registered nurse

mental health technician

therapist

registered nurse - operating room

instructional assistant

Foundations Behavioral Health

Upper management is an absolute travesty. The only thing they care about is how much money they can bring in and put into their own pockets, while the staff, who are left to their own devices to deal with the kids everyday, get nothing. Management provides no help whatsoever when there is a crisis going on, but seem to come out of the woodwork when things are quiet and calm, which is a very rare occurrence. There is no recognition for all the hard work the staff do on a day to day basis, but God forbid you slip up a tiny bit, management will ream you out for it. The company will constantly promote the importance of mental health and "taking care of yourself" to be an effective worker, yet they provide no relief and just add on to the stress by being blatantly absent. The kids, to management, are an afterthought. The whole point of the facility is to provide a place for kids to work on whatever issues they may have (with the overall goal of returning to their school districts) in a small sized classroom, but the higher ups are much more concerned with squeezing as many kids into the building as possible, which is a recipe for pure chaos all the time. There have been times where there literally aren't enough desks for the kids to sit in. There is also zero communication with upper management and the other employees, but the staff will get yelled at for not communicating things they have no idea were supposed to be communicated because they were simply never told anything. They will try to pass off the school as a private school, which is an absolute joke, it's an alternative school and that's what it will always be, don't be fooled. Real private schools don't accept literally every kid that walks through the door. I could go on and on and on for a long time about what is wrong with this place. The only good things are the benefits and the co-workers. You're all in it together with little to no help from management so you become very close to each other and become each others stress relievers and comic relief throughout the day. It is rewarding to see the kids finally start to understand themselves better and how appreciative they are of the staff and everything they've done to help. When the kids show more appreciation than the management, you know there's a problem with the system, especially when the kids these same problems as stated above.

I'm constantly telling family and friends "I love the work I do, I hate who I do it for." There have been several missteps in terms of good clinical care from the higher-ups all for the sake of making more money, which is infuriating when you became a therapist because you want to help people.

The main pro at this point is this place offers a lot of clinical experience/client-contact hours needed for licensure, and the kids and families are fantastic (like really, they make all the hassle worth it). You can definitely see the progress the kids make even though you have them on your caseload for a week to four weeks at a time.

Therapists typically hold a caseload of 8-12 kids (more on the residential units because they do not run groups, family meetings are once every two weeks, and they do not deal with case management), with weekly family and individual sessions (sometimes more if you feel your client needs to be seen more often due to acuity).

Therapists also run hour long groups ranging from daily to 2 to 3 times per week depending on the level of care/unit. Therapists are responsible for all case management (ensuring appropriate aftercare appointments are scheduled) which used to be a task for case managers (a position cut from the team because of, surprise surprise, cost). Documentation of all sessions, client contact, phone calls and case management is a huge time-suck (much more intense than outpatient work because you have insurance companies wanting to do utilization review every other day).

I'd say chances for burn-out are very high. It's a very stressful job as you are dealing with life or death on a daily basis. And the higher-ups don't really do much to help with the stress. They constantly ask for you to do more, and the moment there isn't more for you to do, they ask for you to cut your own hours and pay (i.e. eat up your PTO).

Seeking to work for a non-profit company next.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Some caring and competent colleagues

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Extremely toxic environment in which employees are expected to place themselves in both emotionally and physically risky situations for relatively little compensation with little support. Managers were focused on the negative- you could do 99 amazing things under highly stressful conditions, make one mistake and that’s what you were sure to hear about when you arrived for your next shift. I was a very competent employee yet came in feeling sick and anxious for every shift. Communication with the director was poor. The director was generally cold and aloof. Concerns were not addressed. Patients were not provided the best care because of lack of staffing and tedious, inefficient processes that kept them waiting far too long for things to be completed or transitions to occur. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
People generally are unhappy, grumpy, and do not like their jobs. They are stressed and overworked. They do not feel listened to or cared about by upper management. Little is done to show care for employees and I saw no diversity or inclusion initiatives. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long, overwhelming, too much work in too short time

As far as the job goes, it is a rewarding experience helping children/teens with behavioral/emotional/intellectual difficulties, even if their progress is minimal or slow.  

As far as the FBH agency, it feels like you are just a number at a deli counter. There is a big distance between employees and the company itself. The office staff have no awareness of your performance, effectiveness and skill level as a TSS. All they have are your demographics on file. To get in touch with anyone from the agency is a job in and of itself. It takes a few emails for someone to get back to you and their attitude is little to be desired. They don't validate any concerns you have and are condescending in their emails. It's really easy for them to be that way when they are communicating via email from their cubicle. 
There are problems with staffing TSS on cases. There are noticable gaps in employment because the agency can't keep up with all of the paperwork from incoming referrals.  
Oh and if there are minor errors on progress notes and encounter forms, (the necessary documents you submit weekly in order to get paid) the agency fails to notify you of these errors before they send off the documents. Hence, you will not get paid for two weeks if you have the smallest of errors, i.e. not writing in just one date on the many sheets you are supposed to sign and fill out.

