A prospective student was encouraged to email me to learn more about social work and addiction. I thought I put together a useful response and wanted to share it here.
Social work programs offer concentrations within their curriculum. For example, MSU Denver offers a well-rounded approach to social work. Our required curriculum covers micro (clinical), mezzo (community), and macro (the world) approaches. Students can focus on clinical work in their electives. We emphasize cultural responsiveness, cultural humility, social justice, and advocacy very strongly. These focuses are what separates social workers from other mental health professionals: we conceptualize the world world through systems theory and are actively involved in social justice on all three levels (micro, mezzo, macro).
When social workers attain specialized knowledge in addiction counseling, we bring in our systems and social justice perspective. When we meet with a person who uses drugs, we are curious about how this person came to feel the way they do. What went on in their childhood? What messages did they receive about themselves from family, friends, teachers, communities, society? How have their identities resulted in privilege or oppression and how do their identities intersect? What nurturing/oppressive systems influence their lives? What policies and laws serve as helpful/barriers to them living their lives?
So there it is! The short and sweet reason why social work is the best!