Social Workers as Therapists?

In California social workers, at least those with an MSW, can qualify as therapists if they get the hours of supervision. One such therapist was recommended to me but I am not sure that she would be qualified.

The two I see are both lcsw's. I saw a phd about 15 years ago - she was batshit crazy and I would not say the degree made her more qualified than the lcsw people.

my T is an lcsw. She has a lot of experience in dealing with different walks of life which is what drew me to her. I have seen people with a phd and it was horrendous so to me the degree doesn't make the person more valuble.

I'm a social worker and I wouldn't see a social worker.

My favorite therapist I ever had was a social worker.

That's the way it is in Massachusetts also. They start as MSWs and work as case workers, etc. More supervised hours qualifies them as an LCSW. More hours after that, at least in this state, qualifies them as an LICSW - which is equal to a Phd in supervised hours. The same goes for lisenced MH counselors, though the licensing doesn't change so potential clients would want to do more homework on them.

So all this means is that the degree alone is not going to tell you anything about their effectiveness as a T. If you're not dealing with neuropsychological testing or psychopharmacology, then whether a T is a PhD or an MD doesn't matter. Most of what you'll here to the contrary is just heresay based on competition and elitist attitudes amongst therapists themselves.

Studies have shown that relationship, not degree matters when working with a T. Social workers with a LICSW have to have so many hours of supervised experience plus pass a test. After they have to get so many hours of 'continued education' (time spent at conferences, workshops, etc) to keep their license so they can still practice.
This does not mean all social workers are good, because the reality is that the world is filled with one too many bad Ts.
Bottom line: I would hesitate to see a T just because they're a social worker.

I would see the person at least 1 or 2 sessions, then choose whether or not we can work together.

I saw a lcsw when I was 18-22. I loved her. She helped me so much. I went from homeless to going to college, holding down a part time job, and having my own apartment while with her. I'm still in contact with her too.

I also love my current T. She has a Ph.D.

There are good Ts and bad Ts no matter what their education is.

I wish that people would stop judging others based on the person's degree. To hear people complain that they can't find a T, but they write off lcsws is irritating. My feelings = my problem. But it's your problem if you write someone off solely because of a degree.

Even a college counselor of mine was a great pseudo-T. Judge a T on their personality and your interactions. I understand preferences like gender, but education???

I see a LCSW. For me it has little to do with the degree; experience and how well our relationship works are more important.

In my personal, albeit limited, experience I have found msw and lcsw licensed therapists to be more easygoing and personable. I've met with psyD licensed therapists/psychologists and at least with the ones I have seen something felt off about them. Just my own perceptions.

Psychiatrists are definitely a whole different animal, even my therapist has said more than once that they're weird. I don't think they really count though (mine would I guess, but she practices therapy in addition to medication management. So she's only part time weird).

Maybe someone can cite a study, but I thought positive client outcomes are correlated with quality of T relationship, and not T's degree or treatment paradigm?

Anyway mine is a LCSW from a prestigious school, extremely smart, tons of past clinical experience with different populations. There are PhDs and MDs with less to offer in this regard.

Plus the advanced degrees may have big egos. The ones I know socially do, anyway

I agree with Scarlett. It is very irritating when people complain they can't find Ts when there are loads of them out there, without doctorates. The truth of the matter is that clinical psychologists look at mental health from a medical model. Social workers and mental health counselors do not, meaning they tend to prefer to focus on a clients strengths and coping strategies to make a better life for themselves. Clinical psychologists may lean toward viewing clients through their pathology or "illness". They are not medical doctors and haven't learned any therapeutic techniques that aren't taught to social workers and counselors. I have even been told this by a phd psychologist who suggested I go into psych nursing or Mastera Counseking over a psychology doctorate. She has a phd and has about the same amount of knowledge but less clients and higher student loans - hence the higher fee. My psychiatrist has referred me to a phd marriage T who was completely nuts, and a social worker T who I see now and is brilliant. He acknowledges that he doesn't even know the difference between all the licenses in terms of how they relate to quality of a therapist. He hasn't found it to make an ounce of difference, unless it's in the research arena where the doctorates have an edge. Other than that professionals themselves will tell you it's the qualities of the individual above all else.

my current t is an lpc. She's helped me SO much more than the other 2 I saw. one of those was a phd and he was so terrible I walked out of the first appointment and never went back. i don't remember what the 2nd one was. I think she was a lcsw. she was nice enough, there was just zero connection/relationship and i could never open up to her so i just stopped making appointments.

Also everything else aside my insurance only covers a certain amount of $$. So while I could get 10 sessions with a psychologist I get 25 with a social worker and only pay out of pocket for around 15 sessions.

Yes, she would be just as qualified and the therapist with any other credentials. It's not the credentials that make a good therapist.

my T is a licsw. I think she makes some strange decisions about my unwillingness to talk at times but I think that it might have to do with the restrictions of the clinic she works out of .her lic allows her to have a private practice and I know she does and often wonder if she would be different in private practice .I don't think I would want to work with a phd

Social workers are not qualified to offer therapy where I live, and I have a very bad experience of talking to a social worker who tried to offer really clumsy grief counselling to me. But if a social worker should get the higher education necessary to become a licenced psychotherapist, there is no reason why they wouldn't be just as good as any other T.

