---
title: "Social work"
chunk: 8/11
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_work"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:58:45.966175+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

== Mental health of social workers ==
Several studies have reported that social workers have an increased risk of common mental disorders, long-term sickness absence due to mental illnesses and antidepressant use. A study in Sweden has found that social workers have an increased risk of receiving a diagnosis of depression or anxiety and stress-related disorders in comparison with other workers. The risk for social workers is high even when comparing to other similar human-service professions, and social workers in psychiatric care or in assistance analysis are the most vulnerable.
There are multiple explanations for this increased risk. Individual components include secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and selection of vulnerable employees into the profession. On an organizational level, high job strain, organizational culture and work overload are important factors.
There is a difference in gender. When comparing to their same-gender counterparts in other professions, men in social work have a higher risk than women. Male social workers, when compared to men in other professions, have a 70% increased risk of being diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorders. Female social workers have an increased risk of 20% when comparing to women in other professions. This might be due the baseline prevalence of common mental disorders, which is high among women and lower among men in the general population. Another potential explanation is that men in gender-balanced workplaces tend to seek help from healthcare providers more often than men in male-dominated industries.

== Qualifications and license ==

The education of social workers begins with a bachelor's degree (BA, BSc, BSSW, BSW, etc.) or diploma in social work or a Bachelor of Social Services. Some countries offer postgraduate degrees in social work, such as a master's degree (MSW, MSSW, MSS, MSSA, MA, MSc, MRes, MPhil.) or doctoral studies (Ph.D. and DSW (Doctor of Social Work)).
Several countries and jurisdictions require registration or license for working as social workers, and there are mandated qualifications. In other places, the professional association sets academic requirements as the qualification for practicing the profession. However, certain types of workers are exempted from needing a registration license. The success of these professionals is based on the recognition of and by the employers that provide social work services. These employers don't require the title of a registered social worker as a necessity for providing social work and related services.