What is a Social Worker?

A Social Worker is a professional who helps individuals and families navigate challenges in their lives. They work across many settings, including child and family services, mental health, education, healthcare, and justice systems. Social workers are often involved when someone needs extra support, safeguarding, or advocacy.

They play a key role in promoting wellbeing, ensuring safety, and helping people access the services they need.

We asked some social workers to tell us about their job. This is what they said:

Social workers support people in many ways, including:

• Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• Helping families access support around housing, benefits, and education.
• Coordinating services for individuals with additional needs or disabilities.
• Visiting families at home or meeting in community settings.
• Supporting young people at risk of harm or exploitation.
• Writing reports, attending meetings, and working alongside schools, healthcare, and the police.

They work holistically, considering the needs of the whole family and environment.

Social workers usually hold a degree in social work and are registered with a national body (such as SSSC in Scotland or Social Work England). Many complete additional training in areas like:

• Mental health.
• Autism and neurodivergence.
• Child protection.
• Domestic violence and trauma.
• Youth justice.

Social workers may be one of the first professionals to recognise that a child or young person has unmet needs. They can:

• Offer support to families feeling overwhelmed or isolated.
• Advocate for appropriate education, care, or respite options.
• Help other professionals understand the PDA profile.
• Identify safeguarding concerns while ensuring that behaviour is not misunderstood.

They often take a strengths-based approach, working with families to build on what’s already going well.

Social workers told us they adapt their approach for PDAers by:

• Listening first and validating experiences, not rushing to solutions.
• Meeting in places the young person feels safe, like their home or a familiar space.
• Using tools like social stories, visuals, or creative play to help explore feelings and ideas.
• Reducing demands during conversations and allowing plenty of processing time.
• Being flexible with communication, including texts or non-verbal approaches if preferred.
• Helping other agencies understand PDA to avoid assumptions or punitive responses.

They can play a powerful role in helping reduce distress and build bridges between families and systems.

We asked some social workers this question. Here are some of their answers:

“We can help ensure needs are recognised, not mistaken for bad behaviour and reduce the risk of families being blamed or misunderstood and support long-term planning and stability”

“We are often the link that brings schools, health professionals, and families together.”

PDAers and their families often tell us how confusing and unsettling it can be to meet new professionals – especially when it’s not clear what their job is or what good support looks like. That’s why we asked professionals themselves to tell us, in their own words, what they do. You’ll find their honest, personal answers in the ‘What professionals do’ section of our site.

This is a growing resource, so if you don’t see the role you’re looking for yet, you could ask the person you’re working with to fill in this short form.

Please note: these insights come from individual professionals, not official organisations, so you might find some variation in how people describe their roles. If you’re wondering whether a service you’ve been offered is the right fit, our guides to finding helpful support can help.