This is a question that will often be asked about Social Work and it is not any easy question to answer with just a few sentences. Social Work is a large sub-sector within the even larger field of Human Services. The Social Worker performs a great diversity of tasks to help people who are struggling with some aspect of their lives.
Social Workers involve the job of helping people as the primary goal, this can take myriad forms and it can also be something that happens within a wide variety of contexts. In many cases, Social Work address some aspect of Social Justice, whether it is helping women suffering from Domestic Abuse, working on a campaign to reduce red lining of loans for low-income families of color or helping the homeless, the Social Worker is trying to help redress some form of injustice. The Social Worker might also be addressing the basic needs of their fellow human beings by helping a family get access to food, connecting homeless persons with shelters and other resources or ensuring the physical safety of children by working in Child Welfare. There are also Social Work jobs that address things at the macro level or further up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
For example, one of the most profitable careers in Social Work is to attain licensure and become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) helping clients with their emotional and mental challenges by bringing a new awareness and context so they can heal and release their patterns. There are also occupations that involve influencing public policies, pursuing specific goals through a nonprofit and operating at the management level of Social Services agencies. The Social Worker has a wide variety of ways that they can impact the world of Social Work by providing excellent Human Services.
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