How to become a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker

A mental health and substance abuse social worker is trained to work with individuals struggling with addictions or mental health conditions. Using their knowledge of the human systems, they address problems such as substance dependency, abuse, and subsequent disorders that have clinically significant impairment on the client’s functioning. These substances include alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, whether prescription or illegal. They also address co-occurring disorders such as depression and anxiety that afflict those struggling with addictions. They also provide individual and group therapy to address these issues. Mental health and substance abuse social workers evaluate and treat these clients while conferring upon other professionals. After understanding the consequences of the substance use on the client, the mental health and substance abuse social worker proceeds to develop an individualized treatment plan to help the client cope with and manage the symptoms.

A mental health and substance abuse social worker is tasked with the following responsibilities as a part of their job:

• Gather information about the client’s substance use patterns, the frequency and quantity being used 
• Offer treatment options based on the severity of the issue, in accordance with the client’s needs and abilities
• Working as a part of a collaborative team for developing a treatment plan
• Help the client establish support systems 
• Collaborate with the client to set goals and define the strategies to achieve the same
• Refer clients to other mental health professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists as well as nurses, physicians, and other medical professionals
• Assist the client in finding and availing other resources and services for employment, housing, treatment, social support
• Conduct regular reevaluations of the effectiveness of treatment plans and make necessary adjustments to the methods used
• Counsel people with substance use problems

 A mental health and substance abuse social worker must be well-equipped with active listening and interpersonal communication since it is of utmost importance for them to skillfully use their words to comfort and express support to their clients while also helping them overcome their issues. They should be psychologically resilient to juggle the emotionally demanding nature of the job. Being able to work collaboratively with other professionals is a key part of this role. Extensive knowledge about the theoretical background of substance abuse from a social work perspective is a must. They should be familiar with conducting assessments and planning treatments. They must be equipped with meticulous organization skills and time management abilities in order to effectively handle each case. This job calls for responsible, sensitive, and hardworking individuals since they shall be working to help at-risk populations in distress. Working knowledge of the social work values and ethics and multicultural competencies are crucial.