Laura Lambert, LCSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker and Clinic Director at Columbia Mental Health’s Bowie location. She brings deep experience from inpatient and outpatient care and is committed to helping individuals identify behavioral patterns, develop coping skills, and navigate complex life challenges. In this conversation, Laura explains the wide-reaching role of social workers in the mental health system, from everyday therapy to large-scale advocacy.
What people often misunderstand about social work
Why is social work such a common path to becoming a therapist? What makes it stand out?
Laura: A lot of therapists are trained as social workers. You’ll also see professional counselors, psychologists, and marriage and family therapists, but social workers make up a large portion of the field. What’s unique is how broad the profession is—we’re trained to work in so many different settings, not just therapy.
You’ll see us at all levels: macro social work like community organizing, and micro social work like one-on-one therapy. We’re in hospitals, government agencies, schools, lobbying groups, even law firms. Some social workers have dual degrees in law or public policy. It’s all over the place.
Our education focuses on that broader lens. We’re trained to look at systems, not just symptoms. We think about structural issues and about the barriers people face every day.
What values are at the center of this work?
The very first two ethical principles in our Code of Ethics are service and social justice. That means helping people in need and addressing social problems. We believe everyone should have access to what they need to live a healthy, productive life, and that’s different for every person.
Advocacy happens at every level
What does advocacy actually look like in your day-to-day?
Advocacy can mean a lot of things. It might be helping someone speak up for themselves in a care setting. It might be helping them fill out disability paperwork. It might be calling a doctor or school to push for what they need. Or, it could be standing on the steps of the Capitol building, demanding change.
One of our biggest values is empowerment. We’re not doing things for people; we’re helping them do it for themselves. That’s true in therapy, in case management, and in policy work.
Social workers are really good at connecting people to things—resources, communities, services they didn’t know about. We build networks, and we share those connections. We support other social workers. We help patients learn how to ask for what they need.
A day in the life and where advocacy shows up
What’s a typical day like for a social worker at Columbia Mental Health?
It depends on the role. Our Chief Operating Officer (COO), Maggie Tapp, is a social worker—her day looks very different than a new therapist’s. For therapists, it’s mostly patient-facing, but even within that, it varies. You might be seeing kids or adults, working with parents, collaborating with schools or prescribers, helping with hospital discharges, or writing documentation to support insurance coverage.
Even the way we write our notes is advocacy. We’re showing why someone still needs care and why therapy is helping them. We’re also giving patients tools to advocate for themselves after sessions.
We’re not the experts on someone’s life—they are. We’re just here to help them navigate it.
How does supervision play into the picture?
I supervise social workers who aren’t yet independently licensed. We review cases, talk about ethical decisions, and go back to our core values. I want to put good social workers into the world. That means asking the hard questions and being thoughtful about how we show up.
Do you also think about access and inclusion at the clinic level?
Yes—absolutely. That includes providing telehealth to rural patients, hiring diverse clinicians, and making sure patients feel culturally seen and respected. When someone walks in, they should feel like they can connect with someone who gets it. That makes a huge difference.
Seeing advocacy change lives
Can you share a time when advocacy made a difference for a client?
We don’t always get to see the results right away, but when we do, it’s powerful.
Helping someone access housing for the first time. Helping someone apply for a waiver for developmental disability services, which can lead to case management, job coaching, and other supports. Referring someone to a first-episode clinic after a psychotic break, which totally changed the course of their illness. Advocating with hospitals and doctors to try a new treatment and then seeing a 180-degree turnaround in that patient. That’s what this work is about.
It’s also about remembering that people have rights. There’s a tendency to take a paternalistic view of people with mental illness and to think we know what’s best, but people have a right to self-determination. They get to decide what their treatment looks like, as long as it’s safe. And the data shows: when people feel heard and empowered, they’re more likely to stay in care.
Closing thoughts for anyone seeking help
What would you say to someone who feels unheard or unsupported in the system?
It’s important to feel like you can ask for what you need and to keep speaking up. I know that’s hard. It’s especially hard when you feel like you don’t have all the answers, or don’t understand everything that’s happening.
But you are the expert in your life. You might not know exactly what you need, but you know if you’re not getting it. And that’s enough to start speaking up.
If you’re in a situation where you’re not getting your needs met, it’s okay to find a different provider—someone you feel comfortable with, someone who listens. We know from research that the relationship is the strongest predictor of success in therapy.
Ask questions. Ask your therapist, your clinic, your insurance company. If it’s a bigger issue, talk to your elected officials. You have a voice, and it matters.
I often tell patients right up front: if you’re not connecting with me, that’s okay. It’s not going to hurt my feelings. You deserve a provider who feels like the right fit.
Social workers advocate at every level, from therapy sessions to policy change
Whether you’re navigating complex systems or just need someone to talk to, Columbia Mental Health’s team is here to help you feel seen, heard, and supported.
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