Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers Occupation Details

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

The main tasks and work activities of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers are to counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues, counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues, collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments, maintain client records. In general, for the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, active Listening, speaking, social Perceptiveness, reading Comprehension and other 17 skills are required.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers Job Description
Education	Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Related Experience	Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Job Training	Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Example	These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include pharmacists, lawyers, astronomers, biologists, clergy, neurologists, and veterinarians.

The following chart shows the education/training levels for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers jobs. 3.55% of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers have High School Diploma (or the equivalent) and 4.30% of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers have Post-Secondary Certificate.

Less than a High School Diploma

0.00%

High School Diploma (or the equivalent)

3.55%

Post-Secondary Certificate

4.30%

Some College Courses

0.00%

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)

3.05%

Bachelor's Degree and Above

89.10%

Tasks and Work Activities of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
Refer patient, client, or family to community resources for housing or treatment to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness, following through to ensure service efficacy.
Counsel or aid family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting the client or patient.
Modify treatment plans according to changes in client status.
Plan or conduct programs to prevent substance abuse, combat social problems, or improve health or counseling services in community.
Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients.
Develop or advise on social policy or assist in community development.
Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
Educate clients or community members about mental or physical illness, abuse, medication, or available community resources.
Assist clients in adhering to treatment plans, such as setting up appointments, arranging for transportation to appointments, or providing support.
Increase social work knowledge by reviewing current literature, conducting social research, or attending seminars, training workshops, or classes.

Assisting and Caring for OthersProviding personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Documenting/Recording InformationEntering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with OthersHandling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and EventsIdentifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Performing for or Working Directly with the PublicPerforming for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues.
Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
Maintain client records.
Monitor clients to evaluate treatment progress.
Refer clients to community or social service programs.
Counsel family members of clients or patients.
Modify treatment plans to accommodate client needs.
Plan programs to address community health issues.
Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
Advise others on social or educational issues.
Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
Collect information about clients.
Lead classes or community events.
Assist clients in handling details of daily life.
Maintain professional social services knowledge.
Conduct research on social issues.

Skills and Abilities for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Management of Personnel ResourcesMotivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Speed of ClosureThe ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
Notebook computerse.g. Notebook computers
Personal computerse.g. Personal computers

PsychologyKnowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Therapy and CounselingKnowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Sociology and AnthropologyKnowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers Occupation Detailed Description

Tasks and Work Activities of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Skills and Abilities for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers