technician

therapist

program supervisor

clinical supervisor

case manager

Great Lakes Recovery Centers, Inc.

Wages are low. Staff are subjected to bullying, favoritism, and manipulation, often from supervisors themselves. Supervision is lacking or nonexistent, and unqualified individuals are regularly promoted into leadership. 

Many of the direct care staff work extremely hard but the environment feels like fighting fire with gasoline. Stress and burnout are dismissed as a lack of self-care, instead of being recognized as a result of the impossible workload and hostile culture. Boundaries are routinely ignored by supervisors. Training is inadequate with little opportunity for real professional development.

This place operates more like a cult than a supportive organization, and leaving it was the only way to protect my well-being. I strongly urge potential employees to think carefully before accepting a position here.

The best part of this job is the clients and the meaningful work done to support them. Clients deserve support from people that are passionate, hardworking, and dedicated — but unfortunately, the toxic culture created by management drives good workers away. It’s a shame to see such incredible work with clients overshadowed by such mismanagement. This workplace has real potential, but the toxicity made it an unsustainable place to work. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
You will quickly become sharply aware of the kind of leadership, culture, and values you want in your next role. This job will strengthen your ability to set boundaries and recognize red flags early in future opportunities.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unclear direction, inconsistent communication, and unpredictable reactions from leadership create ongoing anxiety. Instead of focusing on productivity and growth, much of the energy goes into navigating office politics and avoiding conflict. Also, expectations are frequently high without the necessary resources, recognition, or balanced workload. As a result, many team members become disengaged—not from a lack of dedication, but from prolonged stress and emotional fatigue.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fear, burnout, disengagement, and emotional exhaustion. Employees need to be cautious, as accountability and alignment are not always clear.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Managing high emotional and physical demands while also navigating inconsistent leadership, poor communication, and a culture of blame that makes an already challenging role unnecessarily stressful and unsupportive.

I thought working here was the best thing to happen to me. Until, you are asked to do others work to "help them". You become overworked, overwhelmed, then talked about because you aren't getting things finished. You don't get extra compensation for doing someone else's job and they continue with the same salary as if they were doing everything in their job description. Co workers talk behind your back and the worst is management. They turn things into what fits their narrative. There is no coaching or training. No support or leadership from supervisors. They gaslight and make things up when something isn't going the way it should. Their logic is just fire someone and see if that changes anything. Management also plays favorites. They say and do nothing when a few employees have been documented by many as well as clients as being inappropriate and unprofessional. The amount of paperwork and inputting things drowns out other responsibilities. The pay is also a joke. That is why their turnover rate is as high as it is. The only positive is the clients. It is the clients that have motivated me to continue within this career path to help them with a more inclusive more professional positive organization. 

The work is absolutely emotionally draining. There is no support from supervisors. If you call the wrong person you get raked over the coals. No support from management. They stay in the cushy offices while staff are running around trying to keep peace and order. I learned a lot about an unhealthy work environment. Management does not care about the front line workers. They are only interested in their established good old boy system and have no desire to change or give someone an opportunity to excel. They are satisfied with status quo which is a very low bar. The culture at Great Lakes is one of watch your back. You can not trust anyone. Everyone blames everyone else for things that go wrong, no one takes responsibility. Certainly management doesn't take responsibility. The hardest part of the job is watching clients who need help get stuck in an unhealthy organization. The most enjoyable part of the job are the clients who are determined to stay sober.

I cannot recommend against working here enough. There is a culture of enmeshment, codependency, and overworking yourself from the top of the agency down to the bottom. Management has no idea what front-line workers do, and it is blatantly apparent that they don’t care. Communication is awful. The emphasis is on maintaining the status quo while willfully ignoring the plethora of problems within the organization. Consulting with experienced peers and supervisors is difficult as there are very few. The agency simply cannot retain employees for long. Additionally, I was always expecting to be thrown under the bus if something went wrong. This used to be a great place to start your career, but this no longer seems to be the case. There are so many other things I could say, but I don’t feel like getting sued and want to add that these are my subjective experiences and opinions.

This is the worst place to work. The counselors get paid approx $15.85/hr. Most employees work 60-70 hour weeks. Management doesn't care about you. There are meetings all the time that are not helpful. There is no supervision. The higher ups only care about money, not their employees. Trying to talk to management about compensation is a waste of time. Their only response is "we are a non-profit organization, so we can't pay more". I don't know how they are still legally operating this business. If any licensing agency were to come on a random day, they would absolutely fail. Most people who are the "counselors" aren't actually qualified, same with the managers. People's lives are at stake when going to rehab and here, they are in very poor hands. 

A typical day would include group counseling sessions and supervision. Had the opportunity to participate with group counseling along with individual counseling. I would also participate in group activities and drop clients off and pick them up as needed. I learned how to do the proper paper work for clients and being able to establish a work relation with clients. I got along with all co-workers. They welcomed me with open arms and I was very comfortable asking them questions. The hardest part about the job was seeing how far the clients have come and once they leave the facility you hear they have relapsed. The most enjoyable part of my job was being able to watch the clients grow from the beginning of their treatment to the end.

I really value all the time I've spent working for GLRC. I love my team, and the way that we all work collaboratively to get things done. Even when the days are hectic, I always leave my shift feeling satisfied and content. Every day at work brings it's own needs and challenges, and I rarely to never find myself bored or without anything to do. Management takes your individual goals seriously and provides you with training and assistance in reaching your career goals. There is an element to this job that involved learning quickly on your feet, and I have built so much more confidence and strength in my skills because of it. 

Supervisors expect you to do their jobs. There is no wage incentives and you will be told by higher ups constantly that this is the only environment  that will provide you with a flexible schedule. They will tell you that you can’t talk about your wages with anyone else. The supervisors will lie and gaslight staff. The higher ups don’t take accountability for their actions and blame any other person but themselves for their wrong doing. There is a lack of boundaries; for example calling you when you are not on shift with the expectation that you answer. They give promotions to people who don’t meet the qualifications for the promotion. The only good part of the job is working with the client population. They will guilt trip you if you are sick or want time off. 

When I got hired I thought I hit the gold mine and it wasn’t till about the first year in when I realized that I was forced to take on way too much and when I questioned it they questioned my allegiance to the client I loved every client I had and I would do anything to watch them succeed however I felt like Management wasn’t happy even though we had many successful discharges I left the center because I felt like even though I was giving my all at work the management team wasn’t giving me their all it would take a little to no responsibility for the way they were failing not only the most important their clients but also the staff that worked under them.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Technician 13 salaries reported	$15.34 per hour
Therapist 6 salaries reported	$27.42 per hour
Program supervisor 6 salaries reported	$21.29 per hour
Clinical supervisor 5 salaries reported	$28.50 per hour
Case manager 5 salaries reported	$16.80 per hour

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