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Psychiatric social workers provide mental health care to individuals with a high level of need. The social worker is permitted to offer counseling services and diagnose mental health disorders, but the primary goal of the psychiatric social worker is to create a supportive atmosphere that enhances the quality of life of the mentally ill and their families.

The Role of a Psychiatric Social Worker

The social worker becomes a vital part of their patients’ lives, knowing their circumstances, needs, personal battles, and the steps they must take to improve their situation. Social workers help individuals cope with personal battles, such as addiction, PTSD, and developmental disabilities. The role of the social worker in a psychiatric setting is much the same: getting to know and understand the patient in ways that the resident physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist does not.

In a psychiatric setting, the role of the social worker is to provide a support network and act as an available resource for the patient and the patient’s family. By offering structured counseling sessions, including support groups, the psychiatric social worker connects individuals who are coping with similar situations and helps families become more comfortable caring for their loved ones with mental health issues.

While the social worker’ primary focus is the individual and family in need, ultimately, the social worker is part of the mental health team, reporting back to the lead psychologists and physicians, so they can provide the necessary assessment and treatment.

Psychiatric Social Worker: Necessary Skills

Social work is not for everyone. Social workers must possess a number of personality traits and have the required skills and knowledge to enable them to assist with their patients’ many challenges. A social worker must complete a college-level social work program; moreover, in many contexts, a master’s degree in social work is required as well as social work licensure. However, social workers cannot learn everything they need in classroom lectures and university studies. Some innate attributes are necessary that reach beyond education and speak largely of the type of person who is drawn to this kind of career, rather than the training required to be successful.

All social workers, including psychiatric social workers, must possess the following personal skills:

Psychiatric Social Worker Work Environment and Occupational Hazards

The psychiatric social worker typically works in hospital or residential care settings. One of the primary tasks of the social worker, especially in the hospital environment, is preparing the patient for discharge. This process goes far beyond completion of the paperwork necessary for a patient to leave the hospital at the end of the stay. The psychiatric social worker meets with patients soon after admittance to begin tracking their progress, to offer ongoing support, and to help them reach a level of personal autonomy and maintenance, so discharge is a viable option.

Common places of employment for a psychiatric social worker include:

Occupational hazards come with psychiatric social work. Interaction with mentally unstable patients requires the social worker to exercise ongoing cautionary measures with a focus on security, including their own personal safety as well as the patient’s. Job strain, also sometimes referred to as “compassion fatigue,” is another hazard of the social work field. Social worker musts practice regular self-care to avoid becoming unable to care for their patients.

Psychiatric Social Work Salary and Job Outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average salary of a psychiatric social worker in the United States is$60,130, which varies depending on the location of the position as well as with level of experience. Entry-level positions typically pay around $34,630; the most experienced social workers often earn upwards of $97,000.

Employment opportunities for mental health and substance abuse social workers are anticipated to grow11%between 2021 and 2031. This is a faster rate of occupational growth than exists in other occupations. Experts anticipate that the need for psychiatric social workers will grow along with the increased demand for health care and social services. Additionally, jobs for psychiatric social workers vary state to state.

Psychiatric Social Worker Job Description

Psychiatric social workers are pivotal members of the psychiatric treatment team that works with patients facing mental health challenges, which, depending on the psychiatric setting, may vary from depression and anxiety to psychotic breaks.

As a social worker, your responsibilities typically will include:

The duties of the psychiatric social worker change from day to day, depending on the individuals served and the needs of the patients. In some settings, a social worker may have the opportunity to specialize and focus on only a few tasks, while other social workers complete the remainder of the duties. In other settings, a single psychiatric social worker does everything required. In any context, the social worker never works alone; instead, the social worker is part of a mental health team composed of other professionals, including physicians, nurses, and psychologists who all support the individual in need.

Psychiatric Social Worker Education and Training

2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics job market trends and salary figures forpsychiatric social workersare based on national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed July 2023.

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