Cultural Diversity In Social Work

Social work is a profession that is practiced in many different ways and in many different settings. The main focus of a social worker is to help their client, whether it is an individual, a family, a group, or a community, to obtain their basic human needs and to meet their goals. There are many different components involved in becoming a great social worker, one of which is to be culturally aware and socially diverse. Although it is important to be both culturally and socially aware in all practice settings, it is specifically important for social workers that work in mental health clinics to possess these skills in order to provide the best care possible to their clients. The Social Work Code of Ethics states that cultural awareness

The need for cultural awareness and social diversity in social work practice comes from the fact that social workers will not always have clients that belong to the same groups that they do. Social workers should expect to work with clients of all races, genders, classes, social groups, and a number of other identifiers that the social worker may not have in common with them. As stated by Jani, Osteen, and Shipe, “Social workers believe that discrimination and prejudice directed against any group damage the social, emotional, and economic well-being of society as a whole” (Jani, Osteen, & Shipe, 2016). By adopting this belief and maintaining both cultural awareness and social diversity, the social worker is adhering to the NASW Code of Ethics, which places emphasis on the need to understand different cultures and to be aware of social injustices. In an effort to

Common names that mental health social workers may go by include psychiatric social workers, psychotherapists, counselors, and behavioral health care specialists. The job of a mental health social worker is to evaluate and plan care for patients with mental health and addiction problems (Cox, Tice, & Long, 2016). Licensed Clinical Social Workers have the ability to diagnose mental health disorders and treat these disorders through therapy. LCSW’s do not have the ability to prescribe medications to treat these disorders. Types of mental health clinics that social workers have the opportunity to work for include employee assistance programs, community mental health programs, inpatient behavioral health clinics, and many more. Licensed clinical social workers also have the opportunity to open a private practice where they can accept patients to diagnose and treat long-term. Although it is required for a social worker to become licensed in order to become a therapist, it is possible for a generalist social worker with a bachelors in social work to work in a mental health clinic. Generalist social workers can work as case managers for clients in inpatient mental health clinics. Generalist social workers also have the opportunity to work as advocates for their clients who suffer from mental health issues. Generalist