What Are the Differences Between a Clinical Social Worker and a Counselor?
Updated January 22, 2025 · 3 Min Read
Edited by
Reviewed by
Clinical social workers and counselors perform similar roles. While counselors focus on improving clients' mental health through counseling, clinical social workers provide therapy and connect clients to community resources.
Learn more about job duties, educational requirements, and career outlooks to better understand the differences between clinical social workers and counselors.
Popular Online Master's in Counseling Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Duties and Responsibilities
Licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) and counselors often have the same job duties and responsibilities. However, they can find employment in various settings and have different responsibilities based on their environment.
Licensed Clinical Social Workers
LCSWs often work as therapists, performing the same job duties as psychologists, counselors, and marriage and family therapists. They work in various work environments, including schools, hospitals, and substance use treatment facilities.
Clinical social workers can specialize in working with certain populations, such as children, families, or couples. They can also focus on specific therapeutic modalities, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, and somatic experience.
Counselors
Counselors conduct mental health assessments, create treatment plans, provide individual and group therapy services, and document progress.
Counselors often work in outpatient therapy offices but can also work in colleges and care facilities. Depending on their goals, work setting, and training, counselors can specialize in certain mental health concerns — like anxiety or substance use — or particular types of therapy. They can also work with people of all ages.
Education, Licensure, and Certification
Educational requirements for counselors and clinical social workers include graduate degrees and supervised clinical experience before independent licensure. Explore the specific education and certification requirements for LCSWs and counselors.
Licensed Clinical Social Workers
An LCSW must obtain a master's degree in social work. After completing a clinical internship in graduate school and passing the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) master's-level exam, social workers can apply for licensure with their state's social work licensing authority.
Social workers can obtain certification through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), which offers various specialty certifications. To maintain their certification, professionals need to participate in continuing education throughout their careers.
Social workers can earn several different types of certification, depending on their specialty. They can work towards credentials concentrating on addiction, case management, education, gerontology, healthcare, hospice work, the military, and youth and family therapy.
Counselors
Like social workers, counselors need a master's degree in their focus area. For example, school counselors complete a master's in school counseling, while mental health counselors may study psychology or a specialized counseling field.
A counselor's specific title depends on their state board's terminology, which can include licensed professional counselor (LPC), licensed mental health counselor (LMHC), licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC), or licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC). Licensure typically requires a passing national exam score and a certain number of supervised work experience hours.
Counselors can earn the national certified counselor (NCC) credential from the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). They can also earn specialty certifications in clinical mental health counseling and school counseling through the NBCC.
Popular Online MSW Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Salary and Career Outlook
Salary and career outlook data appear favorable for LCSWs and counselors from other backgrounds.
Licensed Clinical Social Workers
LCSWs earn an average annual salary of $67,600, according to Payscale data from January 2025. Meanwhile, bachelor's-level social workers earn an average annual salary of $55,731.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment for social workers to grow by 7% from 2023-2033, which is nearly twice the 4% average growth for all occupations.
BLS data also reveals that LCSWs who specialize in particular populations or in-demand treatment modalities have greater earning potential, as do those who choose to work in private practice.
Counselors
Counselors earn slightly less than LCSWs. The BLS reports a median annual salary of $53,710 for substance use, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors.
BLS data also indicates that marriage and family therapists earn a higher median annual salary of $58,510. This role requires a minimum of a master's degree. The career outlook appears bright for counselors, with faster-than-average projected career growth across all disciplines.
Clinical Social Worker or Counselor: Which Should You Choose?
Choosing social work allows you to work in more settings than other counselors, who primarily work in outpatient therapy settings, including schools, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations.
Those looking to collaborate with professionals in other disciplines may prefer clinical social work. For example, LCSWs in hospital-based clinics may work with physicians, speech and occupational therapists, and other care providers.
Clinical social work might be a good fit for professionals who value diversity, inclusion, and equity and wish to take a systems approach to their work with individuals and families. In contrast, counselors often take a holistic and strength-based approach to problem-solving.
Clinical social workers are trained in the person-in-environment perspective and macro social work lens, which can inspire those motivated by social justice, policy change, and community development.
Clinical social work invites participation in advocacy work with local, state, and federal agencies. These efforts encourage LCSWs to make a difference on behalf of their clients to make lasting, systems-based change.
Frequently Asked Questions about Clinical Social Workers vs. Counselors
What is the difference between counseling and social work?
While both provide therapy, counselors focus on individual psychological and emotional concerns, while social workers also consider social and environmental factors contributing to the person's mental health concerns.
Can you become a social worker or counselor online?
Yes. Online graduate degrees are available in counseling and social work, though in-person supervised clinical training is required to become a licensed practitioner in either field.
What is a day in the life of a clinical social worker?
Most clinical social workers assess clients, perform clinical documentation duties, attend agency meetings, and supervise other clinicians. Still, a clinical social worker's day can vary greatly depending on their work setting, specialization, and client population.
Can social workers be therapists?
Yes. Clinical social workers call themselves therapists because they are licensed to provide therapy and have advanced training in human development, psychology, and interpersonal communication.