Behavioral Health Social Worker, LMSW PRN

Social WorkerNo weekendsPer Diem

Listed compensation

$37.85 per hour

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

  • Shift: Variable Days
  • Work Arrangement: On-Site
  • Department: MUPC Case Management
  • Facility: Missouri Psychiatric Center - 3 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO

Compensation

  • Base Pay Range: $37.85 per hour PRN
  • Shift Differential: $1.75 per hour for weekends; $2 per hour for all hours worked

About the Job

MU Health Care is looking for a compassionate and driven social worker to join our dynamic team in an inpatient psychiatric setting. The ideal candidate will be a proactive, empathetic professional with a passion for helping patients achieve stability and long-term success.

You will work collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team, using your expertise to provide therapeutic interventions and create personalized care and aftercare plans.

We seek someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, is committed to providing excellent patient care, and values building strong relationships with patients, families, and community partners.

If you are dedicated to making a real difference in the lives of those struggling with mental health challenges, we want to hear from you!

About MU Health Care

MU Health Care is proud to be named one of Forbes’ Best-in-State Employers seven years in a row, and that’s largely a result of the incredible culture and team we’ve built. At MU Health Care, we have an inspired, hard-working and collaborative environment driven by our mission to save and improve lives.

Here, we believe anything is possible and rally around solutions. We celebrate innovation and offer opportunities to be a part of something bigger — to have a voice and role in the work that is serving our community and changing the field of medicine.

Our academic health system — the only in mid-Missouri — is home to seven hospitals, including the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and region’s only Children’s Hospital, as well as over 90 specialty clinics. Here you can define your career among our many clinical and nonclinical positions — with growth, opportunity and support every step of the way.

  • Learn more about MU Health Care.
  • Learn more about living in mid-Missouri.

Detailed Job Description

  • Complete social service assessments of patients requiring inpatient psychiatric evaluations and care. Contact family members and community providers; collect collateral information to contribute to a comprehensive assessment and development of care plan.
  • Apply advanced clinical knowledge and skills to provide therapeutic interventions (individual, family, and group therapies) in order to support patients in the stabilization of acute psychiatric symptoms and modulation of maladaptive behaviors that will allow them to meet their treatment goals/objectives and move quickly to the next step on continuum of care.
  • Work collaboratively with interdisciplinary team (physicians, nursing, and occupational therapy, recreation therapy) to develop and implement patient treatment plans. Review of the treatment plan is daily during the treatment team meetings. Work with other departments to coordinate services. Serve as a resource to ensure appropriate utilization of services.
  • Develop individualized aftercare plans for patients, which connect each patient with mental health and other community resources as needed. Maintain documentation that meets all hospital and regulatory standards for care. Maintain regular contact with patient’s families, community supports, and outpatient providers with the consent of the patient.
  • Gather data, compile information, and prepare reports. Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. Maintain knowledge and expertise in electronic software tools, Cerner, All Scripts/ECIN, etc. Participate in appropriate hospital committee activities.
  • May complete unit/department specific duties as outlined in department documents.

Required Qualifications

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensure by the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers board.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Strong preference will be given to candidates who received licensed supervision in a behavioral health environment. Additional license/certification requirements as determined by the hiring department.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met with or without reasonable accommodation. The performance of these physical demands is an essential function of the job. This position is very active and requires ambulating, reaching, and moving objects weighing up to and over 20 lbs.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Key Responsibilities

The social worker will conduct comprehensive psychiatric assessments and provide therapeutic interventions to support patient stabilization. They will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team to develop and implement individualized treatment and aftercare plans.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensure from the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers. Strong preference is given to those with licensed supervision experience in a behavioral health environment.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Social workPsychiatric assessmentCrisis interventionTreatment planningInterdisciplinary collaborationAftercare planningMental health supportPatient advocacyClinical assessmentRegulatory compliance

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Behavioral Health Social Worker, LMSW PRN at University of Missouri Health Care a 6.0 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Master Social Worker (LMSW) — ranked against 237 active Master Social Worker (LMSW) listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements.

Social Worker Career Context

In Missouri, the Social Work weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$78k (44 salary observations; 301 listings), vs ~$81k nationally (4,412 salary observations; 19,550 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

Of the 40 active Social Work listings this role was benchmarked against, 43% are remote, 18% have no call, 60% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Missouri is 90.8 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$79k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $87k in an average-cost state. 60.1% of Missouri clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top contract/1099 Social Worker Jobs

40 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution21 jobs

6
<$90k
4
$90k-110k
6
$110k-130k
5
$130k-150k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks16 jobs

401k / retirement match
81%
CME allowance
25%
PSLF eligible
19%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Fully Licensed Therapist (Anxiety & Depression) – Remote California – 1099 (LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, Psychologist)1099

Open Mind Health · San Diego, California

$70-$80/hr
#2

Licensed Therapist (LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, Psychologist) – Remote California – 10991099

Open Mind Health · Stockton, California

$70-$80/hr
#3

Social Worker Hospice (LMSW) (Per Diem) - Rockland, ME

$70-$80/hr
#4

LCSW III, Transplant

$56.78-$79.49/hr
+ 38 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 6.0
Better work-life than 60% of Master Social Worker (LMSW) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 237 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends
  • On-site

Living in Columbia

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$290k
Typical market rent
$1,444/mo
Residents’ average commute
16 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
89.4
State income tax
Up to 5.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Columbia, MO metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

University of Missouri Health Care logo

About University of Missouri Health Care

Hospitals and Health Care
Columbia, Missouri
1,001-5,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Shift Differential: $1.75 per hour for weekends; $2 per hour for all hours worked