LMFTs (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists) are trained to focus their services on families, couples, parent-child relationships, while LCSWs (Licensed Clinical Social Workers) are more focused on individuals and community work. The goal of an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) is to help the individuals or groups they work with to improve habits affecting their mental health.

To be a social worker, you need to hold a degree in social work from an accredited college or university program. The undergraduate degree is the bachelor of social work (BSW), graduate degrees include the Master of Social Work (MSW), and a Doctorate (DSW) or PhD in Social Work.

Counselors must earn a four-year undergraduate degree, and typically a master’s degree, in order to begin their practice.

Some types of Master’s Degree programs in Counseling include:

• Master of Science in Counseling Studies
• Master of Science in Professional Counseling
• Master of Arts in Counseling

Specializations include:

• Master of Arts in Community Counseling
• Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling
• Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology: Art Therapy
• Master of Science in Career Counseling
• Master of Science in Marriage and Family Counseling

While Counselors provide psychotherapeutic services, Social Workers have additional responsibilities in healthcare assistance, social services, job placement, and other areas that generally fall outside of counseling.

A Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) would hold a Master’s in Counseling or Psychology, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) holds a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy or a related field such as psychology, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers (LICSW) holds a Master’s in Social Work.

Steps to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker include earning a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW), completing any additional supervised clinical experience hours, and obtaining social work licensure in your state.

Typical steps to becoming an LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) include earning a Bachelor’s Degree and then a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy, completing any additional hours of supervised clinical experience, passing the required licensing exams, applying for licensure and then continuing your education.

The average annual salary for Social Workers ranges from $55,000 to $75,000.

To become a Licensed Professional Counselor, one will typically achieve a Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field, earn a Master’s Degree in Counseling, receive National Counseling Certification, and then obtain state licensing to practice.