Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW)

Social Workers work with clients dealing with daily life issues, or work in an advocacy role for clients with social services agencies. In contrast to Professional Counselors, Social Workers tend to work more from the perspective of society and the surrounding environment, rather than focusing on an individual's personal motivations.

States license Social Workers within a multi-tiered system to reflect differences in education, training and work experience. Licensed Certified Social Worker usually represents the higher-level license. It requires a Master's degree in social work, and 2000 to 3000 hours supervised work experience. A Licensed Certified Social Worker would also be expected to provide training and supervision to those holding lower-level licenses.

Equivalent titles in other states would include: Licensed Graduate Social Worker, Certified Master Social Worker, Master Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Certified Social Worker - Clinical, and Licensed Advanced Social Worker.

An entry- level license usually requires a Bachelor's degree and 2000 to 3000 hours supervised work experience. For a state using Licensed Certified Social Worker, the entry-level license would most likely be Licensed Social Worker (Note: this title is also used for the full license level in some states). Other titles commonly used for this level are Licensed Social Work Associate and Bachelor Social Worker.