What does a licensed social worker do?
Licensed Social Workers are duly and legally recognized to carry out activities related to social work. They identify individuals or groups of people in need and assess what kind of help they require. They may assist these people in connecting to agencies that would cater to their needs. Licensed Social Workers also help people cope with their challenges. They are responsible for crafting treatment plans or well-being improvement plans for the individuals they help. They may also be called on during times of crisis to provide emotional support to the individuals involved.
Licensed social worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real licensed social worker resumes:
- Foster self-determination of patients by evaluating for vocational rehabilitation that includes employment, volunteering, or education opportunities.
- Evaluate and provide psychotherapy services to patients diagnose with serious and persistent mental illness and/or chemical dependency within an inpatient setting.
- Provide clinical supervision to MSW students.
- Supervise and train MSW students during their final concentration practicum.
- Plan and facilitate trainings that address trauma exposure and the impact of compassion fatigue on administrative staff.
- Provide medically relate social services to residents in a sub-acute, short term rehabilitation unit.
- Develop individualize treatment plan-select and apply to support the interdisciplinary rehabilitation plan as evidenced by goal achievement.
- Work with a complex interdisciplinary team facilitating treatment for patients on medical floors including oncology, dialysis, cardiac and maternity.
- Participate in weekly DBT training, and allow the interns to participate in the training as well.
- Analyze psychological / psycho-social evaluations, IEP's, and medical histories within a referral packet to determine eligibility.
Licensed social worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 29% of Licensed Social Workers are proficient in Social Work, Patients, and Home Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Emotional skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Licensed Social Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 29%
Provision of overall professional social work supervision to licensed social workers, training of staff and management consultation.
- Patients, 13%
Evaluate and provide psychotherapy services to patients diagnosed with serious and persistent mental illness and/or chemical dependency within an inpatient setting.
- Home Health, 11%
Provided social services to in-home health clients throughout Harris and Montgomery Counties under the supervision of an LMSW.
- Rehabilitation, 5%
Develop individualized treatment plan-selected and applied to support the interdisciplinary rehabilitation plan as evidenced by goal achievement.
- Substance Abuse, 5%
Conducted psycho-social assessments of adults and teenagers diagnosed with alcohol/substance abuse and mental health issues in an outpatient clinic.
- Crisis Intervention, 4%
Conducted Undergraduate and Graduate counseling for students, crisis intervention, provided supervision, participated in weekly case consultation rounds
Most licensed social workers use their skills in "social work," "patients," and "home health" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential licensed social worker responsibilities here:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a licensed social worker to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives." Additionally, a licensed social worker resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "provided clear communication to multi-disciplinary colleagues to allow safe transition of patient care. "
Interpersonal skills. licensed social workers are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to licensed social worker responsibilities, because "social workers must be able to work with different groups of people." A licensed social worker resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "demonstrate excellent interpersonal and counseling skills. "
Organizational skills. A big part of what licensed social workers do relies on "organizational skills." You can see how essential it is to licensed social worker responsibilities because "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical licensed social worker tasks: "developed and composed written policies addressing sensitive organizational issues such as suicide, domestic violence in the work place and bullying. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in licensed social worker job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what licensed social workers do. Licensed social worker responsibilities rely on this skill because "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." You can also see how licensed social worker duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "attend complex case review meetings to present and discuss solutions for difficult medical and discharge planning cases. "
The three companies that hire the most licensed social workers are:
- ProMedica Toledo Hospital83 licensed social workers jobs
- New York State Restaurant Association61 licensed social workers jobs
- Encompass Health47 licensed social workers jobs
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Compare different licensed social workers
Licensed social worker vs. Family therapist
A Family Therapist works with couples and families to help ameliorate marital and family issues. They can work in hospitals, treatment programs, government agencies, health organizations, and private practices.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between licensed social workers and family therapist. For instance, licensed social worker responsibilities require skills such as "home health," "substance abuse," "patient care," and "msw." Whereas a family therapist is skilled in "group therapy," "fft," "clinical supervision," and "family systems." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Family therapists earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $50,267. On the other hand, licensed social workers are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $56,730.On average, family therapists reach higher levels of education than licensed social workers. Family therapists are 8.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Licensed social worker vs. Mental health professional
The duties of a mental health professional will revolve around observing the behavior of patients. They are responsible for knowing their medical history, conducting consultations and assessments, diagnosing conditions, devising particular treatments and prescribing medication, and providing emotional support to patients. Furthermore, a mental health professional must coordinate with families and other mental health experts to monitor patients' behavior and develop care plans to help them in their road to recovery.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that licensed social worker responsibilities requires skills like "home health," "patient care," "msw," and "medicaid." But a mental health professional might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cpr," "clinical supervision," "taking care," and "mental health treatment."
Mental health professionals may earn a lower salary than licensed social workers, but mental health professionals earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $49,393. On the other hand, licensed social workers receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $56,730.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Mental health professionals tend to reach similar levels of education than licensed social workers. In fact, they're 4.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for licensed social workers in the next 3-5 years?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Licensed social worker vs. Mental health counselor
A mental health counselor is responsible for helping patients deal with their emotional and mental disorders by developing treatment plans and conducting regular counseling to track the patient's progress and condition. Mental health counselors encourage active communication from their patients, provide coping strategies for triggering situations, seek advice from other health care professionals, and guide patients on doing other activities that would help them relax. A mental health counselor must have excellent knowledge of the mental health disciplines to assist patients in their healthy lifestyle development.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from licensed social worker resumes include skills like "home health," "substance abuse," "msw," and "medicaid," whereas a mental health counselor is more likely to list skills in "cpr," "substance abuse issues," "therapeutic environment," and "vital signs. "
Mental health counselors earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $52,181. Comparatively, licensed social workers have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $56,730.Most mental health counselors achieve a lower degree level compared to licensed social workers. For example, they're 7.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Licensed social worker vs. Behavioral health specialist
Typically working for clinics and learning institutions, a behavioral health specialist is in charge of counseling and treating patients with behavioral issues. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial assessment through interview and observation, maintaining records and data, developing treatment plans, and referring patients to other support services when necessary. Moreover, a behavioral health specialist must communicate with the patient's families or guardians, discuss conditions, and provide advice on taking care of them. Aside from treating patients, it is also essential to continuously monitor their behavior while building positive relationships with them.
Types of licensed social worker
Updated January 8, 2025
