Consultation on the Draft Best Practice Framework for Clinical Social Work
Clinical social work plays an important role in supporting mental health, emotional well-being, and psychosocial functioning across diverse populations and practice settings in Canada. While social work is regulated in provinces and one territory, the recognition and regulation of clinical social work vary across jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions formally recognize clinical titles or designations, while others include clinical practice within general social work registration.
The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW), in partnership with the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators (CCSWR), is developing national best practice guidelines for clinical social work. The Draft Best Practice Framework for Clinical Social Work represents the first step in that process.
The framework is based on literature and jurisdictional reviews and defines clinical social work as a specialized area of practice requiring advanced education, supervised clinical experience, and ethical accountability. This includes clinical roles such as mental health assessment, counselling, psychotherapy, crisis intervention, and other therapeutic services.
The framework outlines:
• foundational commitments that guide practice
• best practice domains that describe the scope of clinical work
• guiding practices that illustrate high-quality care
• enabling conditions that support safe and effective practice
CASW and CCSWR are seeking feedback from their respective members on the relevance, clarity, and usefulness of this framework. Your input will help refine the framework and inform the development of national clinical social work best practice guidelines.
The main survey takes about 8–10 minutes to complete. Optional questions at the end may add an additional 1–2 minutes. Participation is voluntary, and responses are confidential and anonymous and will be reported in aggregate form.
All social workers are encouraged to participate, regardless of title, role, or jurisdiction.
Your participation will help shape the future of clinical social work practice and guidance in Canada. All members that complete the survey will be entered into a prize drawing for 1 of 3 $250 Everything Gift Cards