Personally, I prefer seeing a T with a doctorate, and it is perfect for me to have a T who is also a psychiatrist so he can manage my medication. But those are simply personal preferences, which don't mean that a pdoc is by default a better T. (My T/pdoc is not too impressed with the cadre of psychiatrists in general, though he is too wise to generalise too much, at least in front of me.) But I would never contemplate seeing a therapist who wasn't licenced. Sorry if that seems pretentious of me, but my therapy is too important to trust somebody who is not qualified.

It really depends on what you want and the person you get matched with.

I spent a short time with the psychologist provided by the union I belong to. He was ok, but he isn't really one to offer up much - I know this through friends/coworkers as well. After I went to the psychiatrist and got diagnosed I was paired up with a social worker - which is why I stopped seeing the psychologist. My counsellor has a masters degree or whatever it is. I find he's a good challenge for me, and there are times where I know more about the medical-side of things than he does. I have a similar level of education and am well-read. He might not know the medical terms, but he does know strategies to work with and he'll call me out on stuff.

I've seen various therapists with various degrees, but the one degree I haven't dealt with is social work. For the most part I'd say it is the quality of the relationship that matter in the long run, not so much the degree. I would say that probably the most skilled therapist I worked with is my most recent who is a psychologist (PhD). Unlike what some others have said, I didn't find that he worked particularly on a "medical" model. I did find he had a wider range of background, knowledge, and skill than my other therapists although they were also good and appropriate for what I needed at the time.

i forgot to mention that my t is in private practice and also is a certified sand play therapist. I love sand play and miss doing that in her office, she has shelves and shelves of miniatures to use in the sand. I made my own sand tray at home, and am slowly collecting things to use in it, but my collection is growing very slowly and is nothing like hers! I think I'll go look for some stuff to put in my collection today as a matter of fact.

The counselors at crisis houses (at least here) consists mostly (95%) of therapists who are putting in their hours in order to get their license to practice. I have met my share of good and bad. Interestingly, the two counselors I liked the most: one who was working on her doctorate and the other working on her masters (she didn't have her masters yet so she couldn't counsel anyone individually yet). I only got to talk to the counselor working on her M.A. on a walk back from the beach, but it was awesome. She was able to follow my train of thought and offered up different perspectives along the way. It was almost like intellectual banter. The counselor working on the Ph.D. was my favorite. We just clicked instantly. I asked her about why I couldn't connect to the other counselors, and even she said it's because of their different personalities and different views on therapy. She suggested another counselor who was similar to her, but I never got the chance to work with her

I've seen 8 Ts, 9 Pdocs, have been in the crisis house 6 times, and have had many other mental health counselors from day treatment centers and the board and care. Some have been awesome, some were okay, some were pure s***. All had varying levels of experience/education and personalities. For me, I have found that I can get along with pretty much any personality: from the emotionally expressive to the ones who aren't. So when I really try to analyze what makes the best T (or pdoc, counselor, teacher, etc.) for me: a mentally strong person who is not only passionate and competent about their job, but someone who is caring and empathetic. For Ts, I prefer women because I don't trust men and I don't trust myself with men.

All the generalizations about psychologists and therapist are just simply generalizations. Some say that Psy.D. is better than Ph.D. because Ph.D. is more researched based. Some say Ph.D.s have more experience/knowledge. Others say that therapists (lcsw, mft, etc.) are better because they work more with the general public. (I know other generalizations were made, but I'm too tired/lazy to go find them). These generalizations might be your personal experience, but that doesn't make them fact.

If you can afford to be choosy and have a huge selection to choose from, then by all means, exclude people based upon their education. I still think you might be missing out on something great, but maybe you're not?

For those who can't be choosy due to insurance, money, times, location, etc., then stop judging on education. If you need help, get help! Help can come from anywhere. But if you keep rejecting people based off of their education, you're only hurting yourself and prolonging your suffering.

And btw, my fiance is getting his MBA He has no knowledge of business. His MBA has been easier (and cheaper!?) than his BS. And I know other people who have told me to ignore degrees (one being a psychologist and the other a Pdoc). The Pdoc told me to ignore it because you don't actually know how well they did in school (could have barely passed or even gotten a "gentleman's A"). My veterinary doctor is that way. He's an awesome vet, but even he told us he doesn't know how he passed...lol. The psychologists told me when we terminated that she didn't want me to ever think less of myself just because someone has a degree. That a degree doesn't equal intelligence and that I needed to give myself credit for how smart I actually am. She said a degree only means you read books, wrote papers, passed tests, and had money/financial aid. But that doesn't make anyone good at their profession and it doesn't make them smart.

My T is in California and she is a LCSW. She's amazing, and has 25 years of clinical experience. Like others have said, it's the relationship between the T and client that makes the difference, not the level of education the T has.

My T is also a LCSW. I saw a MSW about 10 years ago who was also a great T. Both had 20+ years experience when I started seeing them. I saw an Ivy-educated PsyD a few years ago who was downright awful.

I have seen both a LCSW and a marriage and family therapist who was my last t who I cherish. Compared to this one clinical psychologist / art therapist , which is great at what she does qualifications and all, I can't find connection, as I did with the others, I feel the other t were more, human like, playful, they let me in. This one try's but is more clinical, although she shows sadness and emotion, but doesn't allow for deep connection in my view .