Social workers – particularly those working in a clinical capacity – are relied upon by millions of people across the US. However, they are not only counted on to find opportunities for people to better themselves and to find support in education and healthcare on the clinical side of things, but some of them also often provide treatment directly to those who need it.
Therefore, it’s understandable that clinical social workers (CSWs) need a set of skills to help them communicate effectively with a wide range of people and treat and support their clients. Training through college and on the job will provide people with the tools and insight they need to support people with all kinds of problems – but what are the main techniques they will typically use from case to case?
In this guide, we’ll look closely at what’s expected from a CSW on the job and what techniques they usually use to help ensure that their clients get back on their feet.
What does a clinical social worker do?
A clinical social worker (CSW) is a specialist in the healthcare trade. They support various needs, ranging from mental health to advice on physical therapy needs.
Of course, as social workers, these specialists will also work regularly as advocates and communicators between government and local departments to ensure that their clients are connected with the right people and resources. Ultimately, it’s a role with several moving parts that’s immensely rewarding.
It’s also helpful for people to start learning how to become CSWs through online programs supported by recognized universities and colleges. A great starting point, for example, would be through an Online MSW program in California at FSU, where students can graduate with knowledge and appreciation of social care work over two to three years. For example, Florida State University allows students to study from afar either on a two-year Master of Social Work if they already have a Bachelor of Social Work or through a traditional three-year route with a bachelor’s degree in any other field of work or study.
Regardless, the US is always in need of social workers, and clinical workers are among the most sought-after. In California, it’s thought that there are more opportunities for social workers than in any other state.
Clinical social work combines the support elements of traditional social care with healthcare – in the sense that a CSW will seek to help people find answers to their issues alongside connecting them to the resources they sorely need.
Techniques used by clinical social workers
It’s reasonable to expect that all CSWs will differ in terms of how they approach work and the techniques they use. However, several modes of practice have stood the test of time and CSWs commonly follow these to ensure that their clients are happy and healthy.
Below, we’ll look at some of the most common therapies and techniques used by CSWs for a variety of purposes. In most cases, the following therapies are used to help ease the psychological and mental burden that some people will be going through when facing difficult times.
The following techniques are proven ways to support better mental health and to help fortify those going through difficult circumstances. Of course, it’s worth remembering that different people react in different ways to therapies, and it will be the role of the CSW to work with their clients to find therapies that support them best.
Let’s look at some common techniques used in clinical social work to understand how CSWs can better support people from across their communities.
Mindfulness techniques
Mindfulness techniques have grown in popularity over the past few years during the COVID-19 pandemic. With more and more people seeking to manage their mental health at home, various apps and software grew in popularity, providing users with access to mindfulness techniques to help ‘clear brain fog’ and support those lacking focus in difficult times.
Mindfulness, ultimately, has roots in meditation. It’s centered on the idea that you take a moment or two to sit and contemplate. However, rather than focusing on your problems, you try to become mindful of the world around you and empty your thoughts of anything that’s clouding your morale or your judgment.
Some of the most popular mindfulness techniques supported by CSWs include simple breathing exercises or body scans, where people close their eyes and draw their attention to each part of the body from head to foot, gradually removing awareness from their troubles and helping them to refocus on simply existing.
Meditation and mindfulness are popular with people who struggle with anxiety, depression and even high blood pressure. In many cases, it’s a great way to simply step back from a stressful situation and refocus oneself. In states of panic or depression, it’s not easy to look at the bigger picture – and CSWs can suggest mindfulness to help those who are going through tough circumstances to put things carefully into perspective.
Studies are ongoing into mindfulness, meaning that there may be further physical and psychological benefits that we are not yet aware of. Therefore, it’s likely to be a popular resource with CSWs for future generations.
Psychodynamic therapy
Psychodynamic therapy (PDT) isn’t just one practice but covers a broad range of techniques and ideas supported by the work of the famed ‘father of psychiatry,’ Sigmund Freud.
Essentially, PDT helps people to talk through their concerns to help find the root cause of mental or psychological problems. Freud’s research suggests that many of the problems facing those in therapy may stem from childhood, meaning that a CSW might use PDT sessions to learn more about their clients’ lives when they were growing up.
PDT is popular with many people, though it’s built around the core tenets of trust, as some sessions might require the discussion of sensitive areas of people’s lives. However, a qualified and experienced CSW can help people ease into such discussions, with the idea that they unlock trauma through simple discussion.
Sometimes, people might forget about areas of their childhood, burying them as distant memories. CSWs are there to help people unlock these thoughts and to guide them through how to manage them. This way, they can healthily readjust to life with this new knowledge and appreciation for their personality and where they’ve come from.
The types of PDT used will differ depending on the patient’s needs. For example, some CSWs might use PDT techniques based on family groups, or they might tailor some strategies toward survivors of sexual assault or rape.
Regardless, PDT can be a short or long-term approach to therapy, depending entirely on the needs of the client and the diagnosis of the CSW.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of ‘talking therapy’ commonly used to help people with depression, substance addiction problems, and eating disorders. It’s also used to support people across the gamut of mental illness, meaning that its exercises can prove helpful to those experiencing mild psychological discomfort and those who need more assistance.
CBT is rooted in the idea that we need to identify personal ‘distortions in reality’ and that we have the individual power to change the way that we think and perceive the world around us. CBT allows people to think deeply about why they might react in certain ways to specific situations and how they can bounce back from difficulties in the future.
A typical CBT program offered by a CSW might encourage people to look out for harmful behavioral patterns that lead to moments of anxiety and panic. CBT can help patients learn how to center themselves and recognize when they’re heading down potentially harmful thought paths and processes.
