A social worker is what I need! Top Social Work Firms in Your Area: Social Workers, Consultants, and Services

How to Seek Social Worker Assistance for Mental, Physical, or Emotional Needs

There are numerous circumstances in life where you might want the services of a private social worker or social work agency. The goal of social workers is to assist individuals in resolving issues and crises, and they accomplish this in a variety of methods.

The majority of mental health care in the United States is given by social workers with clinical training. Hence, a large number of individuals in need of an independent social worker are seeking counseling or treatment for a particular issue.

Photo by Tim Gouw

Social Work Organizations in My Area

Helping individuals understand and use complicated government programs like healthcare, Medicaid, Medicare, and other social assistance is another one of social work’s strong points. There are a lot of people searching for “government social workers near me,” but they require assistance comprehending how these organizations may help.

However, where can one get a therapist or social work consultant? Before engaging with a social work expert, what kinds of social work inquiries ought to you ask?

See Also: The Best Advocacy Guide for Case Book Work: Advocacy in Case Book Work Guide

Why Would You Need to Find a Social Worker or Social Work Agency?

Most people might not ever envision that social worker hiring or working with a social work agency would be anything that would even come up in their lives.

But, because of the strengths of a social worker to help people in many different types of situations, you may be saying, “I need a social worker” at some point when going through a personal crisis or difficult family situation.

There are many different types of social workers and there are both independent social workers and social workers at social work agencies. We’ll go through some of the common social work services they provide to give you an idea of why generalist social work might be something you’re seeking.

Common Social Work Services

• Providing therapy and counseling to people of all ages
• Providing advanced psychotherapy for those with severe mental conditions
• Locating resources to fill immediate needs (food, shelter, substance abuse rehab, etc.)
• Protecting children that may be in an unsafe environment
• Advocating for communities that are marginalized or impoverished
• Helping families with short-term and long-term care transitions for elderly family members
• Assisting with in-home mental health care
• Counseling students and helping diagnose and treat behavioral issues
• Supporting hospital patients and their families through resources for continued care and financial assistance
• Supporting those in palliative care and their families

These are just a few of the services that may cause someone to search, “how to get a social worker?” There are many other services that social workers and social work agencies provide for individuals, families, and communities.

What Are the Strengths of a Social Worker?

There are certain social work strengths that accompany social work experience that make social workers uniquely qualified to help when people are in need or facing a crisis of some type

In addition to social work experience, social worker strengths include:

• Patience
• Empathy
• Organization
• Excellent verbal & written communication skills
• Objectivity
• Flexibility
• Critical thinking skills
• Problem-solving skills

In many cases, a social work consultant will be seeing a person when that person may be at their worst. Social worker strengths, such as empathy and the ability to treat everyone equally without judgment, help people feel comfortable talking to them about their problems.

Many social worker positions will require a social worker to make life-impacting decisions to improve a client’s life, such as whether or not to remove a neglected child from a home. This makes critical-thinking skills and problem-solving vital social work strengths.

The skills required to be a social worker are varied and revolve around what are known as “soft skills,” which are people-oriented.

When doing any social worker hiring for social work positions, you’ll want to think about the skills above when creating your questions for social workers.

Popular Article: Social Worker Types and Their Actual Duties (Examples of Social Workers)

What Are the Weaknesses of Social Workers?

In addition to social worker strengths, there are also weaknesses of social workers. These may be issues that social work work experience over the years can change.

Certain social worker weaknesses can also disqualify someone from social worker positions in certain fields. Such as if someone was uncomfortable visiting people in their homes, then they would most likely not be well-suited for social work positions as a caseworker for child and family services or in-home eldercare.

Some common weaknesses of social workers that you may want to address when creating questions to ask a social worker are:

• Being overly friendly or getting too attached to clients
• Being impatient with clients
• Lacking empathy for certain clients
• Talking more than listening during a session
• Being indecisive when it comes to client care plans
• Not having good social worker engagement skills
• Not keeping detailed and accurate records

Read More: The Best Handbook of Social Work Interventions for Social Workers | Everything You Should Know

Question to Ask Social Workers

When reviewing social worker companies and private social workers in your quest to find a social worker, there are certain social work open ended questions that you’ll want to ask.

What are open ended questions for social workers as compared to close ended questions? Social work open ended questions are those that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” answer.

