For the peanut gallery: Why Social Work?

[fafsaavoidant]

Hey everyone! I'm looking to get some thoughts from prospective clinical social workers about why they decided to pick an MSW vs counseling or clinical psychology. I've been admitted to both MSW and counseling psych (M.Ed) programs, but I'm leaning toward an MSW because I love the community focus. 

A little background on me: I'm an international affairs professional pivoting so I can do direct clinical work with refugee and immigrant populations in the US. I was drawn to MSW programs because the people that I know who are social workers have a lot of positive impact in the communities they're working with. 

So what about you guys?

[DSWstudentTSSW]

Strong emphasis on social justice and treating underserved and marginalized populations. I also find that the MSW is flexible (you can do clinical, medical, school, industrial, policy....). And a big pro - LCSWs are currently the only masters-level license able to bill Medicare - this often means more opportunities. I find that federal agencies also lean toward LCSWs (e.g. the VA). 

Edited May 12, 2021 by DSWHopeful2021

[fafsaavoidant]

On 5/12/2021 at 4:00 AM, DSWHopeful2021 said:

Strong emphasis on social justice and treating underserved and marginalized populations. I also find that the MSW is flexible (you can do clinical, medical, school, industrial, policy....). And a big pro - LCSWs are currently the only masters-level license able to bill Medicare - this often means more opportunities. I find that federal agencies also lean toward LCSWs (e.g. the VA). 

This is a super helpful response, thank you!! I wasn't aware of the Medicare fact! The social justice portion is really significant for me, and its something I don't see addressed as much in the psych programs. 

[Dr.EJM]

Additionally LCSW's are able to work in every state, where LMHC/LMFT/M.Ed etc. are often limited in their capacity based on state regulation and license reciprocity.