CAREER

OPPORTUNITIES FOR
SOCIAL WORKERS
 AN ADDICTION SOCIAL WORKER

• Substance abuse social workers are

usually the day-to-day case managers for
people with substance abuse issues. They
are responsible for using their knowledge
and background to not only continually
assess these patients, but also help them
live a fulfilling day-to-day life by
preventing and treating problems
https://careersinpsychology.org/start-an-addiction-social-work-c
areer/
 CHILD WELFARE SOCIAL WORKER

• Child social workers are the day-to-day case

managers for children and families dealing with
mental, emotional, or social issues. They are
responsible for helping the child or family achieve
normalcy in their day-to-day life and generally
improve the quality of life by working to prevent
problems and provide therapy or counseling if
problems eventually arise. They help children find
success socially and academically by identifying
and addressing psychological issues.
https://careersinpsychology.org/become-a-child-welfare-social-
worker/
  CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER

• What Is Clinical Social Work? Everyone

will need to cope with difficult issues
during their lifetimes. Thankfully, the
majority of problems that most people
face are relatively short lived and easy to
fix. However, there may come a time in a
person’s life when they need a helping
hand resolving some of their tougher
https://careersinpsychology.org/becoming-clinical-social-worker/
issues in life.
 COMMUNITY SOCIAL WORKER

• Community social work is an subcategory of social work

that is focused on larger social groups and even
communities as a whole. For example, community social
workers are responsible for such things like policy creation
and analysis, social planning, community organizing,
lobbying, event-planning and much more. The importance
of thinking about the community and its health as a whole
is an important but relatively new idea. Community social
workers primarily are tasked with creating different
programs and strategies for promoting community health,
raising awareness about its importance, and implementing
https://careersinpsychology.org/community-social-worker-caree
ideas to improve that health.
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A CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT SPECIALIST

• What Is a Correctional Treatment

Specialist? As one would imagine, being
incarcerated is one of the most stressful
and emotionally disturbing events that
can happen to a person. In addition to
dealing with the emotional stress of being
incarcerated, inmates must also prepare
for their release back into society, which
can be equally – if not more – stressful. 
https://careersinpsychology.org/developing-a-career-in-correctio
ns-social-work/
 A DISABILITY POLICY SOCIAL WORKER

• Disability policy workers are the people

responsible for working with elected officials
to pass laws that help those people who are
disabled; they are basically lobbyists for the
disabled population. These workers are well-
versed in the psychological and physical
issues that cause disability and they use that
knowledge to advance the civil rights of
disabled citizens looking for additional help
https://careersinpsychology.org/become-a-disability-policy-soci
from legislative representatives.
al-worker/
 FAMILY SOCIAL WORKER

• Family social workers help foster the

development of a family dynamic and they also
help families deal with emotional, psychological,
or social issues that they face as a group through
counseling, therapy, and a deeper understanding
of where the problems came from. They help
address issues such as domestic abuse, teen
pregnancy, foster care, and repeated misbehavior
so that families can live together in a supportive
and comfortable environment.
https://careersinpsychology.org/become-a-family-social-worker/
 GERIATRIC SOCIAL WORKER

• Geriatric social workers are people who are

usually responsible for the day-to-day case
management of seniors with recurring mental,
physical, or emotional issues. They usually either
help treat and prevent problems from arising with
their patients thanks to their specific skill-set and
knowledge of psychological and physiological
issues that common affect the elderly. They help
seniors deal with and overcome any issues so that
they can live a fulfilling and normal life.
https://careersinpsychology.org/become-a-geriatric-social-work
er/
 HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE SOCIAL WORKER

• End of life is a stage that everyone

eventually experiences. While death may
come suddenly for some, most people
live to an older age and decline slowly.
In many cases, this means an eventual
confinement to the home or to hospice
care, where the individual stays until he
or she dies.

https://careersinpsychology.org/hospice-palliative-social-work-c
areers/
 MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKER

• Medical social workers are usually hospital or

nursing facility employees who work with patients
and their families to help them deal with
psychological issues they are going through. They
usually pay close attention to the social, mental,
and emotional development and well-being of
each patient in the facility so they can treat and
prevent any issues from becoming recurring
problems. They provide psychotherapy,
counseling, and emotional rehabilitation to
https://careersinpsychology.org/start-a-medical-social-work-car
patients in need.
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 MENTAL HEALTH SOCIAL WORKER

