Which Kinds of Social Workers Assist People in Their Communities?

Social Workers  Guide | 13 Different Social Workers You May See & What They Do

The social worker career path can vary widely. So, for those with a sense of social justice or that feel a calling to help others, there are many different avenues they can take along the social work career track.

For example, children social workers will work with kids and families in situations of developmental difficulties or abuse situations. A community social worker may be called in after a natural disaster to assist a town that’s in need. And a nursing home social worker will focus on assisting the elderly.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Everywhere you look is evidence of social worker contact in the community. If you search for “social workers near me,” among many other places, you can locate these kind individuals who are equipped to assist in times of need in hospitals, government offices, nursing homes, schools, and big businesses.

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Definition of Social Work

“To enhance human well-being and help meet basic and complex needs of all people, with a particular focus on those who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty,” is the National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW) definition of the primary goal of social work.

The majority of individuals who work as registered social workers do so because they want to assist others. A lot of people who choose to become social workers also care about social justice and want to assist the poor.

As the National Association of Social Workers points out, those that choose a career as a social service worker are there to enhance human well-being for “all people.” And you’ll see an example of social workers doing that in many areas of daily life, from the mental health social worker to the traveling social worker assisting communities in third world countries.

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What Kind of General Responsibilities Are Assigned to Social Workers?

Depending on their area of expertise, social workers have different daily tasks. For instance, mental health social workers frequently assist people in recovering from mental illnesses.

Families looking for in-home care for aging parents who require help with everyday duties may find assistance from an elder care social worker.

However, there are some common duties that all social service providers must fulfill, regardless of whether they are seeking for travel social work positions that need them to visit clients in their homes or whether they want to work as child social workers in primary schools.

These general registered social worker responsibilities include:

• Identify those that need help
• Assess the needs of individuals, families, or groups
• Prioritize needs by urgency
• Assess opportunities, strengths, and supports
• Match available resources and opportunities with needs to help the client improve their situation or to help a community recover and thrive
• Develop a care plan to improve the situation
• Follow up to provide support for the individual, family, or group while the problem(s) is resolved

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What is the number of subtypes of social workers?

Several distinct social work genres are mentioned when you search for “social workers near me” or “what are the different social workers types.”

There are lists of social worker kinds that only include seven or eight different sorts of social workers. On the other hand, lists such as the National Association of Social Workers’ list list fifteen or sixteen separate categories of social workers.

We have chosen a comfortable quantity that falls between those two ranges for the social worker example list that we present in this article. There are thirteen distinct categories of social workers on our list of licensed social worker kinds; they represent the most often mentioned categories from a range of sources.

We’ve reviewed several examples of social worker types (including the list at the National Association of Social Workers) to come up with our social worker examples.

1. Child & Family Social Worker
2. Healthcare Social Worker
3. Geriatric Social Worker
4. Home Health Social Worker / Traveling Social Worker
5. Mental Health Social Worker
6. Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
7. Psychiatric Social Worker
8. Corporate Social Worker / Industrial Social Work
9. Supervising Social Worker
10. Community Social Worker
11. Criminal Justice Social Worker
12. International Social Worker
13. Military & Veteran Social Worker

When discussing social workers example types, it’s important to point out that it’s common for someone to work as more than one type of social worker. The different areas will naturally overlap, so a social service worker could be categorized into 2, 3, or more different types.

An example of social worker type overlap would be mental health social workers that work with the elderly in nursing homes. They would be considered a social worker for elderly individuals as well as a mental health social worker (two distinct types).

And if the elderly clients that the professional worked with were incarcerated, then they could be considered a third type as well, a correctional social worker.

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Social Worker Examples & What Each Type of Social Worker Does

Now we’ll take a look at each type of social worker example and give an overview of what each one does. These will be general in nature, as each of these different types of social workers can have sub-types within them that have slightly different responsibilities.

Each social workers example of the things a licensed social worker can do will help those looking for a career in this field get a better idea of the expectations and opportunities.

Child & Family Social Worker

A child and family social worker serves vulnerable children and youth and their families in a variety of capacities. This is a social worker type that has many subsets to it.

For example, a child welfare social worker may need to intervene to take a child out of a dangerous situation at home. Other children’s social workers may work closely with schools to help counsel at-risk youth or be brought in to assist with trauma counseling after a crisis event.

A child welfare social worker has the main goal of assisting a child and ensuring they have adequate food, shelter, and a nurturing environment.

A child and family social worker could also work with families that have mentally or physically disabled children to match them with resources that can help them care for their child.

Healthcare Social Worker

One example of a social worker that many people encounter in a time of need is the healthcare social worker. They’ll work in a hospital or hospice setting and will be there to assist individuals and families that may be going through emotional, financial, and physical stress due to health crises.

