47. Social Worker

Social workers are people who care about people; who want to make things better, who want to relieve suffering, who want their work to make a difference. Social work is a profession devoted to helping people function the best they can in their environment. This can mean providing direct services or therapy directly to people (called "clients"). It can also mean working for change to improve social conditions. The social worker bridges the gap between the two worlds of hospital and community.

The phrase "in their environment" points to a distinguishing characteristic of social work - one that sets it apart from other helping professions. Social workers help clients deal with not only how they feel about a situation but also what they can do about it. For example, a man suffering stress stemming from single parenting may be referred by a social worker to a child care agency. The social worker might also help him explore flextime with his employer and might work with a coalition of local employers to make flextime and child care more available. In addition, the social worker might provide therapy to help him handle the immediate stress.

Many social workers work for social change as well. The victim of an assault benefits not only from therapy but also efforts to curb neighborhood crime. The client under stress because illness has devastated the family finances benefits from efforts to reform the Nation's health care system. Social work that deals with the practice of social work in criminal and civil law settings. Forensic social workers are employed in a variety of settings, such as psychiatric hospitals, state and municipal agencies and by law enforcement departments.

Social Workers have several licensure levels to reflect differences in the extent of the professional's education, and overall work experience. Social Workers provide counseling services to clients dealing with daily life issues, but they tend to do it more from the perspective of society and the surrounding environment, rather than focusing on an individual's personal motivations. Social Workers are generally more associated with social service agencies and charitable organizations than Professional Counselors.

One social worker describes how boroughs compete with each other to attract high-calibre staff. "They not only offer 'golden hellos' but good training options and opportunities to work in different areas." States license Social Workers within a multi-tiered system to reflect differences in education, training and work experience. Social workers believe that mental health treatment should be provided in parity with treatment for other types of illnesses, and should be included in all health care plans. Social workers everywhere work to ensure a mentally healthy America.