Open ended questions for social workers invite a more robust answer that helps you when doing social worker hiring. They give you more insight into things like social work experience and social worker strengths.

For example, if you ask an independent social worker, “Do you have a degree in social work?”, this can be answered with a yes or no answer. It’s close ended.

If you ask an independent social worker at a social work agency, “Can you tell me about your educational background in social work?” This is one of the open ended social worker questions and invites more feedback.

Questions to Ask a Social Worker

When social work agencies hire social workers, what do they expect of the social worker for minimum educational requirements?

For all social worker positions, the minimum requirement is a bachelor’s degree in social work or a related subject, such as psychology. This type of degree is fine for generalist social work and more entry-level jobs at social worker companies.

However, when asking “what do they expect of the social worker” when it comes to therapy, counseling, or more client one-on-one positions, the answer would be more education and social work work experience. At a minimum, a social worker would need a master’s degree in social work.

Questions to ask social workers that you’re hiring for social worker positions or individual therapy or counseling needs include:

• What interests you about working for this social work agency?
• How long have you been a social work consultant or therapist?
• Tell me about your social work experience and education.
• What special social worker engagement skills are you particularly proud of?
• What makes a good social worker?
• In your experience, what types of clients are the most difficult to work with?
• What is something valuable you’ve learned in your social work experience?
• What are some of the social work strengths you have that will allow you to help me/my family?
• How do you handle the client engagement process?
• Tell me about a particularly difficult care planning decision that you had to make?
• How do you deal with pressure or changes in expectations?
• Describe the social worker engagement skills you use during an exit/termination of care process?
• What are your biggest social work strengths and weaknesses?

Looking for more questions to ask a social worker? You can find several that are categorized for generalist social work, as well as by social work specialties at the National Association of Social Workers. Visit: NASW Questions to Ask Social Workers

Related: The Best 8 Reasons to Pursue a Social Work Education

Where Can I Find Social Work Agencies Near Me?

Let’s talk about how to find a social worker when you need one now that you know what to look for in social workers and social work agencies.

You should be aware of the distinctions between private and public social work agencies before looking for “government social workers near me” or “private social work agencies near me.”

Photo by Jopwell

Private Social Workers vs. Public Social Work Agencies

Government-run social work organizations that offer social services as a public good are known as public social work agencies. Children in need can receive child welfare services from a social work organization such as the Children’s Bureau. For veterans of the armed forces, the Veterans Administration offers assistance through more than 9,000 social workers.

Private social workers are employed by non-profit or private social work organizations. Residential care facilities and drug recovery centers are two examples of this. Counseling and therapy services will also be offered by independent social workers.

Where Can I Find Government Social Workers Near Me?

• Social Security Administration
• Veteran’s Administration
• Department of Defense
• Department of Justice
• Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Administration for Children & Families (part of HHS)
• Administration on Aging (part of HHS)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (part of HHS)
• S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
• S. Department of Education
• Your local school district
• Similar social work agencies at the state or county level

Where Can I Find Private & Non-Profit Social Work Agencies Near Me:

• Local chapters of larger organizations, such as Meals on Wheels, United Way, American Red Cross, and Ronald McDonald House
• Residential care facilities & nursing homes
• Homeless shelters
• Substance abuse rehabilitation clinics
• Teen-rescue organizations
• Domestic abuse shelters
• Religious organizations
• Food banks
• Disease-related support organizations
• Crisis hotlines
• Disability and shut-in assistance organizations
• Mentoring & counseling organizations (e.g., Big Brothers Big Sisters of America)

Where Can I Find Other Types of Social Workers?

• Hospitals and outpatient clinics
• Businesses offering mental health and therapeutic social work services
• Business offering assistance with eldercare
• Health insurance companies
• Corporations with social workers assisting with employee health & well-being
• Hospice and palliative care facilities
• Telehealth counseling social work services

Don’t Miss: Investigate Case Book Work Hub for Social Work

Final Thought | “I Need a Social Worker” – Obtaining One When You’re in Need of One

There are social workers employed in almost every kind of service organization you can think of, as you can see from the lengthy listings of social worker roles in governmental, nonprofit, and commercial organizations above.

We hope the information above helps you in your search for a social worker, whether it’s for yourself or a loved one. It provides useful resources to assist you acquire the social work services you require.

FAQs