providers for follow up if patient are discharged, prepare documentation for admission to inpatient psychiatry unit.
Complete MDS assessments to determine mood and cognitive functioning, relaying information to interdisciplinary team and families.

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.

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Crisis worker vs clinical social worker skills

Common crisis worker skills

Patients, 21%
Social Work, 18%
Mental Health Crisis, 5%
Compassion, 5%
CPR, 3%
Rehabilitation, 3%

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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Updated January 8, 2025

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