Mental Health Social Workers

Mental health social workers are qualified to work with individuals in complex and difficult social contexts involving issues such as depression, anxiety, mood and personality disorders, psychosis, suicide, relationships, life crises, adjustment issues, trauma, and family conflicts.  Mental health social workers specialise in working with individuals and families where mental health problems exist in connection with social problems such as family distress, unemployment, disability, poverty and trauma.

Working in treatment and rehabilitation services across the public, private, and non-government mental health service sectors, mental health social workers share a knowledge and skills base with other allied health professions and provide a range of evidence based and solution focussed interventions including:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy
• Interpersonal psychotherapy
• Narrative therapy
• Family therapeutic paradigms, and
• Psycho-education.

Mental health social workers have typically studied social work at university and if members of the Australian Association of Social Workers, they can be accredited by The Australian Association of Social Workers with specialist qualifications and training in mental health to work as service providers in the Medicare Plus and Better Access to Mental Health Care initiatives.

This information was taken from the Australian Association of Social Workers website:  http://www.aasw.asn.au/.  For more information about mental health social workers, please visit their website or view their fact sheet on what a “mental health social worker does”.

To look for mental health social workers in your area, please click here.