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Mental Health Social Workers
Mental Health Social Workers assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Activities may include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education.
Table of Contents
Job description
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Activities may include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education.
- Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
- Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
- Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
- Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
Salary
Mental Health Social Workers with little to no experience tend to make between $28310 and $34600 while the more experienced ones can earn over $60300 per year.
| Top 5 paying states | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| NJ | $38 | $79,130 |
| DC | $34 | $69,690 |
| HI | $33 | $67,930 |
| CT | $30 | $63,290 |
| NY | $30 | $62,130 |
One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker is to move to a higher paying state like NJ. Right now, the highest paying states for Mental Health Social Workers are NJ, DC, HI, CT and NY.
However, a higher pay at NJ doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at NJ might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.
Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.
Requirements
We asked other Mental Health Social Workers what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Master’s Degree followed by a Post-Master’s Certificate.
Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.
| Social Work |
| Social Work, Other |
| Clinical/Medical Social Work |
Pros and Cons
Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker.
| PROS |
|---|
| Suitable for people who likes to help and teach others |
| Suitable for people who values achievements and are results-oriented |
| This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors. |
| One of the fastest growing careers |
| CONS |
|---|
| Not suitable for people who likes practical and hands-on work |
| Salary is below average |
| It is very hard to get into this career. Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience is required for this career. |
What is the job like
83% of Mental Health Social Workers said they were satisfied with their job and 82% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.
Is this right for me
You can read more about these career personality types here.
People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..
They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
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Learn more about Mental Health Social Workers
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Related career information
Mental Health Social Workers job description, Mental Health Social Workers salary, Mental Health Social Workers information, what is the job of a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker like, pros and cons about Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, colleges and universities for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, is Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers the right career for me, careers in Human and Social Service
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