mental health therapist

youth counselor

licensed clinical social worker

therapist

clinical therapist

BTST Services, LLC.

I recently went through the interview and offer process with BTST Services, LLC for a PRP Direct Care Counselor position, and I ultimately chose to decline the offer. However, I want to share my experience with potential applicants, as several aspects of the role raised red flags for me.

First, the compensation model was misleading. The job listing advertised an hourly rate of $30-$33, which made the role seem appealing. However, I discovered that this is not an hourly wage; instead, it's a fee-for-service model where you are only paid for the time spent directly with clients. Administrative work, such as writing progress notes, creating treatment plans, and coordinating with other providers, is expected but unpaid. This structure means a significant portion of your work is uncompensated, which can make the actual earnings much lower than the advertised rate.

Additionally, the income is highly variable and depends entirely on client visits. Any missed or canceled appointments directly reduce your pay, making income unpredictable and potentially unstable—especially for part-time staff who may initially have fewer clients. This inconsistency in earnings made me concerned about financial stability in this role.

The orientation and training also felt undervalued, with 60 hours of mandatory training paid only at minimum wage. For a role that requires significant responsibility and expertise, this level of compensation during training didn’t align with the commitment the job requires.

Scheduling expectations were also vague. There is no set schedule, which might appeal to some, but I found it lacked structure and clear guidelines. I was told that part-time requires 10 clients per month, while full-time requires maintaining a caseload of 22 clients over three months. However, there was little clarity on how to manage these expectations while balancing administrative work and other job responsibilities.

Overall, while this job offers flexible scheduling and an opportunity to work directly with clients, the pay structure, lack of compensation for essential tasks, and unclear expectations for hours and responsibilities made it feel unsustainable for me personally. I would recommend carefully assessing whether the fee-for-service model, variable income, and unpaid responsibilities align with what you’re looking for in a counseling role.

I worked for BTST for a few months and was genuinely excited to start with the company. I had heard some concerns prior to starting, and based on my personal experience, I understood where those concerns were coming from. After beginning the role, I experienced several challenges related to organization and communication that made the position difficult.

In my experience, communication was inconsistent, and expectations were not always clearly defined. At times, employees were placed in situations with limited guidance, which made it challenging to effectively carry out responsibilities. This contributed to a work environment that often felt disorganized.

I also observed what felt like inconsistencies in recognition and accountability. Employees who were consistent in their work did not always feel acknowledged, while others appeared to have more flexibility depending on internal relationships. This created some frustration within the team.

Another challenge I experienced was the intake process. It often took a long time for clients and families to begin services, which sometimes led to delays in care. In some cases, this resulted in clients seeking services elsewhere. Additionally, the separation between intake therapists and ongoing therapists sometimes created delays or disconnects in communication, even though many therapists are trained to complete both roles. In my experience, there also seemed to be frequent turnover among therapists, which appeared to be connected to challenges with organization, communication, and overall support.

Compensation may appear competitive at first, so it is important to fully understand the structure and any deductions beforehand.

Overall, this company may be a place to gain initial experience, but based on my experience, I would encourage others to carefully consider their options.

Clinical supervisors are given very little room to actually give their overburdened clinicians adequate support due to the intense focus on metrics and making money. I also find their PRP referral and collaboration model to be far from client focused. Clients were referred to PRP services without the knowledge of their therapist and at some point children were automatically funneled into their PRP program. It also is disturbing that the emphasis on client volume leaves clients waiting for needed meds and appointments. Newer therapists are targeted for employment at BTST for MA clients with complex needs because they are too naive to question company practices. It is a poor environment for clinical growth and client care.

Supervisors were also charged with cleaning up charting for past staff who clearly were overwhelmed. Lots of labor and data collection was added to our workload without prior notice or discussion.

Upper management often outright lied to clinical supervisors about policy changes and often allowed clients who were inappropriate for outpatient services to remain on the caseload of overwhelmed novice therapists.

You will be paid on time. If you are in a mode to shut up, comply, and collect a check you will thrive here. The highest rungs of leadership are super wealthy so of course they will squeeze every bit of productivity out of you to meet their projections.

I ended up feeling sick after being involved with this organization.

Protect your peace and license. Look elsewhere!

Workload quickly becomes unmanageable. Random trainings and meetings that you are not paid for. You will have to drive your own car to see clients and are not paid for any drive time. The fee-for-service pay sounds like a good amount at first until you realize the amount of work you do outside of the direct service with clients is an extra 10-25 hours a week that you aren’t paid for. You are also paid only once per month while other positions in the company are paid twice a month. The job was meant to be part time and flexible but when you have a child/adolescent only caseload, it is impossible. It’s difficult to manage having 10+ clients who all want appointments immediately after they get home from school. Client cancellations/no shows are frequent. 

The overall impression is that image is more important than actual experience. For staff and clients. Most staff so busy trying to get work done that opportunity to give or get feedback is very little unless you are being reprimanded. Culture of insiders VS outsiders. Most employees that stay either try to be an insider or stay detached. Everyone knows the biggest company interest is making money. For the agency.  Little is trickled down to front line workers. No clear line of leadership. If there's a issue with direct supervisor, you are out of luck

If you need flexibility this is a great job for that. You can make your own schedule based upon your availability. The pay is very competitive. The co-workers are friendly and helpful. If you are not an organized person this is not the the job for you. There are deadlines for paperwork to be completed. There is a lot of pressure placed upon counselors and some deadlines are not realistic. Counselor work with youth in the community and it is a rewarding position to make a different in someone else life for the positive. The benefits are pretty terrible and little to none. There is little to no support from management. 

Pros: decent pay, make your own schedule, the youth
Cons: management, benefits, hard to meet deadlines, your on your own.

While this company does compensate at a higher rate than many others in the local area, the lack of ethics and concern for clients and staff make it easy to look over the compensation. Clients are often not seen in a timely manner, which falls back on staff versus management in charge of communication with clients. Little support from management for staff. It doesn’t take long working for this company to recognize that making the most amount of money in the pockets of the owners and upper management is the goal, while allowing issues related to clients and staff to fall upon deaf ears. 

I have done PRP before and let me tell you it was nothing compared to BTST! Working here I felt encouraged and I honestly felt like my supervisor and my peers cared about my safety and my well-being. I literally had the best supervisor. The pay is also good and there is always room for improvement. In 6 months I was promoted from a Direct Care Counselor to an Intake Specialist. I was able to manage both titles and still have the flexibility I needed. There is always room for growth and learning at this agency.

I worked for this agency following receiving my LMSW and I couldn't have asked for a better agency to work with. They provide opportunity for continued learning and leaders are invested in your overall success. The employee morale is superb. I also loved that those in leadership are knowledgable and never made me feel that I was alone even in a remote setting. They are VERY organized in comparison to other agencies. I would've never left this role if pay/salary was better. 

I liked my job until a lot of things changed. There is now a 48 hour note policy - with a full caseload it is hard. We used to get full compensation for 3 visits per month, not anymore.  They’ve rolled out an electronic signature from parents....which you have to use your own phone to get. There are too many extra expectations put on counselors who are already dealing with unpredictable parents and kids.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mental health therapist 57 salaries reported	$104,912 per year
Youth counselor 55 salaries reported	$31.50 per hour
Licensed clinical social worker 27 salaries reported	$65,556 per year
Therapist 2 salaries reported	$97,500 per year
Clinical therapist 20 salaries reported	$103,500 per year

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