Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
Health ScienceO*NET 21-1023.00United States
Assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Activities may include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education.
- Median annual earnings
- $61,552
- Projected change
- +14.7%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 143.77K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
81.2% of the workforce
Growing to 164.87K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What mental health and substance abuse social workers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Modify treatment plans according to changes in client status.
- Assist clients in adhering to treatment plans, such as setting up appointments, arranging for transportation to appointments, or providing support.
- Counsel or aid family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting the client or patient.
- Educate clients or community members about mental or physical illness, abuse, medication, or available community resources.
- Increase social work knowledge by reviewing current literature, conducting social research, or attending seminars, training workshops, or classes.
- Refer patient, client, or family to community resources for housing or treatment to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness, following through to ensure service efficacy.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $39,507
- 25th percentile
- $47,482
- 50th percentile
- $61,552
- 75th percentile
- $82,000
- 90th percentile
- $108,445
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $61,552 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+14.7%faster than average
2025143,769 jobs
2035 projected164,869 jobs
21,100 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 81.2%
- Bachelor's degree
- 18.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Behavioral Health Clinicians1,658 postings
- 02Case Managers1,242 postings
- 03Behavioral Health Case Managers1,177 postings
- 04Mental Health Case Managers741 postings
- 05Behavioral Health Social Workers718 postings
- 06Behavioral Health Care Managers371 postings
- 07Licensed Behavioral Health Clinicians352 postings
- 08Licensed Clinical Social Workers345 postings
- 09Mental Health Professionals310 postings
- 10Mental Health Social Workers287 postings
- 11Therapists256 postings
- 12Behavioral Health Specialists250 postings
- 13Mental Health Therapists/Licensed Clinical Social Workers239 postings
- 14Clinicians223 postings
- 15Behavioral Health Registered Nurses201 postings
- 16Psychotherapists174 postings
- 17Targeted Case Managers171 postings
- 18Behavioral Clinicians170 postings
- 19Qualified Mental Health Professionals147 postings
- 20Adult Mental Health Case Managers142 postings
Top employers
- 01Elevance Health339 postings
- 02CVS Health292 postings
- 03Telecare273 postings
- 04LifeStance Health264 postings
- 05UnitedHealth Group241 postings
- 06ViaQuest239 postings
- 07United States Department of Veterans Affairs158 postings
- 08Optum135 postings
- 09Amergis109 postings
- 10Uhs108 postings
- 11Health Connect America105 postings
- 12Community Bridges91 postings
- 13Aetna Medicaid Administrators90 postings
- 14Maine Medical Center81 postings
- 15Providence72 postings
- 16BrightSpring Health Services71 postings
- 17The Hartford69 postings
- 18American Public Human Services Association66 postings
- 19Atrium Health63 postings
- 20HCA Healthcare62 postings
Keep looking