Licensed psychologist vs clinical social worker

The differences between licensed psychologists and clinical social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a licensed psychologist and a clinical social worker. Additionally, a licensed psychologist has an average salary of $97,852, which is higher than the $63,056 average annual salary of a clinical social worker.

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

Licensed psychologist vs clinical social worker overview

	Licensed Psychologist	Clinical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$97,852	$63,056
Hourly rate	$47.04	$30.32
Growth rate	14%	9%
Number of jobs	24,645	124,816
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Master's Degree, 54%
Average age	43	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does a licensed psychologist do?

A licensed psychologist specializes in diagnosing and treating psychological and behavioral issues. They may work in medical facilities with in-patient or out-patient services, collaborating with other medical experts as needed. Their responsibilities include studying a patient's medical history, conducting initial assessments and examinations, facilitating interviews and therapy sessions, developing care and intervention procedures, and monitoring patients' progress. Furthermore, as a licensed psychologist, it is essential to coordinate with families and guardians, helping them understand and deal with the effects of mental illness in a family.

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.

Licensed psychologist vs clinical social worker salary

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

	Licensed Psychologist	Clinical Social Worker
Average salary	$97,852	$63,056
Salary range	Between $69,000 And $137,000	Between $42,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Acadia Healthcare	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between licensed psychologist and clinical social worker education

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

	Licensed Psychologist	Clinical Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Master's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Pennsylvania

Licensed psychologist vs clinical social worker demographics

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

	Licensed Psychologist	Clinical Social Worker
Average age	43	45
Gender ratio	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%	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 licensed psychologist and clinical social worker duties and responsibilities

Licensed psychologist example responsibilities.

Provide crisis intervention, cognitive-behavioral base individual and group therapy to patients.
Assist staff in restructuring APA accredit internship program.
Practice according to ethical guidelines and codes establish by APA.
Conduct individual, couple, family, and DBT group psychotherapy.
Engage in multidisciplinary team to assist in IEP development and review.
Assist in teaching staff members basic DBT and implementing DBT on unit.

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.

Licensed psychologist vs clinical social worker skills

Common licensed psychologist skills

Patients, 15%
Crisis Intervention, 12%
Psychological Services, 9%
Family Therapy, 7%
Individual Therapy, 6%
Developmental Disabilities, 6%

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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Licensed Psychologist
Licensed Psychologist vs Clinical Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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