Social service workers are health care professionals that may assess, treat and evaluate individual, (do not diagnose) interpersonal and societal problems through the use of their social service work knowledge, their skills, interventions and strategies to help manage sources of stress and everyday problems. They work with patients to understand the social context of the problem and how it affects their quality of life, relationships and social interactions. Social service workers help by designing solutions and strengthening coping skills. Problems that social service workers help solve include:

• Mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder
• Relationship problems
• Adjusting to life crises or changes due to ageing or adapting to a new environment.
• Suicide ideation
• Grief and loss
• Addictions
• Recovering from physical or sexual abuse
• Caregiver-related pressures

By using counselling and psychotherapy, social service workers provide services in a variety of different settings. This includes hospitals, addiction centers, senior centers, correctional facilities, schools and private, public and family clinics.  Some of these services provided by social service workers include: 

• Individual, family and couple assessments 
• Counselling for eating disorders, addiction, mental health problems, grief, social and relationship problems etc.
• Managing stress
• Adoption planning
• Resolving disputes
• Career/employment counselling and placement
• Assessing child custody/access 

A Registered Social Service Worker must have obtained a two year College Diploma in Social Service Work from a College of Applied Arts and Technology. It is important to note that the contexts of practise for a Social Service Worker and a Social Worker may overlap.