Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
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Overview
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.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary ($74K): Nursing
Largest undergraduate program (25.5% of workers): Social Work
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
WorkerHealthSocialMentalCounselorCaseManagerClinicianTherapistAbuseBehavioralClinicalCommunityCrisisSubstanceInterventionSpecialistDirectDrugLicensedOutpatientPsychotherapistAddictionsAlcoholismTechnicianManagersChemicalDependencySupportCareServiceProviderFamilyAdvocateGroupHomeLCSWPractitionerPsychiatricResidential
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Responsibilities and activities

Social workers typically do the following:

  • Identify people and communities in need of help
  • Assess clients’ needs, situations, strengths, and support networks to determine their goals
  • Help clients adjust to changes and challenges in their lives, such as illness, divorce, or unemployment
  • Research, refer, and advocate for community resources, such as food stamps, childcare, and healthcare to assist and improve a client’s well-being
  • Respond to crisis situations such as child abuse and mental health emergencies
  • Follow up with clients to ensure that their situations have improved
  • Maintain case files and records
  • Develop and evaluate programs and services to ensure that basic client needs are met
  • Provide psychotherapy services

Social workers help people cope with challenges in their lives. They help with a wide range of situations, such as adopting a child or being diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Advocacy is an important aspect of social work. Social workers advocate or raise awareness with and on behalf of their clients and the social work profession on local, state, and national levels.

Some social workers—referred to as bachelor’s social workers (BSW)—work with groups, community organizations, and policymakers to develop or improve programs, services, policies, and social conditions. This focus of work is referred to as macro social work.

Social workers who are licensed to diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders are called clinical social workers (CSW) or licensed clinical social workers (LCSW). They provide individual, group, family, and couples therapy; they work with clients to develop strategies to change behavior or cope with difficult situations; and they refer clients to other resources or services, such as support groups or other mental health professionals. Clinical social workers can develop treatment plans with the client, doctors, and other healthcare professionals and may adjust the treatment plan if necessary based on their client’s progress. They may work in a variety of specialties. Clinical social workers who have not completed two years of supervised work are often called master’s social workers (MSW).

The following are examples of types of social workers:

Child and family social workers protect vulnerable children and help families in need of assistance. They help families find housing or services, such as childcare, or apply for benefits, such as food stamps. They intervene when children are in danger of neglect or abuse. Some help arrange adoptions, locate foster families, or work to reunite families.

School social workers work with teachers, parents, and school administrators to develop plans and strategies to improve students’ academic performance and social development. Students and their families are often referred to social workers to deal with problems such as aggressive behavior, bullying, or frequent absences from school.

Healthcare social workers help patients understand their diagnosis and make the necessary adjustments to their lifestyle, housing, or healthcare. For example, they may help people make the transition from the hospital back to their homes and communities. In addition, they may provide information on services, such as home healthcare or support groups, to help patients manage their illness or disease. Social workers help doctors and other healthcare professionals understand the effects that diseases and illnesses have on patients’ mental and emotional health. Some healthcare social workers specialize in geriatric social work, hospice and palliative care, or medical social work.

Mental health and substance abuse social workers help clients with mental illnesses or addictions. They provide information on services, such as support groups and 12-step programs, to help clients cope with their illness. Many clinical social workers function in these roles as well.

Salary
Median salary: $48,720 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $37,220 and $65,210.
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Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for mental health and substance abuse social workers
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$51K$50K$54K$52K$57K$40K$53K$42K$25K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
01K2K3K4K5K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of mental health and substance abuse social workers who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • Time Pressure (84%)
  • High Conflict Frequency (68%)
  • Unpleasant or Angry People (57%)
  • Consequence of Error (46%)
  • Responsible for Others' Health (39%)
  • Physically Aggressive People (31%)
SOURCES:
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Communication skills
Clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives. To provide effective help, social workers must be able to listen to and understand their clients’ needs.
Emotional skills
Social workers often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations. To develop strong relationships, they must have patience, compassion, and empathy for their clients.
Interpersonal skills
Social workers need to be able to work with different groups of people. They need strong interpersonal skills to foster healthy and productive relationships with their clients and colleagues.
Organizational skills
Social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment.
Problem-solving skills
Social workers need to develop practical and innovative solutions to their clients’ problems.
Injury and Illness
About 14 mental health and substance abuse social workers become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, which reflects fewer events than in 50% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
All cuts, lacerations, punctures
Soreness and pain
Sprains, strains, tears
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by mental health and substance abuse social workers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), mental health and substance abuse social workers typically hold a master's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as mental health and substance abuse social workers as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for mental health and substance abuse social workers

All states require clinical social workers to be licensed, and most states require licensure or certification for nonclinical social workers. Becoming a licensed clinical social worker requires a master’s degree in social work and a minimum of 2 years of supervised clinical experience after graduation. After completing their supervised experience, clinical social workers must pass a clinical exam to be licensed.

Because licensing requirements vary by state, those interested should contact their state licensure board. For more information about regulatory licensure boards by state, visit the Association of Social Work Boards.

Education level of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
About 53% of mental health and substance abuse social workers have a graduate-level education, and 85% have at least a bachelor's degree.
Education attained by mental health and substance abuse social workers
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 83% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
  1. Social Work
  2. Psychology
  3. Sociology
  4. Criminal Justice and Fire Protection
  5. Business Management and Administration
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College majors held by mental health and substance abuse social workers
This table shows the college majors held by people working as mental health and substance abuse social workers. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Major
Select any title to learn more about that degree
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
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Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
$38K$45K
Salary for bachelor's-only
For people with this career and major
Median
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Middle 80%
Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
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Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
Professional
Doctorate
Workers with this career/major
Percentage in this career with this major
Not so much?
The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as mental health and substance abuse social workers, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
Expand degrees
Social WorkPsychologySociologyCriminal Justice and...Business Management ...Political Science an...English Language and...General EducationFamily and Consumer ...NursingAll other degreesThis jobTop 10 majors
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers per 1,000 workers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most mental health and substance abuse social workers? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as mental health and substance abuse social workers. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where mental health and substance abuse social workers earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for mental health and substance abuse social workers compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for mental health and substance abuse social workers.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which mental health and substance abuse social workers earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
10% of Mental health and substance abuse social workers are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 10% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 55% of careers.
10%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of mental health and substance abuse social workers by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$47K$43K$46K$72K$50K$47K$0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000$120,000Federal governmentState governmentLocal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Mental health and substance abuse social workers and gender
With 74% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 84% of careers.
Gender of Mental health and substance abuse social workers
Men (26%)
Women (74%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$46K$52K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
74%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%. The situation is a little better for mental health and substance abuse social workers, with the median salary for men 12% higher than the median salary for women.
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Race/Origin
Race and origin of Mental health and substance abuse social workers
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Mental health and substance abuse social workers.
Race/origin of mental health and substance abuse social workers
White (69% )
Black (20% )
Multiracial (4% )
Asian (3% )
Other (3% )
American Indian (1% )
Hispanic (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$42K$43K$48K$49K$62K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100KBlackAsianWhiteMultiracialOther
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.