March is National Social Work Month, a time to celebrate an occupation dedicated to serving others. Social work is a helping profession, meaning it provides health and education services to individuals and groups. Additionally, social work focuses on people and their environments to truly understand each individual’s distinct circumstances. There are many types of social workers, all committed to helping people solve and cope with life’s many challenges. Let’s talk about a few of the ways social work can contribute to the greater good of society.
Types of social work
Social workers can be found in nearly every aspect of society. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) lists 15 kinds of social work, from school social workers who assist students to mental health and substance abuse social work. Social workers might assist people with disabilities working to navigate societal barriers. They may work with underserved communities to seek adequate housing or help families struggling with domestic abuse. Social work can also be focused on research, working to help improve existing community services or policy developments. The broadest distinction within the field is clinical versus non-clinical social work.
Clinical social work is a healthcare profession requiring direct work with clients. It uses theories and methods of prevention and treatment to provide mental-health and healthcare services, focusing on an individual’s environmental influences.
Non-clinical social work focuses more on a macro level, facilitating change in more extensive systems within society.
There’s a perpetual need for social workers. To become a social worker requires an undergraduate degree and, most often, a graduate degree in social work, known as a Master of Social Work (MSW). But most importantly, social work requires experience in the field.
How social work impacts our world
The United States social work profession was established in the late 19th century to bring economic resources and support to immigrants and other vulnerable people. Over one hundred years later, social work has inspired and effected tremendous social change. In fact, many social workers played significant roles in both the civil rights and worker rights movements.
Here are a few ways social work has led to direct improvements in society:
Social workers provide the majority of mental health services in the United States.
A recent study revealed there are more clinically-trained social workers than psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses combined. As society continues to grow in support of better mental health, social workers offer a usually more accessible option to many people unable to get mental health services otherwise.
Government investment in social work leads to positive shifts in communities.
Communities with active social workers are proven to have lower crime rates, better school attendance and employment rates, and higher economic returns.
Social workers are on the front lines during a national crisis.
National disaster or crisis was recently redefined to mean, “A sudden event that has the potential to terrify, horrify, or engender substantial losses for many people simultaneously.” Social workers offer services amid major national crises, including psychological first aid, or PFA, an immediate distress method to promote short- and long-term coping. Social workers also present post-disaster family aid and community rebuilding services.
In practice, social work disaster relief can look like the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship providing social work and mental health services sent to Puerto Rico to help in the wake of Hurricane Maria. It can also look like connecting nearly 70,000 people to much-needed mental health services amid the Northern California Wildfires in 2017.
Social work is a compassion medium between individuals and society. Its distinct purpose is to serve its community and underserved individuals within a society. It’s a profession that requires empathy and understanding, and society only benefits from such charitable traits.
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