General Work Activities of a Social Worker
Social workers participate in a rewarding yet demanding occupation. Although social workers can find satisfaction in helping people with issues ranging from mental illness to unemployment, the hours can be long and the work challenging. Social workers can suffer from "compassion fatigue" because they spend their days focused on the problems of others, especially underserved populations. Still, social workers have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of others and job prospects for social workers are better than average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Child and Family
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These social workers focus on child and family issues, by first assessing the situation, then coordinating services. They intervene on issues of child abuse, facilitate adoptions and coordinate daycare for single parents. Child and family social workers sometimes have a specialized area of focus, such as helping women who have suffered from domestic violence, or they can focus on a particular segment of the population, such as abused children. Child protective services caseworkers and school social workers fall into this category.
Medical and Public Health
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These professionals work for hospitals, nursing homes or government agencies. They focus on specific populations such as the elderly or families of the mentally ill, helping to coordinate services and offer counseling. Duties performed by these social workers include assisting with a client's daily needs such as food and housing, coordinating medical care for those who suffer from a disease and helping a patient with postoperative care.
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Mental Health and Substance Abuse
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Some social workers provide therapy, helping people cope with personal and mental health issues and offering counseling for those facing a crisis. These workers help a client overcome addiction to drugs or alcohol either through one-on-one counseling, through treatment in a program or through group counseling. These mental health professionals can work in private practice, offering talk therapy in much the same way as a psychologist.
Administrators, Researchers and Policymakers
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These social workers manage other social workers, develop social policy or conduct research on particular populations. Some of these professionals write grants or work for legislative change.
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References
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