Will AI replace Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers?
Estimated risk score: 40 out of 100
Lower replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (21 to 59).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 13 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 21-1023.00 · Community and Social Service
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 0 of its 13 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
None of its rated tasks.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 6 of its 13 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Assist clients in adhering to treatment plans, such as setting up appointments, arranging for transportation to appointments, or providing support.
- Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
- Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
- Counsel or aid family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting the client or patient.
- Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients.
- Develop or advise on social policy or assist in community development.
What the job is
Assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Activities may include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education.
Also called: BHCM, LMHP, QMHP, Crisis Worker, Case Therapist, Alcoholism Worker, Drug Abuse Worker, Mental Health Worker.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Community and Social Service). Different jobs, each scored by a person.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate