“Difference between school social worker and school psychologist?”

Honestly not much. While social workers and psychologists have overlapping areas of focus, they serve their clients from different perspectives. As a result, their methods are aimed at achieving different goals.

Although school psychologist are more than capable of providing counseling to students, they are often utilized to conduct psychological and educational assessments to help determine individual student strengths and weaknesses. School Social Workers are capable of conducting some assessments, but are often more focused on counseling. If you are concerned about your child, it is best to reach out to the social worker if the psychologist is not already working with your child.

A psychologist only does testing to determine diagnoses for special education or other IEP services. A social worker provides counseling either to the student or a group of students, family mediation, community resources, and a general support to the administration and students. Often, they are also involved in team and staff meetings for IEPs. They may also be involved in trauma or abuse situations and coordinate with the police and child protection. They can also assist with general behavioral concerns.

The social worker deals with the mental/emotional status of the child. The school psychologist is the one who administers scales to determine the child's mental capacities. The social worker and the psychologist are part of the team who determines if a child requires special assistance to succeed in school. They help determine the Individual Education Plan for the child. This plan becomes a legally binding part of the child's education within the school system.