All About The Psychiatric Social Worker Job

The Psychiatric Social Worker job is a practice-centred profession and academic field established on the concepts of social work, social science, and humanities. It is highly developed through an informed approach and acknowledges the significance of understanding in practice, the advancement of expertise, and training, policy, clinical services, and research. Those who practice in the psychiatric field make use of their understanding of the factors of social standing, education, take-home pay, and community support systems—to bring together the contributory rudiments to one’s physical and psychological health.

With loads of opportunities available, psychiatric social workers work directly with individuals, families, and groups. Some psychiatric social workers carry out their responsibilities in expanded settings such as hospitals, community clinics, and corporate organization levels. No matter the location and client/patient categories, psychiatric social workers have to consider the impact of outside factors, such as social and political issues, on mental health. All About Social Worker Jobs

What Is A Psychiatric Social Worker?

Psychiatric social workers are essentially mental health workers who are specially trained in the medical line. Psychiatric social workers provide specialized medical and social support to psychiatric patients, including therapy, coordination of care, and hospitalization of psychiatric patients suffering from complex and tough-to-manage psychological disorders.

Some of the positions Psychiatric Social Workers can hold in mental health institutions include Case Managers, Researchers, and Rehabilitators. They can also hold these positions in community mental health programmes, and/or as a member of a multidisciplinary team. As part of their job, they do take up some investigation on homelessness and provide job placement options for psychiatric patients who are already recovering. With the help of a Psychiatric Social Worker, patients struggling with mental health problems are supported to cope with the condition/disorder. A Psychiatric Social Worker's job also entails providing counselling services to individuals and family members and helping them to obtain both financial and medical services.

Psychiatric Social Worker Definition

A psychiatric Social Worker is an executor of the psychiatric social worker's job. In other words, being a qualified member of the psychiatric team with the responsibilities of treating patients/clients with mental conditions or behavioural disorders and applying social work principles and methods for diagnosis, qualifies one as a psychiatric social worker. Taking up the psychiatric social worker job would also require caring for and treating patients, and making plans for their rehabilitation within their families and community. The psychiatric social worker job also encompasses other essential services such as crisis intervention, therapeutic treatment, social rehabilitation or outreach services in the community.

How To Become A Psychiatric Social Worker?

Here are a few steps on the academic, internships and/or professional experience you need to know in preparation to become a psychiatric social worker.

In addition to attaining the relevant educational and professional qualifications, a Psychiatric Social Worker requires the following abilities to practice the psychiatric social worker job:

• The skills to effectively conduct psychosocial, interpersonal, and socioeconomic needs assessments on a patient
• The technical know-how to make use of a selection of methods or intrusions to enrich the communications between the patient and the psychiatric workers
• Have the expertise to enable patients/clients to participate in their treatment and promote their well-being themselves
• The skills to provide streamlined training and counselling on specific illnesses and corresponding appropriate treatments
• The knowledge and insight for integrating reasoning and behaviour change techniques
• The capability to offer post-hospitalization and transitioning care between facilities, and helping the patient/client settle in back with their family and in their community;
• The ability to carry out the psychiatric social worker job effortlessly as a team member of a multidisciplinary squad

Students who wish to practice the Psychiatric Social Worker job as professionals should obtain a solid foundational grasp of clinical social worker modalities.

What Qualifications Do You Need To Become A Psychiatric Social Worker?

If you are serious about becoming a psychiatric social worker and wish to practice the psychiatric social worker job in Canada, you must meet the minimal educational, professional, and licensure requirements for the province in which you wish to practice.

In summary, prospective students who wish to hold the psychiatric social worker job should obtain the following:

• Completion of a degree in social work or a related course
• Completion of a postgraduate degree in social work with extended relevant coursework
• Hands-on experience from a psychiatric institution via an internship, and ensuring that the fieldwork requirements are fulfilled
• Pre-application for social work licensure. Students are to take and pass licensing examinations such as the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Exam and the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Clinical Level Exam.

Students who wish to obtain a master’s degree after their first degree in social work, would only be required to do a one-year postgraduate study. Meanwhile, for those in other disciplines, they would be required to take a two-year postgraduate study leading to a master’s in social work. Having achieved numbers 1-4 above, one would be fully trained and ready to explore the psychiatric social worker job in the mental health sphere.

Psychiatric Social Worker Vs Psychologist

In the medical helping profession, both Psychiatric Social Workers and Psychologists offer counselling services with other existing differences.

A Psychiatric Social Worker provides support to patients with mental, emotional, or behavioural issues, while the Psychologist is concerned with the behaviour of humans and examines the functionality of the human mind. In a nutshell, a psychologist investigates the reasons people think and behave in certain ways/the way they do.

Whether you wish to be a psychologist or a psychiatric social worker, you must have a master’s degree in psychology and social work. For the psychiatric social worker job, you must be licensed in order to practice as a professional and certified psychiatric social worker in Canada.

Psychiatric Social Worker Resume

The resume of anyone who carries out the psychiatric social worker job should outline a professional overview, core qualifications, accomplishments, education, work experience, publications, presentations, and professional membership/association. Some samples can be found online.

Psychiatric Social Worker Salary

The average salary for Psychiatric Social Workers in Canada is estimated at $73,365 per year or $37.62 per hour. For entry-level positions, the pay could start at an estimated value of $70,629 per year, while the most experienced psychiatric social worker could earn up to the sum of $81,344 per year.

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