Social work in virtually all of its applications is at least psychology adjacent. While social workers are never providing mental health diagnoses on a clinical level, they are typically working with people who are encountering acute or chronic psychological health factors.
People dealing with trauma, substance abuse, or other mental health struggles are the more advanced the social worker becomes in their practice, the more foundational human psychology becomes.
In this article, we take a look at why it is important and how social workers can learn more about psychology as they grow into their profession.
What Is the Difference Between a Social Worker, a Psychologist, and a Therapist?
That’s a good question, particularly because the services that each provides can, at times, look nearly identical from the outside. There are indeed social workers who provide counseling services that bear almost all outward hallmarks of, say, an appointment with a licensed therapist.
The differences are both conceptual and regulatory. Regulatory-wise, social workers cannot make formal diagnoses or prescribe medications the way that a fully licensed therapist could. Conceptually speaking, all three mental health professionals look at slightly different aspects of human consideration.
Psychologists are very focused on clinical testing and broad ideas that can influence human psychology.
Psychiatrists are more focused on the physiological components of mental health, particularly how a person’s brain chemistry influences their behavior.
The social worker, on the other hand, takes more of a sociological view of the situation. They are focused on how individuals behave within a system, how that system might predispose certain types of people to different behaviors, and what tools can be applied to help a person out of harmful behaviors.
In all cases, the individual being treated’s psychology is taken into consideration, but the approach differs. More to the point, most people who need the services of a social worker might also be receiving some form of clinical evaluation as well.
In that way, all three mental health professionals will frequently collaborate on a single case to ensure that all possible areas of human health and behavior are being taken into consideration.
Why Is Psychology So Important in Social Work?
There are clinical social workers who work very directly with people who are experiencing some form of mental or emotional duress. These professionals have genuinely acquired specialized training to help former felons or people who have experienced trauma to help them live healthy lives that are more consistent with the expectations of society.
Even social workers who are not necessarily interested in focusing exclusively on mental health-related concepts will generally benefit from and receive instruction on human psychology.
Transitioning from BSW to MSW (Bachelor of Social Work to Master of Social Work) will very naturally encompass training on all of the factors that are typically associated with putting someone in contact with social work services to begin with.
Do You Need a Graduate Degree to Be a Good Social Worker?
That is the question that many recent BSW graduates ask themselves. Most higher-paying social work jobs require an MSW. Entry-level positions will still allow you to make a difference and indeed contribute to the psychological health of your community in certain ways.
However, the most extensive and often rewarding responsibilities do lie on the other side of a graduate degree. You don’t necessarily need to walk right out of your graduation ceremony and into the enrollment office for another round of education, but you’ll more than likely at least want to strongly consider it if you are going to make a career out of social work.
That’s a naturally frustrating development for people who want to make a difference in the world but are less keen on taking out six figures in student loans to do it. Here’s the good news: MSW programs are generally streamlined so that BSW holders can finish them in around one year or less.
They are also made much more affordable by grant and scholarship opportunities. You may find additional tuition support through employment if you take a job in a social work position right after school.
In this scenario, you’ll have the chance to tackle your degree while beginning your career at the same time, a proposition that decidedly has both pros and cons. On the one hand, you get to start making money and enjoying your career.
On the other hand, graduate school is not easy under the best of circumstances, and certainly it’s made more difficult when juggling personal and professional responsibilities.
If you do go the MSW route, you certainly don’t need to prioritize only courses of study that focus on mental health services.
As mentioned earlier, most programs will include them in some way. You just need to figure out in what capacity you hope to make the biggest difference. Clinical or mental health-specific social work is highly impactful, but there are many ways to contribute to society as a social worker.
Conclusion
You do not need to focus all of your social work efforts on psychological considerations. However, having an educational background that takes into account the way mental health influences a person’s behavior and experiences of the world is important.
Most people who find themselves in front of a social worker are encountering some type of personal difficulty. They aren’t always experiencing a full-blown mental health crisis, but they all can benefit from the heightened level of compassion and understanding that a person receives from an education in psychology.
Here’s the bottom line: learning more about mental health will only help you as a social worker. That doesn’t mean it needs to be the exclusive focus of your work, but it should be taken seriously.
The good news is that virtually any graduate program you choose will have this understanding built into the curriculum. Your job is simply to find a program that resonates with you.
Mariam holds an MS in Sociology with a specialization in Medical Sociology and Social Psychology. With a strong academic background and extensive research work in both fields, she brings depth and clarity to complex topics. Her writing explores the intersection of society, health, and the human mind, making academic ideas easy to grasp and relevant to everyday life.
