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.
- O*NET-SOC code
21-1023.00 - Preparation Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$60,280
Employment, U.S.132,810
Median hourly wage$28.98
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $39,740 | $47,070 | $60,280 | $79,730 | $104,170 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 740 | $41,500 | 0.41 |
| Alaska | 250 | $56,710 | 0.88 |
| Arizona | 3,690 | $46,380 | 1.33 |
| Arkansas | 1,040 | $58,590 | 0.93 |
| California | 19,860 | $79,000 | 1.28 |
| Colorado | 1,640 | $65,620 | 0.67 |
| Connecticut | 1,540 | $78,640 | 1.06 |
| Delaware | 510 | $60,060 | 1.22 |
| District of Columbia | 510 | $73,310 | 0.85 |
| Florida | 5,150 | $51,590 | 0.61 |
| Georgia | 1,330 | $52,030 | 0.32 |
| Hawaii | $54,390 | ||
| Idaho | 510 | $52,520 | 0.69 |
| Illinois | 3,460 | $49,960 | 0.66 |
| Indiana | 2,490 | $48,300 | 0.91 |
| Iowa | 1,200 | $48,530 | 0.90 |
| Kansas | 1,620 | $56,330 | 1.32 |
| Kentucky | 1,360 | $42,570 | 0.80 |
| Louisiana | 970 | $47,100 | 0.59 |
| Maine | 1,860 | $57,050 | 3.40 |
| Maryland | 2,250 | $73,580 | 0.95 |
| Massachusetts | 7,440 | $62,500 | 2.40 |
| Michigan | 4,620 | $60,830 | 1.23 |
| Minnesota | 3,590 | $75,020 | 1.42 |
| Mississippi | 920 | $48,970 | 0.93 |
| Missouri | 1,640 | $49,560 | 0.66 |
| Montana | 740 | $45,160 | 1.69 |
| Nebraska | 900 | $43,240 | 1.03 |
| Nevada | 1,100 | $62,900 | 0.83 |
| New Hampshire | 320 | $63,900 | 0.54 |
| New Jersey | 2,420 | $66,590 | 0.66 |
| New Mexico | 800 | $65,640 | 1.08 |
| New York | 14,820 | $79,380 | 1.79 |
| North Carolina | 3,690 | $58,210 | 0.87 |
| North Dakota | 240 | $60,980 | 0.65 |
| Ohio | 6,050 | $46,080 | 1.28 |
| Oklahoma | 1,780 | $43,120 | 1.22 |
| Oregon | 2,230 | $68,210 | 1.33 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,500 | $48,290 | 0.68 |
| Rhode Island | 800 | $60,990 | 1.88 |
| South Carolina | 720 | $39,930 | 0.37 |
| South Dakota | 230 | $48,920 | 0.60 |
| Tennessee | 2,220 | $46,500 | 0.79 |
| Texas | 8,220 | $46,630 | 0.68 |
| Utah | 1,240 | $50,770 | 0.84 |
| Vermont | 320 | $73,210 | 1.24 |
| Virginia | 3,670 | $64,240 | 1.04 |
| Washington | 3,490 | $70,460 | 1.15 |
| West Virginia | 420 | $50,070 | 0.70 |
| Wisconsin | 1,880 | $61,860 | 0.75 |
| Wyoming | 200 | $59,310 | 0.82 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | 5 | 0.986 |
| 2 | Healthcare Social Workers | 5 | 0.984 |
| 3 | Marriage and Family Therapists | 5 | 0.984 |
| 4 | Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | 5 | 0.984 |
| 5 | Mental Health Counselors | 5 | 0.980 |
| 6 | Rehabilitation Counselors | 5 | 0.978 |
| 7 | Social and Human Service Assistants | 4 | 0.976 |
| 8 | School Psychologists | 5 | 0.976 |
| 9 | Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 4 | 0.975 |
| 10 | Psychiatric Technicians | 3 | 0.966 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriage and Family Therapists | Active Listening | 0.88 | 0.984 |
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | Active Listening | 0.88 | 0.984 |
| Speech-Language Pathologists | Reading Comprehension | 0.88 | 0.962 |
| Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | Learning Strategies | 0.87 | 0.949 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, excluding software Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Athena Software Penelope Case Management | 3 of 20 | 46.2x |
| ICANotes | 3 of 20 | 46.2x |
| Google Meet | 6 of 20 | 6.3x |
| Noldus Information Technology The Observer XT | 3 of 20 | 34.6x |
| Statistical software | 5 of 20 | 5.8x |
| Zoom | 5 of 20 | 4.4x |
| Microsoft Teams | 4 of 20 | 5.8x |
| eClinicalWorks EHR software | 4 of 20 | 3.8x |
| Electronic medical record EMR software | 3 of 20 | 4.3x |
| Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS | 3 of 20 | 3.5x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 4.25 | 5.12 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.88 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.75 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.12 |
| Science | Essential skill | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 1.00 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.62 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Therapy and Counseling | 4.83 | 6.57 |
| Psychology | 4.66 | 6.24 |
| English Language | 3.90 | 4.41 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.80 | 4.91 |
