Clinical Social Work

Clinical social work is a specialty practice area of social work which focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral disturbances. Individual, group and family therapy are common treatment modalities. Social workers who provide these services are required to be licensed or certified at the clinical level in their state of practice. 

Clinical social workers perform services in a variety of settings including private practice, hospitals, community mental health, primary care, and agencies. NASW advocates for clinical social workers through the legislative and regulatory process.

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NASW Practice Standards & Guidelines

Our standards provide benchmarks for the services that social workers should provide, that employers should support, and that consumers should expect.

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Specialty Practice Sections

Join a Specialty Practice Section for practice-specific professional development opportunities, newsletters, continuing education credits and more.


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An Hour With Private Practice

An Hour with Private Practice: Questions & Answers (HOPP) is a free question and answer session for NASW members. These sessions provide members with important clinical social work updates impacting the delivery of mental health services in a private solo or group practice.

Learn more and see the full schedule


TherapyNotes

TherapyNotes is online practice management software for behavioral health. NASW members who sign up for TherapyNotes for the first time enjoy a 3-month free trial.
Learn more


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MyNASW

MyNASW is the private online community where you can connect with peers, share knowledge and build your network.

Visit MyNASW