Some CSWs might choose to blend the principles of CBT with other therapies and techniques in this list. For example, practicing mindfulness and taking oneself out of a busy lifestyle for a moment or two can help people focus on noticing harmful behavior patterns.
CBT works differently from patient to patient. It sometimes involves roleplay and frequently requires patients to do ‘homework.’ CSWs will ask them to complete journals and track their thought processes in their own time.
CBT can help people of all ages learn about what might be causing mental distress, and it’s a great way to help refocus oneself when times get difficult. Therefore, CSWs frequently fall back on its principles to support people from all backgrounds.
Dialectical behavioral therapy
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), much like CBT, is a talking therapy – and it’s common for people to confuse the two (not just because of the similar names). In fact, many of the core principles of DBT are rooted in CBT practice, meaning that it’s fairly common for CSWs to use both techniques.
DBT is an adaptable form of therapy that specifically helps people who feel intense emotions and who want to adapt to difficult feelings. People who stand to benefit from DBT might not even have difficult or complex lifestyles but simply struggle to manage their emotions when faced with various life challenges.
CSWs will often use DBT techniques to ensure that their patients have the mental tools to persist with what might be life-changing circumstances. In some cases, CSWs will support people who are up against some of the biggest challenges they have ever faced – and they will help them to see the other end of the tunnel by encouraging them to become more aware of the emotions they’re feeling.
DBT covers much of the same ground as CBT, as mentioned, but it also encourages self-acceptance and focuses on this crucial sense of worth. DBT can be hard work for patients and clients. However, it’s helpful in providing people with the fortitude to stand up for themselves.
CSWs will likely cover DBT strategies if they feel that patients need more self-confidence and a stronger core of self-worth alongside handling harmful thought processes and behavioral patterns. Therefore, it is the job of a CSW to balance CBT exercises and perhaps moments of mindfulness alongside group work, for example, through DBT
DBT encourages people to work for themselves to find a core of self-belief and the confidence to break through harmful emotional patterns. Therefore, as it can be quite intense, it’s not always recommended as the first therapy that CSWs should turn to should their clients need psychological support.
Regardless, it’s a highly beneficial practice that can help people from all backgrounds adapt to various changes and challenges ahead.
Solution-focused brief therapy
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) is, as its name suggests, a therapy practice based on the concept of finding specific solutions to a patient’s given problems.
While the other therapies and techniques in this list all strive to find solutions, the difference with SFBT is that instead of looking deeper into prior issues and solving problems caused by people’s past experiences, there’s a sharper focus on how to provide solutions to issues arising in the here and now.
Unlike other therapies in this list, SFBT is a short-term approach to supporting mental health and, therefore, might be useful to CSWs who only have a short time working directly with specific clients.
The core ideas behind SFBT are that therapy is a short-term practice and that, unlike Freud’s teachings, we should focus on the future rather than the past. This means that those practicing this type of therapy and its techniques believe that change is both certain and constantly in process.
CSWs will use techniques laid out in SFBT if they feel that their clients are particularly open to changing their thought processes and behavioral patterns. It rarely crosses with PDT as it’s focused on the future rather than personal histories – and CSWs might recommend the practice if they see opportunities for change in their patients’ cases.
SFBT can be an extremely empowering therapy, as rather than homing in on weaknesses and problems from our past, it encourages discussions about our strengths, passions and what’s going right. It’s an exploration of possibilities and potential rather than a breaking down of trauma.
Therefore, CSWs might encourage SFBT techniques if they feel that their clients need to visualize their full potential clearly and if they feel that there are plenty of opportunities to explore. Clarity is important in this line of therapy – and, as with the other techniques and ideas already explored, it’s a talking therapy, meaning that client participation is essential.
Play therapy
As the name suggests, play therapy is a creative exploration that is typically used to support children, though it can help people of all ages and circumstances.
CSWs can use play therapy techniques to help their clients express themselves. In a way, it opposes talking therapies, as it is less about discussion and more about expressing oneself through physical art and playing with various materials.
Play therapy is rooted in the studies of children who learn through playing. Children gain confidence, learn social skills, and generally explore the world by playing with arts and crafts, discovering musical instruments, dressing up and more.
Play therapy helps children and others to act out experiences they might find difficult to process and helps them to discuss emotions that are too traumatic to open up about. In this way, play therapy can be highly therapeutic for those taking part and extremely insightful for CSWs analyzing their cases.
Play therapy helps to support clients and patients on the autistic spectrum who might not be able to communicate easily or freely about how they feel or what they’re experiencing. What’s more, it is also a common asset in helping those who have anger problems or who might be trying to process grief or other trauma.
Play therapy isn’t ideal for everyone, but CSWs might consider it if other talking therapies are proving difficult for their clients to process. It’s just another tool in their kit that they can use to get to know people better – and to help them find solutions.
A golden age of therapy?
Some argue that CSWs have access to more therapies and techniques than ever before – certainly those that are peer-reviewed and broadly trialed – meaning that there has never been a wider range of support options available to vulnerable and disadvantaged people.
Of course, CSWs need to remember that one specific therapy or technique isn’t always going to translate well for everyone. Therefore, these professionals must work closely with people – and communicate clearly – to find a set of techniques that helps their unique needs the best.
There are many reasons why people in social care require help with mental and physical health. In this guide, we’ve only really scratched the surface of the techniques available to CSWs at this time. However, we hope that it has given you a clearer idea of the tools available to those who simply want to support local people and their communities.
