Mental Health Social Worker Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Mental Health Social Worker resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Mental health social workers are some of the most compassionate and dedicated professionals in the field of health care. They work with people of all ages who are struggling with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or substance abuse.
Mental health social workers help people identify and overcome the barriers that are keeping them from living happy, healthy lives. They provide therapy, counsel individuals and families, coordinate care, and advocate on behalf of clients.
If you’re interested in making a difference in people’s lives while also helping them access the resources they need, consider writing a compelling mental health social worker resume to help you land your next job.
How to Write a Mental Health Social Worker Resume
Here’s how to write a mental health social worker resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Rather than simply listing your responsibilities, use your bullet points to tell a story about how you helped a client overcome a specific challenge or achieve a specific goal. For example, rather than saying you “provided counseling services to clients with mental health issues,” you could say you “provided counseling services to a veteran suffering from PTSD who was able to overcome his fear of crowds and return to work as a police officer after six months of therapy.”
The second bullet point paints a much more vivid picture of the work you did and the results of your work. And it also provides a clear indication of the level of complexity of the work—in this case, it was very complex because it involved working with a veteran who had a serious mental health condition.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a mental health social worker role, your resume is likely to be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. The ATS will search for keywords related to the position, like “counseling” or “psychiatric rehabilitation.” If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right terms, your application might not make it past the initial screening.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use this list of common mental health social work keywords to help you optimize your resume:
- Mental Health
- Social Work
- Mental Health Counseling
- Psychotherapy
- Group Therapy
- Working with Adolescents
- Crisis Intervention
- Community Outreach
- Mental Health Education
- Clinical Social Work
- Behavioral Health
- Case Management
- Program Development
- Social Services
- Individual Counselling
- Psychosocial
- Motivational Interviewing
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Group Counselling
- Psychology
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Interventions
- Mental Health First Aid
- Working with Trauma Survivors
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- EMDR
- Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
- Trauma Treatment
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a mental health social worker, you are responsible for providing support to clients and helping them to cope with their conditions. In order to do this, you need to be familiar with a variety of technologies that are used in the mental health field. This might include programs like Microsoft Office Suite, electronic health records (EHR) software, and mental health assessment tools.
So be sure to list any technical skills that you have in this section of your resume. This will show potential employers that you are familiar with the tools and systems that are used in your field, and that you are capable of using them effectively.
