recovery specialist

clinician

monitor

senior clinician

family support specialist

Community Mental Health Affiliates

I would work with twelve clients with axis I disorders, primarily schizophrenia, bipolar, schizoaffective, and MDD. I case managed two of the twelve and worked on fortifying their independent functioning so that they could transition into the community, without need of a 24-hour residential program. Additionally I managed up to 4 respite clients who would come in for short-term stays to prevent escalation of psychological symptoms that would put them at risk for hospitalization, or, sometimes, assist those transitioning back from a hospital stay. I learned more efficient ways to educate and guide clients to make responsible, self-sufficient choices, and very much the concept that I could always lead a horse to water, but could never make him drink, as the adage goes. Education and patience were the two best tools for getting there. I enjoyed a supportive group of coworkers that very much tried to stay on the same page to streamline client care. My program managers over time were valued guidance, especially when I would have a challenging client or situation that required some feedback. The hardest part was often trying to guide a client toward the most responsible and independent path without ever pushing against them. Clients who are on board with treatment and agree with the methods are the most successful, and I consider it my job to work with the client to steer them toward more independent behaviors with the most beneficial and least harmful coping mechanisms. The most enjoyable part was the satisfaction of having a client that came in at one level of functioning that would be at risk in the community, and seeing that client leave at a higher level of functioning so that they could manage themselves independently.

As a Recovery Specialist job duties range in excitement from crisis intervention to scanning paperwork  for hours on end. Clients are generally well-mannered, however, can often have behavioral outbursts. This is to be expected, given the population that the program works with. It seems that things easily are overlooked by management and passed from one shift to the other with little regard for the amount of work that comes with working later shifts when clients are more active. This can become problematic and create an unhealthy working environment where staff feels that they are pitted against each other due to the vast number of things asked of them and the minimal support from supervisory roles. When asking for "supervision," it is likely to be continuously rescheduled, many staff members go months on end without supervision -- that is until a supervisor feels that you made an error or a decision that was not agreeable. In this case, you will likely be asked to come in during hours that you do not work to discuss with the supervisor and upper management. Overall, the financial benefits of working at this program are high but they come at a cost. Due to the consistent turnover the program is severely understaffed which makes it nearly impossible to use paid time off unless you call out, which leaves your coworker "locked in" or unable to leave until the next shift shows up. I would not recommend this job to anyone who has experience in the field, as it is likely that your talents and knowledge of human services will be better utilized elsewhere. That being said, it is an ideal "starter job" because it will teach you what to look out for when searching for a longer-term/career position.

Lots of flexibility for work schedule in the position, which is a benefit, but often means you are working split shifts. This is a job where your clinical skills are often put to the test, and the agency gives you the space to grow. I started out working 50-60 hours per week due to the lack of direction and training I received once I joined the position. I have spent almost the same amount of time working without a direct supervisor as I have working with one. Turnover abounds due to poor pay and shady corporate decisions. It’s easy to feel undervalued when there is no urgency to hire a team leader. Aside from that, it’s apparent that HR is more of an idea than a department at CMHA because you often need to reach out multiple times to get a response. When you do get a response, they make no effort to even pretend as if they’re willing to help you. To help combat the below average pay, an incentive system was implemented, but they change the requirements so often that you never have a chance of hitting it. Aside from that, incentives are based on client contact, so your chance of a bonus lessens depending on how low your census might be in the program that you work. Overall, I have met a few good people, and the work is challenging and can be rewarding, but it’s hard to focus on that stuff when the compensation and benefits package is so poor. Yet, one could overlook even that if there was more effort made by management. You cannot make up for poor health insurance by letting us wear jeans in the office once a quarter. Cake in the break room is not a compromise for fair pay. 

Rating CMHA as a 2 because I have learned a lot working here. Aside from the wonderful colleagues, the learning experiences, and trainings, this has been one of the toughest places I’ve worked in. Leadership is very much lacking in basic human decency and do not care about their staff which I have seen first hand. Burn out happens quickly due to high caseload (which is NOT normal for agencies that care for their staff) and very low salary with minimal raises. The only effort to decrease burn out is by putting up worksheets for staff to take at their own discretion while continuing to assign clients to an already high caseload. There is a lot of deflecting with very high leadership who has blamed his staff for leaving due to “their own inadequacies” rather than looking at himself and what he may need to improve on. I hate writing this review, but I’m hopeful it’ll help others to not make the mistake of joining this agency and losing their motivation and passion for the field they worked so hard to be apart. The environment in this location is very dark and sad making it hard to function at a normal level. The issue isn’t the population or being unable to do the job - the job IS rewarding and doable if you have thick skin and can deal with constantly feeling belittled. The issue is the need to reevaluate who is leading this outpatient location. CMHA will not improve until shifts are made at higher levels. 

