Looking Back, Looking Forward: Challenges and Progress in Clinical Social Work

Though there are currently over 370,000 independent licensed clinical social workers in the United States, the profession is only about 70 years old. It is remarkable how quickly the field has grown, and is a testament to the great fundamentals of the field, i.e., an understanding of systems theory, belief in social justice, awareness of person-in-environment, and mental health base in the biopsychosocial model. It is not surprising that there have been challenges in the rapid growth of our field and a clear appreciation of how valuable the way clinical social workers provide psychotherapy has become. This presentation will review some of these challenges currently facing the field including many fewer clinical social work tracks in schools of social work; the rolling back of safety net policies that affect our clients/patients and their mental health; the forced inclusion of telemental health during the pandemic; respect for different mental health approaches (psychodynamic, CBT, DBT, EMDR, and more); the way some fraudulent companies try to use our reputation and identities to further their own value without permission; and the way that artificial intelligence is creating avatars that may interfere with the human connection that makes clinical social work so helpful. The ways that we have made progress in dealing with these challenges will be discussed, and is a tribute to the solid footing on which clinical social work rests. PLEASE NOTE: There are no continuing education credits available for this program.