| Education and Training | 3.68 | 4.26 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 3.61 | 3.66 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.30 | 3.12 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 3.04 | 2.59 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 3.00 | 3.32 |
| Administration and Management | 2.98 | 2.86 |
| Law and Government | 2.97 | 2.49 |
| Administrative | 2.94 | 3.49 |
| Computers and Electronics | 2.80 | 3.39 |
| Communications and Media | 2.64 | 2.59 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.54 | 2.22 |
| Transportation | 1.85 | 1.25 |
| Mathematics | 1.81 | 1.60 |
| Telecommunications | 1.81 | 0.86 |
| Biology | 1.76 | 1.20 |
| Foreign Language | 1.52 | 0.87 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.46 | not rated |
| Geography | 1.46 | 1.23 |
| History and Archeology | 1.43 | 0.93 |
| Chemistry | 1.37 | 0.72 |
| Fine Arts | 1.32 | not rated |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.23 | not rated |
| Engineering and Technology | 1.12 | not rated |
| Mechanical | 1.11 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.10 | not rated |
| Production and Processing | 1.10 | not rated |
| Building and Construction | 1.06 | not rated |
| Design | 1.06 | not rated |
| Physics | 1.01 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Oral Comprehension | 4.50 | 4.88 |
| Oral Expression | 4.25 | 4.75 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Written Comprehension | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Written Expression | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Speech Clarity | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Information Ordering | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Originality | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| Near Vision | 3.25 | 3.62 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.75 | 3.12 |
| Memorization | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Far Vision | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Time Sharing | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.62 | 2.50 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.50 | 2.50 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Number Facility | 2.12 | 2.50 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.12 | 1.88 |
| Visualization | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Response Orientation | 1.88 | 1.38 |
| Static Strength | 1.88 | 1.25 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Reaction Time | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Finger Dexterity | 1.62 | 1.12 |
| Stamina | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.25 | not rated |
| Depth Perception | 1.12 | not rated |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.12 | not rated |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.12 | not rated |
| Manual Dexterity | 1.12 | not rated |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.12 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.12 | not rated |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 1.00 | not rated |
| Control Precision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Rate Control | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft Outlook in demand
- Adobe Acrobat hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft SharePoint hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Adobe PageMaker
- Client records software
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Database software
- Email software
- Information presentation software
- James Frazier Associates DataStart
- Medical condition coding software
- Medical procedure coding software
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Publisher
- Netscape Navigator
- Patient electronic medical record EMR software
- Scheduling software
- Social Solutions ETO
- Social Work Software ClientTouch
- Web browser software
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangor, ME | 260 | 4.25 | $60,700 |
| Pueblo, CO | 200 | 3.82 | $65,620 |
| Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 210 | 3.77 | $69,960 |
| Napa, CA | 230 | 3.44 | $68,830 |
| Pittsfield, MA | 170 | 3.42 | $56,660 |
| Billings, MT | 260 | 3.30 | $43,310 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | 810 | 3.28 | $59,010 |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 130 | 3.22 | $61,800 |
| Worcester, MA | 960 | 3.21 | $60,480 |
| Springfield, MA | 510 | 2.98 | $60,250 |