MANAGING CARE( continued)
• Transportation
• Support groups
• Caregiver support
• In-home help
• Respite
• Palliative or hospice evaluation
The Social Worker’ s Clinical Roles
• Individual and family counseling, both short- and long-term
• Facilitating support groups for diagnosed individuals as well as caregivers and loved ones
• Providing resources and disease education to patients, families, and other healthcare workers involved in the patient’ s care
• Linking patients and families with appropriate community services
• Care management or case coordination with patient’ s other healthcare providers
• Peer-to-peer( one-to-one) pairings of patients with other patients, or caregivers with other caregivers
• Telephone consultation to patients and families
• Advocate for multidisciplinary interventions, including physical therapy, speech and swallow therapy, and occupational therapy
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Facts about Social Work
• Social work degrees are awarded at the bachelor’ s, master’ s, and doctoral levels. Most licensed social workers have a Master’ s in Social Work( MSW), a state requirement.
• All 50 states in the U. S. license social workers. However, many people without licenses call themselves social workers. The best way to get clarity is to ask the professional you are seeing if they are a licensed social worker.“ Licensed social worker” is a regulated title;“ social worker” is not.
• LMSW, LCSW, LGSW, and LSW are typical initials you might see after a licensed social worker’ s name. The meaning of these titles varies among states.
• The National Association of Social Workers( NASW) is the main professional social work governing body.
• In many settings, licensed clinical social work services are reimbursable.
• Some healthcare settings where you can find social workers:- Medical institutions and rehabilitation centers- Adult day programs- Home health agencies- Assisted living and skilled nursing facilities- Veteran’ s Administration( VA) centers- Palliative and hospice care- Private practice