Thinking of Going into Social Work Private Practice? You'll need to Clear Some Hurdles First

Carol

February 06, 2017

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Private practice can allow you to climb out from under the mountains of paperwork that you have to live with as a social worker employed by the state or by a private institution, and it gives you the opportunity to move away from some of the more distressing cases that may have been a regular part of your workload.

Many social workers opting for private practice are focused on providing psychotherapy services, and as such take further qualifications that allow them to specialize in particular forms of therapy, like Gestalt therapy or neurolinguistics therapy, for example.

In addition to undertaking this broader training, you'll also have to fulfill some legal requirements before you can set up on your own.

You Need to Get Licensed in Your State

Different states have different licensing requirements for social workers in private practice. In the state of New York, for example, you must be at least 21 years old, hold a master’s degree in social work (including at least 12 semester hours of clinical coursework), have completed at least three years of postgraduate supervised experience in diagnosis, psychotherapy and assessment based treatment planning, meet examination requirements, and have completed the appropriate training for identifying and reporting child abuse.

You Need a Master’s Degree in Social Work

Unless you already hold your master’s degree, you'll need to go to school and obtain your masters in social work (MSW) degree. This isn't as hard as it sounds now that colleges and universities offer online MSW programs.

Make sure that you study for your online MSW with an accredited school, or your qualification may not be recognized by your state.

An online course can be completed part-time in as few as three years, and the courses are flexible enough to fit in with your current work commitments.

You Need Supervision

Most states require that you work with supervision for at least two years post grad in order to hold your private practice license. Your school will help you to find a supervision program once you graduate, or you can check with your state society for clinical social work and find out what supervision options are available to you.

Supervision groups can also be a way to find new clients and expand your private practice.

You'll Need Insurance

For your own protection, and to meet legal requirements, you'll need to have liability insurance in place that covers you against malpractice lawsuits.

Make sure that you purchase a policy with a high level of cover, and one that includes access to legal defense so that you don't have to waste time trying to defend yourself or trying to find adequate legal representation.

Psychotherapy isn't the only option for social workers to branch out into private practice. Some social workers choose to set up consulting services that help local agencies with program development and research, while others provide personal or business coaching services. Whichever path you choose, running your own social work private practice is an exciting and rewarding career choice.