It is true that a LP is required to have a doctoral degree in order to meet one of the requirements for getting a license to practice psychology, while a LCSW only needs to have a MSC, but this is not a criterion to distinguish a LP from LCSW as the former being more academically suited for a job in a health care setting than the other. "A psychology whose primary rationale is to promote social justice need not throw away its scientific aspirations. Indeed, the things it studies will be more rigorously arrived at. Hence its methods of solution will e more scientific than ever" (Bradley, 2005, p.3).
The globalization world is requiring disciplines to cooperate and help people in the twenty-first century cope with technological advances, scientific breakthroughs and new challenges that changed the pace of our society's development from one century to another. Walls between nations are falling, while transportation and communication means enable people to travel from one point on the globe to another and to exchange goods and information in a matter of hours or seconds. Societies are shaken and put to new tests and the field of behavioral sciences must keep up with the changes. Sociology and, in our case, Clinical Social Work, although deeply rooted in the field of psychology and using a whole range of methods and notions specific to psychology, became a filed that is required to support the whole health care system to work in the best interest of the population.
Bradley emphasizes that "psychology is both science and profession. As science it aims to accumulate knowledge through research. As profession it aims to sell services for the betterment of others and thereby advance the common good"(Bradley, 2005, p.19 ). The Clinical Social Work is "the professional application of social Work theory and methods to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of psychosocial dysfunction, disability or impairment, including emotional, mental and behavioral disorders (Barker, 2003)" (NASW, 2005, p.9). Both fields interact in their practice in so far they are seeking to work in the benefit of their clients who in turn will return to society that will benefit from their improvement as a whole. Research stands at the basis of both professions, but sociology is generally supposed to work with short-term therapies, as shown before and therefore, it is more adequate in the certain conditions in health care institutions, depending on third party funds and destined to serve a community.
There is a further distinction that is necessary to be made between a LCSW and the field of Social Work in general. Rebach and Bruhn have defined the clinical sociology as "the use and application of sociological theory, methods and findings to bring about social change at the individual, small group, organizational, community, institutional, or social system level (Bruhn & Rebach 1996; Kallen, 1995; Rebach & Bruhn 1991)" (Rebach, Bruhn, 2001, p.3). Rebach and Bruhn quote Straus (1995-9) to conclude that clinical sociology means "using theory to make sense out of life" (Straus,1995-9, quoted by Rebach&Bruhn, 2001, p. 396).
Both future LCSW and LP are supposed to have a certain number of years of clinical experience under the expertise of a master, depending on the state laws, in order to get their license to practice. The former is required to have beside the clinical course "at least three years full-time supervised post-graduate clinical social work experience in diagnosis, psychotherapy, and assessment-based treatment plans, or its part-time equivalent" ( OP New York State Education Department. Education Law. Art 154. Social Work. §7704. 2.c.). The latter is also required to have full time supervised experience in the field. The experience through apprenticeship that is inherited for earlier years in the field of clinical expertise is applied both to the LCSW and the LP.
First, both aforementioned workers are supposed to apply the information gathered during their academic studies and their clinical work to effective intervention. Psychologists as well as Licensed Clinical Social Workers are expected to act like a scientist that is using scientific methodologies specific to psychology, respectively Social Work, quantitative and/or qualitative methods of research in order to advance diagnosis hypothesis, choose between them and decide the appropriate treatment. While the psychologists usually address the specific problems of one patient or group of patients, the LCSW is dealing with "involvement in and the interaction with members of a specific social system" (Rebach, Bruhn, 2001, 15).
The clients of a LCSW could be individuals...
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