A healthcare social worker may help families with guidance on affordable funeral costs if they’ve lost a loved one. Another healthcare social worker example would be helping people with referrals to other agencies, like a hospice for long-term care needs for terminal illnesses.

Geriatric Social Worker

A geriatric social worker is also known as a gerontological social worker. This field can encompass the nursing home social worker as well as a social worker for elderly clients that visits them at home.

An example of social worker goals for this type of registered social worker would be to help seniors maintain a good quality of life. For example, an elder care social worker may help secure part or full-time assistance to allow someone to stay in their home rather than have to go to a nursing care facility.

A social worker for elderly patients may also help families connect with resources for loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia.

A nursing home social worker can help patients new to living in a nursing home adjust to the environment and find emotional support to make the transition easier.

With the Baby Boomer population now between the ages of about 58-76, the eldercare social worker position is going to be even more sought after and offer several job opportunities.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Examples of social workers in different fields.

Home Health Social Worker / Traveling Social Worker

The home health social worker can also be a geriatric social worker, but they may also help those with medical disabilities of other ages who aren’t easily able to get out.

You’ll often see home health social workers advertised under travel social work jobs or listings calling for a traveling social worker. This is because they travel to client homes most of the time to check in on them regularly and provide assistance in a variety of ways.

Travel social work jobs as a home health support professional are important because these types of social workers will act as a key liaison between the client, family, physicians, and support resources.

Mental Health Social Worker

According to the National Association of Social Workers, mental health social workers (also known as clinical social workers) are one of the largest groups of mental health service providers in the United States.

A mental health social worker will provide direct services to individuals and families for a wide range of needs. Mental health social worker examples would include helping people with:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Relationship issues
• Other mental health problems

Mental health social workers have many subtypes, three of which are included below on our list of different types of social workers – military & veteran social workers, psychiatric social workers, and mental health and substance abuse social workers.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

A substance abuse social worker specializes in helping people through addiction problems. This will largely involve drug addiction and alcohol addiction but might also include food addiction issues.

Mental health and substance abuse social workers example tasks include things like crisis interventions, running group therapy sessions, helping clients find jobs and support, and doing casework to follow up on clients.

Psychiatric Social Worker

The psychiatric social worker differs from other mental health social workers in that they typically work with those people that are severely mentally ill. For people that need intense psychiatric help, a psychiatric social worker will provide support for the person and their family, provide therapy, and often help coordinate ongoing care for the individual.

Corporate Social Worker / Industrial Social Work

One of the less traditional social worker examples is the corporate social worker. This is also known as industrial social work, and it involves working in a corporate setting and providing support for the company and its employees.

Someone doing corporate / industrial social work could work alongside the human resources team and help employees that are having personal issues. They also often provide guidance to leadership on employee health and wellbeing.

Change management is another area where a corporate social worker would be needed. Guiding employees through resistance to change often involves many of the interpersonal skills that social workers have.

Supervising Social Worker

A supervising social worker is typically found in the Foster Care system in the U.S. and similar systems in other countries. They will be in charge of supervising and supporting the families that are taking care of children in need of a home.

An example of supervising social worker duties includes ensuring continuity of care for children, checking in regularly with Foster Care families, and providing guidance to any other social workers under their supervision.

Community Social Worker

A community social worker will typically work with underserved populations and may also be an international social worker (another type on our list).

While they do at times work one-on-one with individuals, the community social worker has to keep an entire community in mind when assessing needs and resources and facilitating help and support where it’s needed.

Criminal Justice Social Worker

Social workers in the criminal justice system will work in places like courthouses, substance abuse centers, and correctional facilities. They are often referred to as a correctional social worker.

An example of social workers that are considered a correctional social worker would be those that work with incarcerated individuals. These licensed social workers often help those individuals transition back to become healthy members of society when released.

International Social Worker

Many people become a social service worker because they want to make big changes in the world and help the underprivileged in other countries. An international social work position can also be included with travel social work jobs because these social workers are often traveling to different areas of need around the world.

International social workers may work in refugee camps, hospitals, orphanages, and in underserved communities or areas going through war or strive after a natural disaster.

Another example of social workers in this field would be those that work in areas of gender and social inclusion to assist those that may be excluded from basic human rights.

Military & Veteran Social Worker

Military and veteran social workers specialize in working with members or former members of the military. An example of social worker interaction in this area would include helping soldiers adjust to civilian life or assisting those with PTSD get the help and support they need to heal.

Registered social workers in this field will also often be considered a mental health social worker because much of what they do in helping military members and veterans are connected to their mental wellbeing.

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Conclusion | Locating Various Social Workers in My Area

As you can see, there are several kinds of social worker samples. While each social worker has a different area of expertise and set of responsibilities, they all want to help people.

Those who are interested in a career in social work might research the options in the field to see where their interests and skills might fit in the best.

Those in need of assistance might also benefit from knowing that there is probably a social worker who specializes in helping people with comparable concerns.

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