Extremely High Caseloads – You will be asked to manage an unrealistic caseload of 70+ clients while upper management calls it an "ethical" caseload. You will then be asked to manage the impossible expectations of management, such as on-time documentation, outreach, collaboration with medical team, and timely discharges. Unfortunately, the sheer number of clients do not allow you to provide quality client centered care, but management will simply ask you to figure it out. You will be expected to see 7 clients a day with 1 admin hour each day to complete all required outreach, collaboration with other team members, and care for yourself. Management will preach that clients no-show and therefore you have time to complete required documentation, which is another excuse and lie they tell themselves to feel better about the horrible working conditions therapists are required to endure.
Low Pay – Sure you get a salary, which is slightly better than other community mental health agencies, but you will never be compensated enough for the unsustainable and unrealistic expectations management has for you. Unfortunately, agencies like this exploit new graduates and gaslight them in believing that if the clinician simply change their mindset then things can improve. There is zero ownership or acknowledgement for the role management plays in perpetuating burn out and jaded clinicians.
Out of Touch Management: Management preaches but does not march to the beat of their own drum. They do not follow their values as a agency and do not appreciate or take care of the clinicians who are making the agency run. They pretend to be client centered but care very little for supporting therapists with managing impossible caseloads, with little to no time off for self-care. There is no ability for therapists to be sick because there is no option to take unpaid time off. This means that if a therapist gets sick they will have to make up any time they are away from work, or use the precious PTO and Sick time you are provided. Again, this is a burn out factory with a management team who would rather hire new clinicians then care for the clinicians they already have. YOU are expendable.
I could go on and on about how this is a place anyone and everyone should stay away from. I am anticipating one of the "we care deeply about the feedback and work tirelessly to care for our therapists" statements I have read in other posts about community reach, and don't let this fool you either because they clearly have done nothing to listen to the previous feedback. The common theme is an out of touch management team who do not understand what it looks like and feels to be a clinician in an outpatient setting. This has not been fixed and I doubt ever will. Why fix something when you can simply exploit other workers coming out of their master's program?
