Get to help children and older people navigate life hurdles as a social worker, and gain the necessary skills and knowledge in social care by enrolling in the free online social work courses curated in this article.
In case you do not know who a social worker is, let me explain a little. A social worker is someone who is trained professionally to help both young and old people live better lives despite whatever life challenges they go through.
As a social worker, you can work in schools, healthcare centers, and communities. Your major role is to help provide counseling to all who need it. There are lots of people going through a crisis and they need every word of encouragement or a solution to their problem. This is where you come in to identify the causes and provide solutions.
Like other online courses, these social work courses benefit anyone enrolling in them, you can also expand your skillset by taking online courses on health and social care for free. Now, let’s fully discuss the responsibilities of a social worker.
What are the functions of a social worker?
Social workers have lots of responsibilities naturally attached to their job specifications. In families, a social worker helps advocate for children by telling their parents how best to raise them. Social workers provide a conducive mental environment for children’s upbringing.
In schools, social workers combine efforts with teachers and parents to ensure a safe learning environment without bullying and other learning challenges.
In healthcare centres, social workers help patients with any form of critical ailment together with their families to find resources and meet health needs. They counsel and encourage ill patients to continue living every moment of their lives despite their predicament.
In psychiatric facilities, social workers provide a stable mental and psychological environment for patients with unstable minds. They provide affordable therapy to their patients and help them get a better life afterward.
In rural and urban communities, social workers carry out outreaches and rallies to sensitize locals to the dangers of hard drugs, and other harmful substances.
Generally, social workers counsel and help people overcome hurdles life throws at them.

10 Free Online Social Work Courses
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
- Basics of Safeguarding Children
- Fundamentals of Domestic Violence
- Introduction to Psychology for Social Workers
- Drug and Alcohol Awareness
- How to Become a Family Social Worker
- Child Neglect Awareness
- Advocating Social Justice and Change
- Advocating Social Justice and Change
- Embracing the Whole Person in Social Work
1. Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
First on our list of free online social work courses is “Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults”. In this free social work course, you will be taught the basic principles of “safeguarding vulnerable adults”. You will also learn how to identify children and adults who are/were abused.
You will also be taught the similarities between confidentiality and consent, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. To sign up for this free social work course, click on the link below.
2. Basics of Safeguarding Children
Second, on our list of top free online social work courses is, “Basics of Safeguarding Children”. In this free online course, you will learn how to identify a child who is sexually abused. You will also be taught the UK’s Children Act and how child protection works.
This free course exposes you to the causes and signs of sexual molestation in children and how to stop future occurrences of sexual abuse. To sign up for this free social work course, click the link below.
3. Fundamentals of Domestic Violence
In this free online course, you will learn how to identify adults and children who are constantly abused in their relationships and homes respectively. You will be able to help children speak out more often when they are abused and fight for their freedom from the hands of their abusers.
Domestic violence is common among adults. This free course on social work will teach you how to discuss the negative impacts of violence on adults and convince them to leave their abusers. The link below will take you to the free course.
4. Introduction to Psychology for Social Workers
One of the most important skills to have as a social worker is to be able to read people’s minds and tell what they feel and think. This is where psychology comes in. In this free course, you will learn how psychological knowledge is used in social work.
You will be able to apply psychological knowledge in dealing with delicate issues when counseling your patients and those in need of counseling. You will learn how to extend the tentacles of psychology to find solutions to real-life problems.
5. Drug and Alcohol Awareness
Number five on our list of free online social work courses is, “Drug and Alcohol Awareness”. The rise in the number of premature deaths and mental retardation can be linked to drug and alcohol addiction. As a social worker, there is a need to sensitize people to the dangers of drug and alcohol addiction.
This free course will help you identify the signs of a drug addict and how you can counsel drug and alcohol users about the negative impacts of drug abuse.
6. How to Become a Family Social Worker
At the number six spot on our list of free online social work courses is “How to Become a Family Social Worker”. If your interest lies in becoming a family social worker, then this course is for you. We all know how draining taking care of a family can be. This is why some families have social workers that help them navigate through.
Both mentally, emotionally, and psychologically, families go through a lot in trying to shoulder responsibilities that come their way. As a social worker, your job is to help members of the family manage stress and explain the importance of safeguarding children.
7. Child Neglect Awareness
“Child Neglect Awareness” takes the number seven spot on our list of free online social work courses. This course is designed to teach you how to identify a child who is being neglected. Child neglect is one of the most common forms of child abuse.
In the UK and other countries, child neglect is taken as a very serious case. This course will teach you how to report to the right authorities when there is a case of child neglect.
8. Mental Health Support Worker
In this free online course, you will discover that so many people are undergoing one mental stress or the other due to many attributes. This free course is designed to help you spot the different causes of mental stress/disorder and how to prescribe treatment options.
You will also learn what schizophrenia disorder is all about and how it can be treated. By the end of the course, you will be able to know all there is to know about becoming a mental health support worker.
9. Advocating Social Justice and Change
“Advocating Social Justice and Change” takes the ninth position on our list of free online social work courses. If you want to become a social worker, I advise you to take this course. This free online social work course is designed to help beginners understand their roles as social workers.
The history, meaning, roles, and expectations of a social worker are well-detailed in this four-module course.
10. Embracing the Whole Person in Social Work
Being a social worker can be overwhelming but hey don’t be discouraged. In this free course, you will learn how to manage stress, and trauma and how to implement certain tools to help regulate the nervous system to avoid mental breakdown.
You will be faced with different personalities and cases in the world of social work practices. This free course will equip you with the necessary tools you need to scale through.
Conclusion
The above free online social work courses are free and accessible online. They are also self-paced just like other free online courses. You can decide to become a social worker and attract respect and value to yourself among your peers and everyone.
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