clinician

counselor

family support worker

clinical supervisor

gardener

Clinical & Support Options

If you're fresh out of college, live nearby, or plan to do a second job in private practice, this is a great place to build experience supporting adults and children in mental health. If you are part of a minority group (race, lgbt, or have a disability) this is not a good long term site for you. The culture of management is very different from general staff/ clinicians. Majority of staff are very supportive,  good teamwork, will check on each other and are empathetic/ compassionate towards each other and their clients. Most management and HR look the other way when this is not the case, and refuse to step in. If you want to advance in your career, leave this site as soon as you are able. The pay is low, even if you become a member of management. The workload you're pressured to do is the equivalent of overtime (ex: 40-60 something clients on a caseload for clinicians, undercompensation on required mileage for support staff) but you're not allowed to count it as overtime. The environment is competitive at times in the unhealthy way - how much did you work this weekend or after hours for the "family"? (the company). They claim you will be able to have a flexible schedule you decide on, but pressure you to take extra clients during times you have already said you're unavailable. Self care is a nice buzzword here that is not actually very feasible unless you're part-time. The health insurance is  Blue Cross, so that part is great. I recommend you get to know the staff, use this as an internship site, or (for masters level therapists) do a few years of employment to get hours towards licensure, or (for bachelor's level staff) a few years of experience under your belt to apply for a masters program or a different field afterwards. Some supervisors are great, attentive, and care for your health as well. Some are more interested in having their supervisees crank out production and good numbers, not interested as much in the clients as people, but "consumers". The response to COVID by this company was eh at best, and for some departments it was completely unsupportive and inconsistent, or irresponsible and life threatening. The elevator often breaks, (about a month at least) and this office is on the 3rd floor, so this has been unsafe for those with wheelchairs or medical difficulties with taking the stairs.

So I started at CSO as an intern in Outpatient and I did not think I was going to stay past internship, but the relationship I had with the supervisor and all management staff, my peers and the community I was serving were all reasons to stay on. In five years I have been promoted 4 times-that sounds too good to be true, but if you commit to this agency and the mission to provide effective, client-centered care and take advantage of the multitude of trainings, free CEUs, supervisions, specialized certifications, you are sure to succeed! It is amazing that for such a large and rapidly growing agency, that upper management is incredibly visible and down to earth. Your ability to make a difference in this field is lifted up here. As an intern even, I was able to serve on a workgroup to make our site better and more trauma informed. I was passionate about a specific population, so I was supported in adapting a curriculum to start a new group. This organization is led by some incredible women at all levels of management right up to our CEO- who is the smartest, savviest leader and change agent.   I could literally go on and on and on about what an amazing place to work CSO is. Most of what the poor reviews say speak more to industry issues (low pay, productivity, etc) and guess what, our CEO actively engaged in taking on the state on to address these inequities and advocate for better client care. It’s an honor to work for CSO, amongst the most compassionate managers and staff and I have learned and grown immensely.

In my review of this company, it's important to note that the experience can vary significantly depending on your location and role. CSO does excel in certain areas, with benefits that are on par with other similar agencies and a commendable commitment to inclusivity and diversity. However, a notable drawback is the issue of unfair and impoverished wages, which significantly impacts the overall work environment and employee experience.

The company's culture, as I've experienced, is greatly influenced by where you're based and the specific job you hold. The varying regional and departmental dynamics can sometimes lead to inconsistencies in the workplace atmosphere. Nonetheless, the company does deserve credit for its inclusive and diverse policies, which contribute positively to its overall ethos.

Unfortunately, the most glaring concern that emerges is the disparity between the employees' dedication and the compensation they receive. Many dedicated professionals find themselves grappling with wages that barely cover their basic living expenses. This issue of financial hardship takes a toll on morale, hinders potential, and leads to high employee turnover, which ultimately affects the company's performance.

To enhance the overall employee experience and maximize their potential, addressing the issue of wage disparity should be a top priority for this company. It's imperative that they align their compensation policies with the dedication and talent of their workforce to truly create a thriving and equitable work environment for all. 

I am currently employed at CSO, in a fairly integral role that allows me to see behind the scenes and on the front of lines of the CSO work force. In my almost 2 years of employment here I have worked with many different people from all of our different areas of service and in every office and program I find sincerity and passion abound. People here really care about the service they provide and support staff understand the trauma and hardships our clients experience as well as the second hand trauma our EMPLOYEES deal with, this leads to very cohesive environment that can survive almost anything because you can trust in the person next to you to do their job, so that you can do yours, and a client can get the help they need and deserve. That has been beautiful to me. In regards to specifically my position I have been allowed to grow and learn and make mistakes so that I an become a better employee in my field and this has been invaluable to me and I will always be grateful to CSO for this! I have also been blessed here to have direct and indirect supervisors or the highest quality who make me want to work harder with the amount of effort and passion they bring to work everyday.