Great place to gain experience in the clinical field. The team approach, the value placed on clinical supervision and the strong work ethic of most people make it a rewarding place to work. Clinical leadership is well educated and act as knowledgeable resources and supports. Alternatively, if your not willing to work 50+ hours a week, it will be unlikely that you’ll stay on top of the mounting workload. Though the PTO benefits are nice, it’s extremely difficult and stressful to take time off. It’s a perfect recipe for burnout and explains the high turnover. MHTs are poorly trained and receive little direct supervision which is one of many systems problems. Overall there is little training support offered across all disciplines and the mentality is to launch programs, ideas, changes, etc. with very little thought given to training, staff demands and implementing appropriate structural/organizational supports. Mentality is fly by the seat of your pants which in turn creates a culture of reactivity. Could be a great treatment center...has a lot to offer with talented professionals with big hearts but programs are always in flux with no stability and poor organization which keeps it from moving beyond good to great.

The pay is good and theres always overtime but is it worth your sanity???This job isn’t for the weak!! You will be hit, kicked and spat at by patients. Staff are constantly getting hurt and sent to the near by hospital because the staff to patient ratio is a joke. We are always being put in unsafe situations. I once complained about it to admin and was told to find another job. If you don't know how to duck I strongly recommend you learn before your first day. What they don’t tell you in orientation is that you’re not just a mental health tech. You’re also gonna be maintenance and house keeping. Techs pick up a lot of the slack and honestly don't get paid enough for all their hard work. They don’t care about these kids at all. All they care about is making money off of them. 90% of their day is spent in front of a tv watching Netflix.The only time the units are actually clean is when the good staff are working (which is rarely because theres only a handful) or there’s an upcoming inspection from corporate. Patients regularly complain about the conditions of the bathrooms. Management is unprofessional and have no problem letting you know youre replaceable.This isnt a job to get comfortable at and I wouldn't recommend working here tbh.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Coworkers supported each other to survive the constant micromanagement and negativity of supervisors. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The supervisors managed through intimidation.  There was no consistency in message and expectations but staff were constantly gaslighted into thinking they were doing a bad job.  Morale was awful. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic would be an understatement.  Supervisors who pretend to know everything, make decisions based on subjectivity and do not respect the staff at all.  They are their own cheering section and constantly pat each other on the back with no regard for the hard work the staff put in every day to actually support the students. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful - every interaction with administration causes a gut reaction of “what now?”   There is no joy.  There is no clear direction so every action is a reaction rather than proactive. It’s chaos.

High turn over rate with no leadership from management. Management treat staff like robots and expect you to eat sleep and breathe FBH. Campus does daily camera reviews and play favorites with certain staff and never reprimand people that sit on their phones all shift or sleep throughout the whole shift but will target hardworking people for minor infractions. Staff meeting never happen so any concerns you have will go unheard or will fall on deaf ears when told to supervisor or management. Clients are violent towards staff creating unsafe conditions and often times put on low dosage medication or taken off medication and staff isnt notified of changes. Corporate makes staff rounds for 15 minutes for 8 hours and if you are a few minutes off you are bound to get written up for it. This job is not something long term and not a job that you can retire from. I say when you get tired of the mistreatment and disrespect from staff, clients and management apply for the next opportunity you see coming your way. 

If management and administration weren't so awful, I would work here longer for the patients. After two weeks of initial "training", the only other training you receive throughout your job is a packet or two of handouts, where you just sign-off your name saying you comprehend the material. Management doesn't check in to see how you're doing, and rarely shows up to support the unit during a crisis. Nursing staff plays favorites with the mental health techs, and even if you communicate you feel burnt-out with certain patients among the unit population, they'll still bully you into working with them. Depending on the nurses, only some will ever help you out with the patients. There's a reason why they cannot keep staff here. Pay is measly, even if you come in with years of experience.

Worked for LifeWorks, a division of Foundations. Management was unbelievably incompetent. No confidentiality and inconsistent demands and requests. The building was roach infested and smelled horrible.
The hourly staff were all wonderful people who were all pushed to their limits.
Witnessed some fellow teachers bullied and intimidated by management. Also witnessed violence and intimidation towards students, but complaints were swept under the rug.
Training was abysmal. One was expected to pick things up as they went along, then get called out if there was something they didn't know. Constant promises about being trained on certain programs....never happened, then your review reflects lack of knowledge in the areas that you weren't trained in.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 25 salaries reported	$66.00 per hour
Mental health technician 4 salaries reported	$16.75 per hour
Therapist 3 salaries reported	$62,000 per year
Registered nurse - operating room 4 salaries reported	$65.00 per hour
Instructional assistant 4 salaries reported	$17.25 per hour

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