Social workers aim to improve people’s lives by helping with social and interpersonal difficulties and promoting human rights and wellbeing. Because of the increase in violence, and domestic and physical violence at home, the need for social workers cannot be overexpressed.

And because of that, most universities offer independent online courses on other platforms of which some of which are free, they see it as a social service of some sort, giving back to that society.

So if you are among these selfless beings that want to embark on your journey to help people in need, here are free online social work courses you could start.

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1.  Introduction to Social Work

This is a beginner course hosted on OpenLearn, the course is great for total beginners in the social work field and begins by introducing key ideas, values, the social work process and the skills needed for social work practice that is universal and practicable in any part of the world.

Course Overview:

• Identify Why Biography Is Important
• Understand How Identity And Attachment Theory Contribute To Social Work Practice
• Recognise What Qualities Service Users/Carers Value In Social Workers
• Understand What Values Are Integral To A Professional Social Worker’s Identity
• Understand What It Means To Practise Reflectively.

This course is very practical and equips you with the skill and knowledge you need to learn this course well learned.

2. Community Organizing for Social Justice:

If you’ve ever wondered, about those people who fight tooth and nail for social. equality in education and fight against racism and colour, this is the path that they took.

This path has a free online course hosted by the University of Michigan via Coursera and it is certified.

Course work includes:

• Strategies for community organizing for social justice in a diverse, democratic society.
• The core concepts of social justice and practical steps for bringing people together to set goals and priorities, assess community assets and needs, develop action plans, and build implementation support.

If you are interested in speaking up for minorities, then you should think of this.

3. Introduction to Psychology

Psychology involves the educational study of humans, their behaviours and what makes them tick.

In a world like today when people are doing really strange things that end up being harmful to the next person, it is important that we have people who have studied these behaviours and know how to put an end to them.

This course is offered by one of the leading institutions in innovation and research— the University of Toronto.

This is a totally online course for students all around the world who cannot come to a physical campus and it is hosted on Coursera.

Coursework:

• A thorough examination of human development,
• Various forms of mental illnesses and treatment for those who are suffering from them.

4. Social Welfare Policy and Services:

While the above is for beginners in the social work sector, this course hosted by the University of Michigan on edX has an advanced framework for already practising social workers who are eager to increase their knowledge of social welfare policy.

Although this course may be a bit biased, it is for social workers that ate practising in us because the framework had been tailored to meet the standards and requirements of social work in the United States.

So if you are not in the US, or planning to go to the U.S. to practise, then you should skip this.

Coursework:

• The philosophy of social welfare policy
• The history of social work
• Current social welfare policies in the U.S.
• Child welfare, 
• Mental health,
• Health care
• Social Work practice, policy and research

5. Understanding Human Needs

This course covers the docksl understanding of human desires and needs. This course is both beginner and intermediate friendly.

The University of Toronto currently offers one of the most sought-after free online social work courses with certificates. 

Coursework:

• Basic concepts of The Strategies and Skills Learning and Development System (SSLD).
• Basic practice principles and methods of SSLD, illustrated by relationship management case studies.
• The SSLD framework for relationship management assessment; N3C (needs, circumstances, characteristics, capacity) and problem translation.
• Core competencies in the relationship management application of the SSLD system: Observation learning, simulation, real-life implementation, review, and monitoring.

6. Children’s Human Rights

This is the most popular sector for social workers. In fact, if you want to enter any other sector as social work, you can’t boost up being a Social Worker if you fail to have a deeper understanding of this specialization.

The course is hosted by the University of Geneva via Coursera.

Framework:

International strategies and programs promoting children’s rights. 

Roles of key actors involved in international organizations working in this field.

7. Confronting Gender-Based Violence:

John Hopkins University is offering global lessons for healthcare workers who are interested in social work.

John Hopkins University is a reputable university and a university that if you have a certificate from there, as a social worker, more doors would be open to you because of the prestige of the university.

The university provides free online training via Coursera which upon completion you would be certified.

Coursework:

• Introduction of GBV from a global perspective,
• Strong health sector response to GBV and key competencies for social workers and other healthcare workers.

8. The Social Context of Mental Health and Illness

A very sensitive yet rapidly developing field compared to pre-covid.

After the horror of covid-19, people were focused to reexamine their mental well-being including the impact of the forced confinement. This field aims to prove that mental illness & health should be given ultimate care instead of being stigmatised.

The University of Toronto once again offers this course via Coursera.

The University of Toronto is one of few of the world’s leading universities that offer social service courses online.

This specialization has about 16,830 students enrolled for free training.

Coursework;

• Understanding mental health 
• Causes of mental illness and how it has been influenced by social attitudes and social developments in North America and around the world.

9. Social Services for Families, Seniors and Those with Disabilities

This beginner course is offered by Columbia University. It is available on Coursera.

The course is a more physiological course that screens families to know if they are eligible for social welfare.

10. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers

Since the realisation that a person can be free from addiction, there had been an opening in this field.

This course is offered by the prestigious Yale University, which teaches you how to become an addiction therapist.

Coursework:

• Manage Treatment Plans For Clients With Substance Abuse Disorders
• Prevent Substance Abuse Disorders From Developing
• Provide Compassionate Care To Clients With Substance Abuse Disorders
• One Of The Interesting Parts Of This Class Is That You Get To See Model Cases Performed By Actors. This Helps You See Substance Abuse Therapy Play Out.

Conclusion:

Just in case you want to enter this field and are being discouraged by saying it is not profitable or needed, I would want you to know that there has been a sharp increase in the demand for certified social workers and that figure remains on the rise.