The management is great and supportive. If you're looking for a place to gain skills, CSO is a great place to be, great supervision, great trainings available. If you're looking somewhere to make a living, that's where it gets tough. The benefits are great, excellent insurance, and time off, but the pay is unlivable, at least for me with having student loans. Also if you can't keep up with productivity they will drop you down .1, and lower your pay. It's hard to keep up with productivity because clients are constantly no showing or cancelling, and then you are left with an unbillable hour. Management is supportive and will try to work with you, but at the end of the day we're  not working with a super reliable population and they're going to no show and that's not at any fault of the clinician, yet clinicians are the ones who have to pay. If finances aren't a major concern and you just need benefits and want to gain skills I couldn't recommend CSO enough, however if you need a decent income, this job is not going to give you that. 

There's good & bad with every job. The take away is everything. I would not recommend others to work for this company as they really care too much about the people working for them. They do care greatly about making those productivity numbers to bill client's insurance.  That's basically they only thing management cares about. Being in the mental health field, I would have assumed their client's & employee's mental health would matter. I was wrong. The staff is ever changing and it's not that hard to figure out why when you begin working here. 

The pro's were my fellow FSWs! I definitely gained a bit a learning, more experience for my resume, and lasting friendships! I appreciate the staff that did support. I didn't appreciate the staff that enjoyed making people feel stupid or talked about others behind their backs. But those people are everywhere. 

All in all, if you're looking for a company that doesn't care about you or their clients and only cares about being able to bill insurance, then this place is for..apply now! Otherwise, keep looking there are better opportunities out there. 

Working with this population is very rewarding. However, the management lacks in ALL areas. From the TOP to the BOTTOM. There is no support, at all. Most of all, for the guests of the shelter. There is an abundant amount of favoritism with employees. The company adds and adds to your job description and refuses to compensate you for it. All of the employees who put their heart and soul into their jobs, end up leaving due to very low wage, no support and not an ounce of appreciation. The turn around here is unsettling. The grounds, on and around the shelter, are an open air drug market. Drug dealers literally sit on the property, all day, and sell drugs to the vulnerable. Management walks right by these individuals, every day, and not one thing is ever done. This facility and its faculty need to have a thorough investigation done. Ask any current or former employee about any of this and most will confirm this organization is lacking in so many areas. Very sad to say the least.

No place is perfect, but in general I feel pretty supported. This review is specific to the Athol location, I cannot speak to the atmosphere of the other clinics. The industry doesn’t pay us as well as it should but that’s not cso’s fault. I would like more flexibility regarding Telehealth and working from home. The company does not want to open themselves up to the vulnerability that would come with increased flexibility for staff regarding Telehealth. This is understandable, but there are other clinics that are more flexible. The paperwork at my previous place was more demanding. The computer program Cso uses is pretty user friendly. Community mental health has a lot of challenges. We work with a large percentage of financially challenged individuals and this means frequent no shows and low pay. This is the nature of the work. It can be very rewarding work for the right person and if that is you, I would recommend CSO (at the Athol location). 

While I liked to work with my coworkers and the clients, the upper managers were downright mean. They felt like they needed to bully employees to get the performance results they wanted. Which is kind of ridiculous given that this is a human services positions. They forced out many good employees and then celebrated it as if it were a good thing. I was one such employee. They supposedly never refilled the position I left. CSO apparently used to be much better to work for. But the amount of stress, high expectations, and hostility make the wages feel like pennies on top of everything. I would not recommend working here unless someone is very desperate and is able to tolerate upper management constantly micromanaging and interrogating employees on why they're not perfect.

A typical day at work was good. The families I worked with were wonderful. They worked so hard to improve their lives for the better, but were up against many odds. I worked closely with family therapists. I had 2 different managers. One was amazing, supportive and pushed me. The other one was awful, negative, self-involved and not supportive at all. The workplace culture was good. I loved my coworkers. The hardest part was watching the families we worked with struggle, doing their best with what little they had. The executive director was distant and money orientated. She really did not take the time to get to know any of us. she was so obviously just into the bucks..sad. The most enjoyable part of my work there was the families I worked with and my coworkers, receptionists, HR, the therapists and the clinical director. They made all the difference.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Clinician 42 salaries reported	$57,929 per year
Counselor 33 salaries reported	$41,000 per year
Family support worker 21 salaries reported	$40,952 per year
Clinical supervisor 32 salaries reported	$71,406 per year
Gardener 33 salaries reported	$55,076 per year

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