Understanding the Specialization of Social Work Services


Being an inpatient in a mental health hospital such as a nursing home or another assisted living facility can be difficult for families and their loved ones. You don’t know where you’ll end up, what you’ll do next, or if you’ll ever get better. For this reason, many families prefer to place their loved ones in a variety of different social work services. While inpatient social work usually is part of the health care team, patient social worker is usually only part of the health care staff, working alongside doctors, nurses, mental health counsellors, physical therapists, and other health professionals. The social worker will meet you within the first 72 hours of your hospital admission to help answer any lingering questions you may have regarding being in the acute care hospital environment.

What Can Social Work Help To Achieve

Social work services can also be offered to adult patients, but typically work is done in an assisted living or skilled nursing facility. Some facilities allow social work services to be offered to children, but generally it’s not something available to children in this way unless the patient is extremely ill or disabled. Children have unique concerns that are unique to their health and mental condition; children don’t respond well to the same social services as adults. In some cases, social work services are even provided to children who are suspected of committing a crime (although this is not often done).

Substance abuse, or abuse of drugs and/or alcohol, is a growing problem in today’s society. Because of the nature of substance abuse – often, people will use drugs and/or alcohol in a seemingly effort to self-medicate for a variety of “shadows” or emotional issues. Substance abuse is now recognized as a primary preventable cause of disease, death, and disability among non-institutionalized populations. Professionals who offer social work services to individuals who may be at risk for substance abuse are required to participate in specific training in substance abuse and its related discipline.

Another area of specialty within the realm of social work is clinical social work. Clinical social workers (CSTs) are health professionals that work with patients and families to provide integrated psychological and community health services. Generally, they are assigned to work with patients who are experiencing life-long disabilities, or who are in crisis or need specialized medical treatment. They provide information, assistance, and advocacy to the client and family, and assist them in gaining access to medical, social, educational, economic, legal, and mental health services.

Further Points To Note About Social Work

Of course, clinical social workers do not refer their clients to any sort of mental health specialist. Rather, they are responsible for developing personal relationships with their clients and providing information and support to them about their unique situation. Some common services that may be offered by a clinical social worker include assessment and referral, diagnosis and screening, personalized care, therapy and management, practice management, and practice referrals. While all of these areas of specialization may seem relatively small, they combine to create a solid picture of the social work services that a typical social worker provides to their clients. Additionally, this type of professional works with people who may have particular health problems, such as chronic illnesses and drug and alcohol addiction.

Overall, these three types of specialization within social work can be extremely useful to mental health professionals and those charged with providing social services to the public. However, it is important for social workers to remain apathetic to the increasing specialization that is occurring within the field of mental health. The specialization that is occurring within the profession now is simply not set in stone, and is rapidly changing. As social workers work to keep up with the ever-changing needs of patients and the new dynamics of mental health practice, the field will likely continue to grow.