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Date: 07/22/2026

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Activities may include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
    • Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
    • Modify treatment plans according to changes in client status.
    • Counsel or aid family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting the client or patient.
    • Educate clients or community members about mental or physical illness, abuse, medication, or available community resources.
    • Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
    • Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
    • Increase social work knowledge by reviewing current literature, conducting social research, or attending seminars, training workshops, or classes.
    • Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
    • Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
    • Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
    • Develop or advise on social policy or assist in community development.
    • Assist clients in adhering to treatment plans, such as setting up appointments, arranging for transportation to appointments, or providing support.
    • Refer patient, client, or family to community resources for housing or treatment to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness, following through to ensure service efficacy.
    • Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
    • Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients.
    • Increase social work knowledge by reviewing current literature, conducting social research, or attending seminars, training workshops, or classes.
    • Plan or conduct programs to prevent substance abuse, combat social problems, or improve health or counseling services in community.

    Skills

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    Knowledge

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 46080/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 22.16/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 6,470
    • Yearly Projected Openings 480

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Sincerity
    • Optimism
    • Adaptability
    • Empathy
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Self-Control

    Tools

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    Workforce Supply Tool

    Workforce Supply Tool

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    You can view statewide statistics as well as more region specific information.

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