CATEGORIES: Clinical Practice
Jul, 7 2013
How to Become a Clinical Social Worker
Clinical social workers are responsible for helping individuals, groups, and families cope through situations that involve emotional, behavioral, and mental concerns. These concerns include but are not limited to substance abuse, domestic conflicts, and life threatening illnesses. In order for a person to become a licensed clinical social worker, they must obtain certain educational credentials and have a certain amount of job experience in the field. This level of education and experience varies by state, but some of the universal requirements are:
· obtaining a Master’s Degree from a university that has been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (for more information on accreditation go to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation/Accredited-Programs.aspx)
· having either 3,000 hours or a minimum of two years of experience in a supervised clinic after one has received a Master’s or Doctorate Degree
· having a passing score on the ASWB or Association of Social Work Boards exam (for more information on the exam go to http://www.aswb.org/)
· pay any application and licensure fees in order to take exams (the fee amount varies by state)
· receiving a clinical license from each state in which the clinical social worker desires to work
Besides the universal requirements, other necessary credentials needed to become a licensed clinical social worker in certain states include:
· additional coursework requirements which includes classes such as human sexuality, and substance abuse and dependency in order to provide the clinical social worker with more knowledge on concerns of individuals they will help in California
· completing training or a course that will give the clinical social worker experience on how to identify and report child abuse in New York
· supervised field placement while working on obtaining a Master’s Degree along with two years or 1500 hours of supervised experienced after receiving a Master’s Degree in Florida
· accumulating 3500 total work hours, 2000 client hours, and 100 supervised hours in the Oregon
If a person has obtained their License of Clinical Social Work in one state and wishes to practice in another state, they must first make sure that they have met all of the individual requirements set forth by that particular state. Finally, they must pass the ASWB for that state in order to become licensed to practice there. If a clinical social worker comes across a situation at any time that requires them to obtain more information or skills, they must do so or direct their client to someone who already has the knowledge.
Reference Links
http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/naswclinicalswstandards.pdf
http://www.bbs.ca.gov/app-reg/lcs_requirement.shtml
http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/sw/lcsw.htm
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/491/info_491_Lic_req.pdf