In the generalist portion, students learn how to assess clients and evaluate and adjust client services to address their needs. The specialist portion, on the other hand, focuses on particular fields within the profession of social work. For example, students might learn how to work in a hospital setting, corrections or the child protection system.
In specialist courses, students have the opportunity to use the knowledge they gained through their core courses to make assessments of clients and create intervention plans. At the core of the MAC curriculum, students learn the necessary steps for helping their clients change their lifestyles in order to develop habits that promote positive relationships, career growth and general well-being. Upon graduating from a MAC program, counselors can enter the workforce as behavioral, substance abuse or mental health counselors.
A MAC degree can also help improve career satisfaction, as counselors with higher education are frequently allowed to operate with lower supervision than their less-educated peers. In a job search, an MSW may prove its value, and holding one could broaden your choice of paths and opportunities as your career progresses. Social workers do much more than provide therapy and counseling services. An example of this is the hospital social worker who delivers family counseling and discharge planning, and sets up ongoing treatment and social services for the discharged patient.
Again, this broader reach is the realm of a typical social worker. MSW programs do vary in terms of preparing students for therapeutic counseling work. Furthermore, to become a licensed clinical social worker and deliver psychotherapeutic therapy, MSWs must pursue postgraduate coursework and training—though they are permitted to begin their counseling practices during this time. If becoming a therapist is your end goal, and you have decided to pursue an MSW, it is important that you choose a social work program with a specialization in clinical counseling.
One option is to seek out an MSW program that offers a stand-alone certificate in individual, couples, and family therapy.
There are many social work programs—including online programs—that offer a dedicated certificate in clinical counseling. This degree offers you narrowly focused preparation as a counselor in a range of specialized settings. You can earn an online master's in counseling, just as you can earn an online MSW. Keep in mind that you may not see the full arc of your career at its beginning, so it's important to plan for future opportunities.
Some states have established mental health counseling as its own license category. Others group a range of mental health counseling professionals together. MSWs generally are not grouped with mental health licensure, but pursue state licensure as a standalone profession. So, while both degrees come with rigorous requirements, both academically and for state licensure, you may find that one degree has an easier go of it in your state than the other.
Ultimately, either degree can result in a fulfilling career helping the most vulnerable among us. Categorized as: Social Work , Counseling. Similarly, Marriage and Family Therapists MFTs work with couples and families on their relationship challenges, as well as the mental, emotional, and behavioral barriers to effective communication and connection with others. The scope of work for MFTs typically overlaps with but does not cover all that is within the purview of social work, because MFTs do not generally work in the social justice, case management, or program development arenas.
The distinctions and overlaps between the social work and licensed counseling professions are reflected in the differences and similarities in the graduate programs preparing students for these respective careers.
However, MSW programs with these specializations typically also contain courses that help students understand how they can help empower and support the people with whom they work within larger medical, social, political, and economic systems. The difference between the two lies in the convenience and flexibility they offer to their students. For degree candidates who are working or raising a family while pursuing their education, having the ability to attend classes from home rather than living on campus or commuting to a brick-and-mortar has obvious advantages and may also come with a lower cost for tuition.
Alternatively, students who choose a campus-based education have the opportunity to establish important relationships with their fellow students as well as their professors. They have greater access to on-campus student services such as career counseling and the university library and may benefit from the more rigid schedule that in-person education demands.
Every state and the District of Columbia requires that social workers pass a state licensure examination and graduate from an educational institution that is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
Each state also has its own additional requirements, which vary depending on the title that a social worker is seeking licensure for. Most states require two years of supervised clinical experience in order to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and there are other requirements to become a Licensed Independent Social Worker. The CSWE has a commission that is specifically dedicated to developing standards for social work education and currently has MSW programs that meet their rigorous criteria for inclusion.
To ensure that any school you are considering applying to has qualified, visit the CSWE website. Social work is both intensely challenging and intensely rewarding. It provides the opportunity to serve people with tremendous needs and to make a real difference.
If you are trying to decide whether this is the right career for you, it is important that you weigh the pros and cons of becoming a social worker. These include:. Because both counseling and social work are helping fields that demand high levels of compassion and empathy, admissions committees also require a history of interest in the field.
This can be demonstrated through your chosen curriculum as an undergraduate, relevant volunteer work performed, or relevant work experience since your graduation from undergraduate school. Though social work and counseling are different areas of study and have different admissions criteria, in both cases admissions committees are looking for particular types of personalities and levels of commitment to the field of study.
Though the two fields rely on many of the same skills, social work encompasses an understanding of social policy and how to utilize resources to help people, while counseling is more focused directly on therapy and human behavior.
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