Clinical Social Work

Why Licensed Clinical Social Workers are Superior Mental Health Providers

You've probably heard of a Psychologist, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and a Psychiatrist. Well, we're going to leave the drug dealer out of this for comparison's sake. I kid, I kid. But a Psychiatrist is a Physican who prescribes medication for mental health conditions and may or may not provide any kind of psychotherapy. Generally, they do not. The vast majority are not even trained to provide counseling. 

What you may not have heard of is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

I know what you're thinking... I know what a social worker is, they snatch babies in Lifetime movies. 

You would not be wrong. This is a role that social workers sometimes play, intervening in families when there are abuse or neglect concerns and a family needs assistance to overcome those problems and heal. These are not clinical social workers, these are generally bachelor-level social workers, or they may not be social workers at all, rather trained case managers. 

A psychologist is trained in a variety of techniques but they focus on testing and diagnosis of the individual. They approach mental health from a medical model, disease-oriented perspective. There is a problem, a diagnosis, within the individual, in need of solution or treatment. A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) has much the same perspective with considerably less training. Some with very little understanding of diagnostics, evidence based treatment modalities, medication options, and in particular, the systems in which a person develops a problem.

A clinical social worker, however, is a therapist who has been trained through their education and post-education supervision in diagnostics, evidence-based treatment modalities, and has an understanding of how the brain impacts behavior and how medications affect the brain. A clinical social worker has been trained in all the biopsychosocial and spiritual dynamics that affect an individual and how to incorporate those in assessment and treatment. Clinical social workers spend 3000 hours in clinical supervision post-graduate refining their skills and generalizing or specializing in their treatment modalities. 

The most critical feature of the training of the Clinical Social Worker that sets them apart is not their superior education, as Psychologists have extensive education, but the perspective from which their education comes. Social workers are comprehensive in the evaluation and treatment of a person in their environment. The person is never understood as separate from their environment, their relationships, and the systems that impact them. Social workers call this "systems theory". We are all operating within contexts that affect us, be they related to our culture, disparities we face, differences in our relationships, or our economic situation. Social workers are constantly aware of these dynamics and this makes an immense difference in treating the person as a whole unique individual.

But, if you have ever known a social worker, there is probably one other thing that stands out and sets them apart. Social workers are passionate. Like, bordering on obnoxious, passionate. There's a reason for that. Client advocacy is part of not just how we are trained but who we are. Seeking social justice is a part of our ethical obligation as social workers. If you want to be certain you have a therapist who cares, find a social worker, because without a doubt, they do. They believe in you. They will fight for you, even when you don't feel like fighting and that can make ALL the difference.