Difference between a social worker and a counsellor

neas

Hi all am wondering what the fundamental difference is between these two professions?

Maybe im being a bit dense but they seem v similar to me, my wife is thinking of retraining as one of these so help would be appreciated :money:

Ms_Chocaholic

You have to get a degree to be a Social Worker (Degree in Social Worker - DipSW)

neas

wife is thinking of becoming a social worker and studying a 2 year Master top up course.

Believe they offer buraries for tuition fees and expenses etc, is it easy to get a social worker job after graduating?

Just trying to get a feel of whats the likelyhood of employment etc?

Thanks

glossgal

I'm neither but aside from the obvious qualifaction differences, a counsellor is very much communication focused ie listening techniques, awareness of different questioning styles, knowledge of certain specialist issues. A social worker has to know more about practical issues such as relevant legislation, as well as specialst knowledge of whatever field they are in eg elderly care, mental health, child protection, hospital aftercare etc. They are actually very different jobs and neither for the faint hearted I would say!

LittleVoice

Lots of jobs in social work. Much easier to find a job as a social worker than as a counsellor.

ali-t

neas wrote: »

Hi all am wondering what the fundamental difference is between these two professions?

Maybe im being a bit dense but they seem v similar to me, my wife is thinking of retraining as one of these so help would be appreciated :money:

as for the practicalities it is much easier to get FT work in social work. Most counselling posts I have seen are PT or voluntary unless you have your own private counselling practice.

My experience of social work is in children and families and generally due to funding shortages this is very stressful and mainly relates to child protection cases. social workers are generally working with children/families on supervision orders from the children's panel and are working to protect children.

They are also seen by the media as being the worst people on this earth and it is the fault of social work whenever any child comes to harm regardless of whether the child is known to social work :rolleyes:

There is a massive difference between counselling and social work, particularly as so much of social work is legislation oriented and dealing with child protection and statutory cases.

At the most basic level people would not (as a rule) choose to have social work involvement and would not pay for this service but they would actively seek a counsellor and would likely have to pay for this,

purple12

I'm a social worker but I work with adults in mental health field. Just to back up what others have said, social work is often about providing more practical solutions and statutory services whereas counselling is much more about talking through problems, ideas and the work is more an hour here and there. There is some element of using counselling skills in my work but that's just skills not full-on counselling. We will however, refer people to psychologists (usually rather than counsellors) if it is needed.

My work will involve people who are, perhaps, at more critical points and working through recovery in a much broader term. I would work in tandem with someone who might be receiving care and treatment in a number of channels, such as counselling but also medication.

Social Work with children and families is quite different from work with adults and in the mental health field.

Also as also mentioned previously, it is probably much more easy to get funding and work having a social work qualification.

Oldernotwiser

neas wrote: »

Hi all am wondering what the fundamental difference is between these two professions?

Maybe im being a bit dense but they seem v similar to me, my wife is thinking of retraining as one of these so help would be appreciated :money:

Your wife needs to do far more research before she considers embarking on either of these routes. If she thinks that they're similar then I'd suggest that she has little understanding of what either of them involves in terms of training, employment, salary etc. I suggest that she does some research on the internet for a start and then makes an appointment with a Careers Adviser to discuss this thoroughly.

www.socialworkcareers.co.uk/
www.bacp.co.uk/information/education/careersincounselling.php
www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/AdultLearning/DG_071762
www.careersadvice.direct.gov.uk

neas

Sorry if my question came off as 'unknowing'.. but she wanted to determine which one was i guess now a social worker. She wants to help people, vulnerable people first hand more than talk and listen sessions.

I figured i'd ask the social workers rather than try and misinterpret tons of google text... as both talk as functions as counsellors.

When you say legislation, I'm guessing you have to study a sub-section of normal law? I guess not as heavy as a law degree but in a certain depth.

Thanks

DKLS

LittleVoice wrote: »

Lots of jobs in social work. Much easier to find a job as a social worker than as a counsellor.

Not in all cases, there is a massive sortage of counsellors with CBT experience.

Oldernotwiser

neas wrote: »

Sorry if my question came off as 'unknowing'.. but she wanted to determine which one was i guess now a social worker. She wants to help people, vulnerable people first hand more than talk and listen sessions.

I figured i'd ask the social workers rather than try and misinterpret tons of google text... as both talk as functions as counsellors.

When you say legislation, I'm guessing you have to study a sub-section of normal law? I guess not as heavy as a law degree but in a certain depth.

Thanks

You're right, there's a lot of law on a degree in Social Work, although nothing like as much as on a full law degree.