Career
Mental health and substance abuse social workers
Help people facing mental illness and addiction find a way forward, and connect them with the care they need.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
- Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
- Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
- Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
- Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
6 years of education after high school (master's degree), for a median of $60,280 a year and 12,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Social WorkSee the degree →
- Social WorkCIP 44.0701
- Social Work, OtherCIP 44.0799
- Clinical/Medical Social WorkCIP 51.1503
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Mental Health Counselors
- Healthcare Social Workers$67,880 · +8.5%
- Marriage and Family Therapists$66,940 · +13.5%
- Rehabilitation Counselors$46,850 · +2.2%
- Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.