What is Mentorship in Social Work?

Mentorship is an important space for many professions, but seems to be lacking in social work. Social workers can often get support from supervisors, colleagues, maybe even a consultant, but none of these really meet the mentorship need.

Our education can be helpful in learning theories and being in field practicum, but there is little support in navigating licensure, training and continuing education, and growing as a professional.

Mentorship in social work can provide advice, empathetic understanding of what you experience as a social worker, and a more seasoned professional showing you realistic options for moving forward in your career. Mentorship can provide actual insight on the next step to take in your career, how to improve your clinical skills, where to find continuing education, how to get licensed, and general coping with the daily life of this work.

Mentorship is not clinical supervision, peer supervision, or consultation. Mentorship should not be a space for discussing client cases, but rather getting support from a more experienced colleague on how to navigate the big & varied world of social work.

Mentors can help you set goals for your professional life, share their own experience in the work, listen to what you are going through and wanting, be a role model, provide career guidance, and hold you accountable to self care practices and workplace boundaries. Mentorship is where social workers have the support to thrive & become extraordinary.