How can I find out if the social worker is really licensed?

Ask to see her license or if she works for an agency of facility ask them. Or go to state board of social workers. If this person is providing therapy, she/he should be a licensed clinical social worker.

Actually, where I worked the nurses pinned their licences on a cork board they each had at their desk. This way it was in plain site. I would think a SW has to have their license available if asked for it.

https://www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/health-professional-boards/sw-board.html

There are licensing requirements: the link above seems to be where you might search to check that your practitioner has a valid licence.

States maintain registries of licensed social workers. Here's a site with links to licensure boards of all states. https://www.onlinemswprograms.com/resources/social-work-state-licensing-boards/ I just did a random check of several state sites and verified that you can search for a person by name to verify if they are licensed. What's interesting, that I hadn't known before, is that states seem to have varying titles and varying kinds of social work licenses. Some have four types or levels of license. Others, such as California, only have one.

If a Social Worker has presented him/herself to you as a Certified Licensed Social Worker and you have reason to believe this is not true you should ask to see the license. Just like an RN this person has a license. If this person works for a hospital the Hospital can also answer your questions regarding licensure and how they check it. As Barb observed, you may also, in your state, be able to access the licensure boards.

In my state (NY) you can look up professional licenses on a state website.