Education for Substance Abuse Social Workers

Substance abuse social workers help people with drug and alcohol addictions in a variety of settings. They may work in outpatient or residential treatment centers, in hospitals, in schools, in prisons, in halfway houses and in community outreach centers. They may work with adults or adolescents. They may work toward preventing substance abuse, they may focus on its treatment or they may focus on helping those with substance abuse issues put their lives back together, working towards employment, housing and rebuilding family relationships.

Bachelor's Degree

Substance abuse social workers must earn bachelor's degrees, which takes about four years of fulltime study. While earning a bachelor's degree, students learn a bit about substance abuse and recovery as well as learning about other social work issues. They get a basic foundation for the field of social work, upon which they can later build and learn more about substance abuse and its prevention and treatment.

Master's Degree

Substance abuse social workers do not have to earn master's degrees, though many do. Earning a master's degree in social work takes another year or two of study, depending on the educational program in which social workers enroll. Social workers with master's degrees have more job opportunities and can earn higher salaries. While earning master's degrees, social workers can elect to study more about addiction.

Course of Study

Undergraduate social work students study subjects like psychology, sociology, child development, social policy and family issues. Issues related to substance abuse affect all of these areas of the field. Undergraduate students may have the opportunity to take electives that relate to substance abuse issues, as well. Graduate students have the opportunity to concentrate on an area of study of their choice, so those interested in becoming substance abuse social workers can learn more about those issues. For instance, social work majors at UCLA can choose from a variety of focus areas, including substance abuse, as they complete their graduate degrees.

Internship

Social workers must complete an internship or field placement assignment during their course of education. Social workers generally get to choose in which field they would like to complete their internships so those that wish to become substance abuse social workers should look for internship opportunities in substance abuse treatment centers or similar settings. That way they get hands-on experience working in their chosen field while completing their degrees.

Sources:

Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos060.htm . Social Workers.

College of Mount St. Joseph. http://www.msj.edu/view/academics/catalogs--class-schedules/undergraduate-catalog/academic-departments--programs/bns/social-work/program-requirements-for-a-major-in-social-work---bachelor-of-arts-degree.aspx . Requirements for a Major in Social Work.

UCLA. http://publicaffairs.ucla.edu/social-welfare . Department of Social Welfare.