5 Reasons Why You Should See a Social Worker for Therapy
Author: Kara Lissy
The search for a therapist - especially in New York City - can feel like sorting through a daunting collection of various acronyms. LCSW, LMHC, LMFT, PsyD……but what do they all mean?!
If this has been your experience, I can somewhat relate - at least from an academic lens. I knew I wanted to be a therapist from the age of 16, and as such kept my eye on the prize: a bachelor’s degree in psychology. But as my undergraduate studies drew to a close, I found myself perplexed about where to turn next.
The accolade of having a doctorate in psychology was tempting; at the same time, I knew those who’d had success with their degrees in counseling. Yet a Masters in Social Work stood out to me for a variety of reasons. I hope in detailing those reasons below, I can help you answer the question: Why should I see a social worker for therapy?
1. We take a special interest in how you have been shaped by and interact with your environment.
As social workers, our education, field training (colloquially known as our internships), and code of ethics are deeply rooted in the notion that human beings do not exist in a vacuum. While psychology and the study of human behavior are crucial parts of our learning experience, we pay special attention to systems theory when it comes to working with our clients. In fact, we believe we cannot understand the individual without also understanding the systems in which we operate. These can range from more close-knit experiences - such as family, school and community - to broader societal, spiritual and global forces.
We are able to work therapeutically using this lens because we are actively engaging in our own self-awareness as well. In her article “Location of Self: Opening the Door to Dialogue on Intersectionality in the Therapy Process”, Dr. Thandiwe Deewatts-Jones defines “location of self” as the process by which a therapist initiates a conversation about similarities and differences between the therapist and client’s (or couple or family) key identities. By discussing how sexual orientation, race, class and gender dynamics show up in the room in the very beginning of working together, the social worker establishes a space where further conversations about identity can be brought up or continued.
2. We are passionate about social and racial justice.
As social workers, inherent in our desire to help others is a passion for the larger, ongoing, uphill battle for social justice. For many of us, this interest and value is already well-established in our consciousness before we gain the official title of social worker. For others, the idea of contributing to social justice starts as a seed within us that is nurtured by the social work community as we move through our education and field placement.
As our code of ethics states, “Social workers should promote conditions that encourage respect for cultural and social diversity within the United States and globally. Social workers should promote policies and practices that demonstrate respect for difference, support the expansion of cultural knowledge and resources, advocate for programs and institutions that demonstrate cultural competence, and promote policies that safeguard the rights of and confirm equity and social justice for all people.”
As such, conversations about privilege, implicit bias and diversity, equity and inclusion are rife in our workspaces and in our discussions with our clients. These discussions may start in the classroom during our education but they certainly don’t end there.
3. Our degree affords us the ability to work in many different environments, making us well-rounded clinicians.
If we reference our code of ethics again, we see at the very beginning our primary responsibility is “to promote the wellbeing of clients”. I had no idea just how wide the term “client” could stretch until I entered social work school! Social workers can work with people of need in so many settings, including but certainly not limited to:
Schools
Community centers
Skilled nursing facilities
Hospitals (inpatient units, outpatient clinics, emergency rooms, oncology units, etc.)
Private practice settings (as therapists)
Outreach coordinators
Substance abuse programs
Foster care and adoption agencies
Fertility clinics
Having had these early experiences in graduate school, we appreciate the diverse network of care it takes to provide treatment to our patients or clients. We know that therapy does not exist in a vacuum. Take, for instance, the therapeutic milieu of a residential foster care setting. The saying “it takes a village” certainly applies; everyone that a youth interacts with, from the community to the psychiatrists to the nurses to the cooks and custodial staff, has an impact on their mental health. It is a shared responsibility to create a safe environment where trauma can heal.
This experience is what makes social workers unique in a private practice setting. We understand a client only brings 45 minutes of their life experience to us on a given day, and as such we take into account the fact that our clients play multiple roles in their lives. They are students, daughters, sons, partners, mothers, fathers, employees and sometimes spiritual beings. They are humans with rich cultural history and different kinds of ties to their communities. To put it simply: we understand we exist in multiple contexts at once.
Let us also not forget that social workers’ clinical experience in the community makes them excellent candidates for leadership positions; many social workers find themselves in director or CEO positions, or perhaps as a founder of their own organization. Furthermore, our ability to adapt to different roles in different settings allows us to enjoy diversity in our career if we so choose.
4. We can provide group, family and couples therapy in addition to individual therapy.
Bearing in mind our person-in-environment approach, as social workers, we are not just trained in individual work, as we believe this does not capture the whole picture. Many of our internships and work environments include group therapy training as well as the opportunity to work with couples and children.
Relationships are a complex variable in human behavior, and we seek to understand them in a variety of contexts. It is our hope that the healing relationship between client and therapist can be a jumping off board or a model for other healthy relationships and communication patterns to bloom.
5. Clinical supervision is a pillar of our philosophy.
If you are searching or have previously searched for a therapist, you may have noticed a slight difference in social work credentials. LMSW stands for “Licensed Master Social Worker” which means the clinician has a degree from a graduate program in social work, has completed two academic years of internships, and has passed their first state licensure exam. LMSWs can operate in all of the settings I described above, but do not have the power to independently diagnose and treat without first consulting with a supervisor.
LMSWs require a designated number of hours of client work and supervision in order to qualify for the next “level” of licensure. They also must practice for at least 3 years under said supervision. As such, clinical supervision grounds us in both theory and practice as social workers because we understand the value of helping a green social worker grow into an experienced, perhaps independent practitioner.
As for the acronym LCSW, these are more experienced social workers who have at least 3 years of post-graduate experience working with clients under supervision. They have passed their second licensing exam and can diagnose, treat and work in private practice without consultation from a supervisor. In our community, though, supervision does not end when you “earn your C”. At A Good Place, for instance, each therapist is assigned a supervisor regardless of their licensure status. We believe learning is lifelong; humans are ever-evolving and so is our understanding of how to work with each other.
In Closing…
The search for a therapist is a deeply personal - and sometimes confusing - process. I hope these points have shed some light on the benefits to working with a social worker. I realize I may be a bit biased, but in my eyes, with a passion for justice, adaptability and flexibility, a thorough supervisory process and a supportive community, you simply can’t go wrong.
References:
Dee Watts-Jones, Thandiwe. “Location of Self: Opening the Door to Dialogue on Intersectionality in the Therapy Process.” Family Process, vol. 49, no. 3, 2010, pp. 405–420., doi:10.1111/(issn)1545-5300.
“National Association of Social Workers (NASW).” NASW - National Association of Social Workers, 2017, www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English.
