From community social worker to mental health social worker
62 of the 76 essential skills of a mental health social worker are already essential for a community social worker — about 82% of the job, before you learn anything new.
These numbers compare two occupations, not you and a job. What you personally already cover depends on what you have actually done.
- 62
- skills carry over
- 14
- would be new
- 82%
- of the target job covered
- 76
- essential skills of a mental health social worker
What a mental health social worker does
Mental health social workers assist and provide counselling to people with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems. They focus on providing personalised support to cases and monitor the recovery process of their clients by providing therapy, crisis intervention, client advocacy and education. Mental health social workers may contribute to mental health services improvement and mental health outcomes for citizens.
What carries over
62 skillsEssential in both jobs. This is the part of the move you have already made.
- accept own accountability
- address problems critically
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advocate for social service users
- apply anti-oppressive practices
- apply case management
- apply crisis intervention
- apply decision making within social work
- apply holistic approach within social services
- apply organisational techniques
- apply person-centred care
- apply problem solving in social service
- apply quality standards in social services
- apply socially just working principles
- assess social service users' situation
- build helping relationship with social service users
- communicate professionally with colleagues in other fields
- communicate with social service users
- company policies
- conduct interview in social service
- consider social impact of actions on service users
- contribute to protecting individuals from harm
- cooperate at inter-professional level
- deliver social services in diverse cultural communities
- demonstrate leadership in social service cases
- develop professional identity in social work
- develop professional network
- empower social service users
- evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves
- follow health and safety precautions in social care practices
- have computer literacy
- involve service users and carers in care planning
- legal requirements in the social sector
- listen actively
- maintain records of work with service users
- make legislation transparent for users of social services
- manage ethical issues within social services
- manage social crisis
- manage stress in the work place
- meet standards of practice in social services
and 22 more
What would be new
14 skillsEssential for a mental health social worker and not for a community social worker. Note that the taxonomy describes activities rather than tools, so some of these may be things you already do under a different name.
- adolescent psychological development
- advise on mental health
- assess the development of youth
- clinical social work
- diagnose psychiatric symptoms
- diagnosis of mental health issues
- identify mental health issues
- older adults' needs
- prepare youths for adulthood
- promote mental health
- promote the safeguarding of young people
- support the positiveness of youths
- support traumatised children
- use clinical assessment techniques
Other moves from community social worker
2 roles- homelessness worker63 skills in common
- rehabilitation support worker62 skills in common
← community social workermental health social worker →The other way round
No account needed to start
How far are you from being a mental health social worker?
MyNodes reads your CV once, maps it to this same taxonomy, and shows you which roles you are already closest to and the few skills that would open the most doors. The file is deleted as soon as it has been read.