• Mental health social workers are in charge of

things like assessing, treating, diagnosing,
and caring for patients with serious emotional
or mental issues. They provide day-to-day
case management and help their patients
work through their mental disabilities so that
they can still live a healthy, happy, and
productive life. They use their knowledge of
psychology to help treat and prevent issues in
https://careersinpsychology.org/start-a-mental-health-social-wor each individual patient.
k-career/
 SOCIAL WORKERS IN THE MILITARY
• In many cases, members of the different branches of
https://careersinpsychology.org/military-social-work-careers/
the United States Military are especially susceptible to
mental and physical issues. From PTSD and
depression to learning to live an everyday life with
debilitating physical ailments, military members can
deal with a number of different problems. Military
Social Workers are specifically trained to diagnose and
treat those problems. These social workers do not need
to be members of the military themselves, although
many are, but they are charged with helping military
members re-enter society and live healthy and
productive lives.
SOCIAL WORK AS A PAROLE OFFICER

• A parole officer’s job is to assist and

monitor parolees as they adjust to their
new-found freedom. They help former
inmates with everything from finding
employment to dealing with old
problems, like substance abuse. A parole
officer may also be the one to decide
whether a parolee goes back to prison.
https://careersinpsychology.org/parole-officer/
 A PROBATION OFFICER

• A probation officer is a professional that monitors

offenders and makes sure that they abide by the rules
and follow the conditions of the probation. Although
they have some similar duties, parole officers and
probation officers are actually very different. For
instance, parole officers monitor offenders that have
warranted an early release from a correctional
facility; these are typically violent or repeat
offenders. Probation officers, on the other hand,
typically monitor nonviolent or first-time offenders,
or offenders that have committed minor crimes.
https://careersinpsychology.org/becoming-a-probation-officer/
 PSYCHIATRIC SOCIAL WORKER

• Psychiatric Social Work is a narrowly tailored

branch of social work that deals with the study of
mental issues and disorders. These social workers
are responsible for helping diagnose, treat, and in
some cases, cure mental disabilities and disorders
among their patients. This can include behavioral
issues that stem from mental issues. Many people
can call themselves psychiatric social workers but
there is also specific study that needs to happen in
order for psychiatric social workers to be effective
at their jobs.
https://careersinpsychology.org/psychiatric-social-work-careers/
  PUBLIC HEALTH SOCIAL WORK

• Public health social workers identify social

problems affecting the well-being and social
development of the public and then seek to not
only treat them, but also understand them
better so they can prevent them in the future.
They work to promote positive mental and
emotional development in individuals, groups,
the community and the public at-large by
using their psychological background to help
assess broader social development issues.
https://careersinpsychology.org/become-a-public-health-social-
worker/
 SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK

• School Social Workers are usually hired by school

districts to help students not only with academic
success but behavioral, social, and mental health
support as well. They use their training in
psychology and counseling to help students and
their families with any issues ranging from
academic progress concerns to social development
issues. They are the people responsible for helping
children adapt and assimilate successfully to their
school so they can be prepared for what lies
beyond.
https://careersinpsychology.org/start-a-school-social-work-caree
r/
 SOCIAL WORK ADMINISTRATORS

• Social work administrators are responsible for looking

at the industry from a macro perspective and while
actual social workers are responsible for dealing with
individual patients, administrators are often responsible
for building the business behind that care and treatment.
The administrators are responsible for everything from
budget planning to fundraising and even creating the
processes for offering care and support to patients. The
administrators play a more behind-the-scenes role, but
without them, it would be difficult to find competent
and high-quality elder care facilities, medical clinics
https://careersinpsychology.org/social-work-administration-care
and much more.
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 SOCIAL WORK

• Social workers are the people responsible for

either helping people live their daily lives by
helping them cope with their mental, social,
emotional, and physical problems, or they
can be clinical workers who can diagnose and
treat mental and emotional issues. Both types
of social workers are charged with helping
people overcome emotional issues by using
their psychological background and
https://careersinpsychology.org/start-a-general-social-work-care
er/ knowledge base.
 SUBSTANCE ABUSE SOCIAL WORK

• What Is Substance Abuse Social Work?

Substance abuse is defined as the habitual
repeated use of a harmful substance for
the sole purpose of mood alteration.
Nearly all substance abusers start abusing
substances for the immediate mood
altering effects. Depending on the
substance, the effects may vary, ranging
https://careersinpsychology.org/become-a-substance-abuse-socifrom calming effects to elation. 
al-worker/
VICTIM ADVOCATES

• What Is Victim Advocacy? Surviving a

crime is one thing. Surviving the months
and years after a crime is a whole
different feat, however. Being the victim
of a crime is often very devastating for
most people. Victims will often have to
cope with feelings such as terror, grief,
anger, confusion, depression, and even
guilt.