Occupations/21-1023.00
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
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.
Usually a graduate or professional degree.
AI automation risk
37%
More resilient
Human characteristics
69%
Strong human-characteristic mix
Task orientation
36%
More resilient
A day in this job
- Mostly human
Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
- Mostly routine
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
- Mostly human
Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
Split from the wording of these tasks, shown next to the occupation’s AI risk. It is not a separate score for each task, and it is not a forecast that the job disappears.
Core tasks
- 01Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
- 02Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
- 03Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
- 04Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
- 05Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients.
- 06Modify treatment plans according to changes in client status.
Model drivers (O*NET 1–5)
- Repeating same tasks3.33
- Degree of automation1.77
- Time sitting4.09
- Originality (ability)3.75
- Conflict situations3.52
- Hands-on objects/tools1.54
- Outdoors / weather2.04
- Disease exposure2.02
- Decision freedom4.34
Top abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.50
- Oral Expression4.25
- Written Expression4.12
- Written Comprehension4.12
- Problem Sensitivity4.12
- Speech Clarity4.00
- Inductive Reasoning4.00
- Deductive Reasoning4.00
Essential skills
- Reading Comprehension4.00
- Active Listening4.12
- Writing3.75
- Speaking4.12
- Mathematics2.00
- Science2.62
- Critical Thinking4.00
- Active Learning3.25
- Learning Strategies3.75
- Monitoring4.00
CIP matches
Schools offering related programs
12 of 71 shown
Earnings are College Scorecard medians for that program, 1 and 2 years after completion. A dash means the Department suppressed the cell or the campus is not in the field file.
| Institution | Program | Tuition | Admit | Grad 6-yr | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Jose State University San Jose, CA · Public | Social Work 44.0701 | $8,200 | 77% | 71% | 1 yr $72,850 2 yr $72,320 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public | Social Work 44.0701 | $13,800 | 9% | 92% | 1 yr $62,691 2 yr $66,865 Professional · CIP 44.07 |
University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA · Public | Social Work 44.0701 | $15,200 | 24% | 87% | 1 yr $59,124 2 yr $59,742 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
CUNY Hunter College New York, NY · Public | Social Work 44.0701 | $7,400 | 48% | 60% | 1 yr $54,467 2 yr $52,377 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY · Private nonprofit | Social Work 44.0701 | $68,200 | 4% | 96% | 1 yr $53,202 2 yr $53,587 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
Howard University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit | Clinical/Medical Social Work 51.1503 | $33,200 | 53% | 65% | 1 yr $52,941 2 yr $52,107 Master's · CIP 51.15 |
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public | Social Work 44.0701 | $12,600 | 48% | 84% | 1 yr $51,946 2 yr $49,646 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public | Social Work 44.0701 | $15,200 | 57% | 86% | 1 yr $51,762 2 yr $48,600 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
New York University New York, NY · Private nonprofit | Social Work 44.0701 | $60,400 | 12% | 88% | 1 yr $51,487 2 yr $50,280 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit | Social Work 44.0701 | $68,200 | 12% | 92% | 1 yr $51,438 2 yr $52,078 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
North Dakota State University Fargo, ND · Public | Social Work 44.0701 | $10,900 | 96% | 68% | 1 yr $51,346 2 yr $50,856 Master's · CIP 44.07 |
University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN · Public | Social Work 44.0701 | $14,100 | 81% | 71% | 1 yr $50,856 2 yr — Master's · CIP 44.07 |