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Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
(SOC Code : 21-1023)
in California

Assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Activities may include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education.

Employers are usually looking for candidates with a Master's degree .

Occupational Wages[Top]
AreaYearPeriodHourly MeanHourly by Percentile
25thMedian75th
California 20241st Qtr$40.28$25.50$35.39$53.18

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Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")[Top]
 AreaEstimated Year-Projected YearEmploymentEmployment ChangeTotal Job Openings
EstimatedProjectedNumberPercent
California 2020 - 203016,80018,5001,70010.117,840

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Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange[Top]
 
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Possible Licenses Required and Issuing Authority[Top]
License Title
License Authority
Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW), RegistrationDepartment of Consumer Affairs
Board of Behavioral Sciences
Licensing
http://www.bbs.ca.gov
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), LicenseDepartment of Consumer Affairs
Board of Behavioral Sciences
Licensing
http://www.bbs.ca.gov

About Licenses
 

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)[Top]
Industry Title
Number of Employers in State of California
Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California
Residential Intellectual and Dev10311.7%
Outpatient Care Centers 2,88911.6%
Individual and Family Services38,21811.0%
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 83,6687.7%
General Medical and Surgical Hos1,3197.6%
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse1,8485.5%
Social Advocacy Organizations 19,8985.5%
Community Food and Housing, and1,3514.7%
Offices of Physicians 67,2514.1%
Other Residential Care Facilities 8202.3%
Grantmaking and Giving Services7961.2%

About Staffing Patterns
 

Training Programs (click on title for more information)[Top]
Program Title
Clinical/Medical Social Work
Social Work
Social Work, Other

About Training & Apprenticeships
 

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)[Top]
Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)
Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
Counsel or aid family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting the client or patient.
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.
Modify treatment plans according to changes in client status.
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.

More Tasks for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers


Top Skills used in this Job
Active Listening - Giving 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.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

More Skills for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers


Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity - The 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.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

More Abilities for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers


Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)
Achievement - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

More WorkValues for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers


Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)
Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

More Interests for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

 
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