outpatient therapist

cook

clerk

music therapist

maintenance technician

Aurora Behavioral Health System Arizona

I recently worked at this facility, and unfortunately, my experience was quite negative. There are significant issues with bullying among staff, which creates a toxic atmosphere. Favoritism is rampant; it seems that extra shifts are only offered to those who are close to management, rather than being based on merit or performance. This practice is not only unethical but also demoralizing for those who work hard without recognition.
Gossip is pervasive, adding to the uncomfortable environment. Instead of addressing conflicts and deescalating situations, management often opts to call the police, which is not only unnecessary but also reflects poorly on their ability to handle issues internally. It feels like management doesn’t listen to staff concerns until it’s too late, leading to unresolved problems and frustration.
Additionally, some staff members only engage in 1:1’s, leaving them unprepared to effectively work on the floor. This lack of experience can burden other team members who have to pick up the slack. There are also certain techs who hold lead positions but lack the necessary leadership and technical skills to guide their teams effectively, further complicating the work environment.
Overall, I believe significant changes need to be made in management practices and staff training to create a healthier, more supportive workplace.

Accountability is not valued or encouraged. There are many people working there with limited experience. Intimidation is encouraged towards children and teens. There is a lot of potential danger in the position which would be fine if there was a culture of growth, accountability, encouragement. However, people are quick to point fingers. There is no one you can report concerns to, you are told to speak directly to the people, which would be fine if the culture fostered accountability and growth, which they do not. There are many unprofessional "ghetto" people that work here. They speak and have inappropriate conversation in front of the children. There are many great people who work here as well, who are dedicated and committed to sharing love and compassion with the children. Unfortunately the harsh and violent workers are encouraged and in charge, so the good hearted kind workers are forced to be quit through the culture of rejection. Could be a great place as they spend time and money giving incentives to employees, lots of potential to develop powerful and fun relationships. Just anyone with strong moral values and education will struggle in this place. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Management and co-workers. I work nights and the Nursing Sup is outstanding. The Director and Associate Director are also really interested in helping nurses to move forward and excel. The night nurses and BHT's are all super helpful and nice. There is a good dynamic. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Busy nights with lots of codes, which is probably at every facility. The BestCare charting takes a minute to learn, not very intuitive. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Great culture, great working environment at night/weekends. Could use better bathrooms for staff. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Rushed in beginning, when trying to pass meds and having patients standing near the nursing station wanting to get meds before "free time/smoke break". Then mostly working with patients to prepare for quiet hour and then bedtime. Rounding to check on patients every 2 hours and record vitals every 4 hours for those detoxing. Charting and then doing early AM med pass before giving report.

Start at 7:00am, review work orders, check on ems systems, listen to problems of the night before and take action.  Attend morning manager meeting, and inform staff of any action that may take place that will effect individual's or groups, department, for the days activities.  Authorize expenditures and direct the days work to techs.  Meet with vendors, negotiate capital expense vouchers.  Take phone calls, write emails, prepare safety mt. minutes and agenda.
Take care of etime requirement for my staff, handle any employee issues.  Attend management meeting that involve the inner working of the facility.  Work with co-workers and staff directors to meet their needs.
Involvement in staff development, safety, fire education for the facility.
I really enjoy most of my job ,because I feel I can enable my co-workers to do their work in an environment that I can make safe and comfortable for them.  This also applies to the Patients that we serve.

A typical day at work involves crisis response skills and de-escalation skills.
I believe I learned that the system doesn’t have adequate skills to adapt to patient-driven advocacy and instead internalizes fear and redirects that fear among the employees. 
Management provides correction/support by shaming employees in discussions and distorting documentation. 
Workplace culture is colorist, there is frequent theft, tampering with clinical documentation, and passive-aggression is a norm. 
The hardest part of the job is management’s style of stifling conflict resolution. 
The most enjoyable part of the job is building rapport with patients in their initial encounter in the midst of crisis to help steer them into taking the appropriate recommendation. 

Constantly short staffed.Nurses sometimes have more than 13 patients and mgmgt does not help nor do they care.The nurse manager and DON ARE GONE BEFORE 330.There is no support for nursing at this facility.This is the fifth time the position on this special needs unit has been open due to families trying to come forward for lawsuits.The staff who work that unit are afraid of losing their license.This company advertises about how they are one of only few in the country to have a special needs unit.What they wont tell you is that it is unit frequently understaffed leading to numerous staff and patient injury.You have 7-8 psychiatric codes and hold per day.As a nurse each hold requires 7 pages of documentation.The syringes on the units are the old ones and dont have safety covers.You almost never get done on time and frequently you have to search other units for medication because the pharmacy staff is also gone at 330.Please , you worked hard for your license. Dont let this place fool you.

Only good thing is the pay, but other hospitals reportedly pay more. You're given an incredibly unrealistic workload and not accomplishing everything needed in one day is not an option. The management is focused on making money, most of the doctors couldn't care less about their patients, extremely high turnover throughout the hospital and most staff is rude. Upper management makes weak attempts to show fake employee appreciation and disregards the actual ways employees would feel better working there. The patients are mostly pleasant but good luck finding time to work with them or help them in any significant way because you will be too busy with paperwork. Patient's are talked about in terms of how much money their insurance will pay, little regard is paid to their mental health when determining discharge.

A behavioral health hospital can sometimes have unique challenges, similar to many organizations in the behavioral health field, which is to be expected. Aurora provides training and development to give staff tools that they need to be successful and help people. Unfortunately, there can be staff burnout which can make a department vulnerable to toxic workplace culture situations as some other reviewers have mentioned. Having seen these instances in other work places as well, I've found that my direct supervisor has always been supportive when expressing a grievance, when discussing concerns about any toxic situations, or just listened if I needed to vent. Having a supportive group of coworkers makes all the difference in the behavioral health setting, and while others may have experienced a lack of support at times, my experience has been great. 

Aurora Behavioral Health has been one of the more consistent and structured environments I’ve worked in within behavioral health. The policies and procedures are generally clear and followed, which makes a noticeable difference in day-to-day operations and patient care. There is a sense of organization that helps reduce confusion during high-acuity situations, and expectations for staff are usually well communicated. Compared to other facilities, there is more consistency in how protocols are applied, which supports both patient safety and staff confidence. While no system is perfect, Aurora stands out for maintaining a relatively stable workflow and adhering to established standards. The team environment can vary by unit, but overall, it has been a reliable place to work. For those looking for a behavioral health setting with more structure and clearer processes, Aurora is one of the better hospitals I’ve experienced.

Working in a crisis and trauma hospital gave me the opportunity to work with and learn about multiple populations.  Many of the hospital inpatients had a history of multiple suicide attempts due to relapse of their illness.   I expanded my understanding working with a variety of populations’ behavioral health issues during my internship.  Learning to adapt and organize my time to include the hospital’s procedure of paperwork, according to the board of health policies and procedures, was an unexpected lesson of reality.  At the same time, it was a valued lesson.  I believe during my internship at Aurora Behavioral Systems, I found my center-spirit to help elicit others’ strength, motivation, and commitment to help change their behaviors.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Outpatient therapist 1 salary reported	$38.00 per hour
Cook 2 salaries reported	$18.75 per hour
Clerk 7 salaries reported	$16.86 per hour
Music therapist 2 salaries reported	$28.75 per hour
Maintenance technician 1 salary reported	$27.50 per hour

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