The job can be stressful if you work in a setting where your clients live on their own in the community. You transport clients in your own car (they pay you mileage of course) regardless of their hygiene habits. There are company vans, but you share them with your co-workers, so they aren't always available when you need them. The company is very professional, but put a lot of pressure on staff to meet hours, get documentation written & help the clients with what they need. It always feels like all 3 of those things can't happen within the realm of an 8 hour shift, so sometimes you end up taking your work home with you to do documentation so that you have the time to meet with clients & do quality work to help them while clocked in.

The residential programs at CMHA are much better of an opportunity if you want to work overtime once in a while or want less stress to meet hours. But on the flip side, I learned A LOT while working in an outpatient setting in regards to mental health laws, Social Security & food stamps, which will definitely benefit my career in the future. Great first job if you are looking to be in the Mental Health/Social Work field in the long run. However, not as much opportunity to move up in the company if you don't have intentions of going back to get a Master's Degree. Raises don't really exist at a non-profit either, so keep that in mind as well.

Been with the company for over half a decade. LOTS of ups and downs but lately the push for grants and free money has management on a draconian reign of terror to meet quotas. The change to Epic was handled pretty sloppily with poor training sessions; staff are pretty frequently penalized for not knowing how to operate the program and subsequently NOT trained. There is little to no regard for staff burnout and a lot of programs have management break policy in order to meet quotas. Residential programs have it pretty bad, staff are leaving the company in droves. There is no consistency when it comes to staff responsibilities. You could clock in and perform the job responsibilities of a CNA, Veyo driver, chef, security guard, receptionist, life coach, and accountant all while being reprimanded that you didn't complete documentation. To top it off you probably will be mandated to stay a 3rd shift due to the lack of coverage. I don't really want to get into all the instances of nepotism and fraudulent business practices, but if you plan on applying just remember the policy only applies 80% of the time, the other 20% is when it needs to be broken for company profit.

In your first 90 days do not think if you have a child you can take a day off to do anything for them you will be given a choice be insubordinate and get fired or resign to take care of your child. The caseload was impossible to successfully give the clients what they were told they would get. There were little lies, about pay, about hours, dress code. Your actual job orientation happens 3 weeks after you start working, this includes the computer training of the programs they use. You are working blind until then about the companies, rules, and procedures. Upper management paints a rosy picture of the culture that does not agree with how lower management runs things. Your productivity is more important than what you are actually doing. You get bonuses for the number of billable hours you spend with clients you are told groups rack up your productivity numbers faster than individual sessions which many of the clients need. The entire department I worked in resigned within a month of themselves because of the new lower management.

This is a difficult review for me to write because I love the agency, but I also had a lot of difficulty there that caused me to leave. Firstly, the good: they're always looking for ways to treat employees a little better like having the week between Christmas and New Year's as extra vacation. I loved most of the people I worked with and genuinely enjoyed working in that environment. Then, the less good: I was promoted to a position I didn't realize needed someone with more of a case management lense than a clinical one, which was my background. I was running difficult programs which were known to not be doing well. I did my best, but was extremely stressed all the time and didn't feel supported by my supervisor. The agency also doesn't do well with training new supervisors, but that is something they're talking about and hopefully will be implementing soon. Honestly, I miss working there.  I'm very sad I had to leave. 

If I could rate this place a 0 I would. The management goes above and beyond to make it abundantly clear how much they do not trust your clinical judgement and do not care about employees mental health. The communication is the worst I’ve experienced in a workplace. Clients are not the center of focus and they do not have their best interests at heart. They only care about their grants and funding. I do not recommend this place for therapy or for anyone looking for a job. Save yourself the trouble and don’t apply. There’s much better opportunities out there that won’t take advantage of you the way this place absolutely will. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working at CMHA were my coworkers and vacation days 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Working at CMHA was the worst decision I could have made. Upper management drag their feet to give raises and the compensation is not fair. Managers treat their employees like children. 
Being at this organization made me realize this is not a healthy environment to work for. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
They try to make the culture be about inclusion and honesty but upper management and executives should take their own advice

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Recovery specialist 13 salaries reported	$24.58 per hour
Clinician 8 salaries reported	$64,094 per year
Monitor 5 salaries reported	$23.60 per hour
Senior clinician 12 salaries reported	$63,813 per year
Family support specialist 5 salaries reported	$23.20 per hour

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