therapist

mental health therapist

customer success manager

pediatrician

account manager

Hazel Health

I’m writing this as a therapist who used to be genuinely proud to work at Hazel, and it honestly breaks my heart to say that I no longer recognize the company I once recommended to colleagues with full confidence. For years, I felt aligned with the mission, supported by leadership, and part of a community that genuinely cared about clinical integrity. But the last several months — especially following the leadership turnover and the merger with Little Otter — have completely upended that sense of stability. The culture shift has been drastic and deeply demoralizing. What once felt like a thoughtful, mission-driven clinical environment now feels more like a production line, where therapists are treated like interchangeable cogs expected to churn out sessions rather than provide meaningful care.  The sudden layoffs hit especially hard. Watching almost entire teams — account managers, customer success, and other essential support staff — disappear overnight and be replaced with AI-driven systems was incredibly unsettling. From my perspective, the impact was immediate: fewer referrals, inconsistent communication, and a fractured infrastructure that no longer supports the coordination needed for quality care. For a mental health organization to lean so heavily on automation at the expense of human connection feels profoundly contradictory to everything we stand for.  What makes all of this even more frustrating is the new productivity expectations placed on therapists. Not only do they feel completely disconnected from clinical reality, but they also seem practically impossible to meet given the current state of referrals. Many therapists simply do not have enough incoming clients to fill their schedules — and that is not due to a lack of effort on our part. On top of that, families frequently cancel or no-show with no meaningful consequence, partly because the service comes at no cost to them. This is the nature of the work and the population we serve, not a reflection of therapist engagement or commitment. Yet the burden of these cancellations is shifted entirely onto therapists, who are somehow expected to hit unrealistic session targets despite factors completely outside our control. Instead of penalizing clinicians, leadership needs to rethink how cancellations are managed and consider more effective system-level solutions that support both families and providers.  Adding to the strain, many of us have taken salary cuts of more than 20% — at the exact same time that expectations have intensified. In this economy, that kind of financial blow is not just discouraging; it’s destabilizing. It’s incredibly hard to feel valued by a company that tells the world it cares about mental health while showing so little concern for the wellbeing of its own clinicians.  I’m speaking up because I care deeply about this work and about the people who do it. I want Hazel to succeed, but ignoring the impact of these decisions will not make the problems go away. I strongly encourage other therapists and employees — past or present — to share their experiences too. Honest, collective feedback may be the only way leadership begins to understand the extent of the damage and, hopefully, course-correct before things deteriorate even further.  I never imagined writing anything like this, but from my perspective, Hazel today is simply not the company it used to be. Without meaningful, urgent change, I worry about what it’s becoming — and what will be left of the mission so many of us once believed in.

Hazel Health provides meaningful opportunities to deliver telehealth services within a school-based model. A typical day involved multiple virtual sessions, documentation, safety planning, and coordination with school personnel. The clinical work itself is rewarding, and I gained valuable experience in crisis intervention and virtual care delivery.

However, during my time there, the company experienced frequent restructuring, leadership changes, and internal shifts in expectations. Productivity standards and role responsibilities evolved over time, sometimes with limited clarity or transition support. Layoffs and organizational changes affected morale and created uncertainty regarding long-term job stability.

The hardest part of the role was managing shifting operational expectations while maintaining consistent clinical quality. The most enjoyable part was working directly with students and seeing positive mental health outcomes.

Hazel can be a good fit for clinicians seeking telehealth experience in a fast-moving environment, but candidates should be prepared for change and understand that organizational direction may evolve quickly which could mean role elimination.

A typical day is extremely stressful. Leadership is understanding about the need for a flexible schedule to take kids to/from school. However, if I have to miss a meeting, my supervisor takes away my lead status and gives it to another employee. The company communication is poor. I rarely know who to go to for information and duplicative efforts/work are common. No one on my team in management level or higher has managerial experience or is trained. The teams that impact revenue are regularly threatened with being demoted, terminated or just belittled. HR has been nonexistent, and the recent hire does not have HR experience. Team members have reported bullying multiple times (or tried to) and it is not addressed but brushed off. Management constantly changes priorities and project direction. There is not managerial or leadership support. It is challenging to get promoted and raises are low. Staff turnover has become frequent and the company has lost a lot of amazing employees. Executive leadership staff function on a hierarchy and treat anyone "below them" poorly. We are often given unrealistic projects with extreme tasks and deadlines. I appreciate the opportunity to advocate for a great purpose but I am not happy working here.  

I had a really supportive supervisor and a great team, and the remote flexibility gave me a good work-life balance. Working with clients made the job feel meaningful and aligned with the company’s mission. Unfortunately, I was laid off with no notice, along with about 130 other staff members. There was little transparency during the merger, and it often felt unclear where the company was headed. Clients, especially high-risk youth with significant trauma, were not given proper closure, and many immigrant clients were simply told their therapist had “transitioned” with no follow-up, which made the situation feel very disorganized and concerning. Leadership has NO respect for our code of ethics and the well-being of our clients. 

It is also frustrating to see part-time roles now being promoted in my state and others, without those opportunities being offered to staff who were laid off or to ensure continuity for the clients we served. I hope moving forward, there is more transparency, accountability, and consideration for both employees and clients during major transitions.

If there’s anything to be learned from working at Hazel, it’s how not to run a mental health service. The lack of ethical client practices and the disregard for clinicians’ well-being make it clear that the company prioritizes profits over care. The culture is toxic and dehumanizing. Clinicians are treated as productivity machines rather than professionals with expertise and needs. There is no collaboration or understanding—just an oppressive push to churn through as many clients as possible, no matter the impact on quality of care or staff well-being. The hardest part is trying to maintain any sense of professionalism and ethical practice in an environment that actively works against both. The relentless pace, lack of support, and disregard for clinician or client needs make this job unbearable. The only positive aspect is working directly with the clients themselves, as they deserve quality care. Unfortunately, the system in place at Hazel makes it nearly impossible to provide the level of care they truly need.

Being a therapist for Hazel does have its Pros (you get to work from home)! However, it stops there. Initially, when I was hired to work at Hazel, I was able to have small breaks in between my sessions to write  notes, get up and stretch, conceptualize the session, etc. Hazel has changed drastically since I began working there. Now, in the company’s  words, the goal is to “optimize the schedule”, meaning all of our breaks were taken away except for lunch. If you are ok with seeing 8-10 elementary- high school students back to back then consider it. The micromanaging is drastic. Although they tell the therapists they can schedule their own clients, it’s not really a benefit. They will consistently look at your calendar and make sure there are no gaps in between your sessions. You should also consider how this is a recipe for major BURNOUT. I had no time to prep or plan my sessions. The higher ups pretend like they care about their therapists, but it is all a facade.  

Working from home has been the best part of this job. When I initially started, I was told that the expectation was to see 25 clients per week and that there was flexibility in how we could schedule them out. There was no micromanaging of any kind. Everyone was so welcoming and supportive. Now as the school year is coming to an end, there has been more of a push for optimizing our schedules. The supervisors are micromanaging schedules and forcing us to close all the gaps to make room for more clients as the cancellation rate is currently 30%. As it stands, being a full-time employee, you run the risk of seeing up to 8 clients per day if you work 5 days a week and 10 clients a day if you work 4 days a week. In my opinion this is a recipe for disaster. I predict a lot of burn out, compassion fatigue and ultimately turn over if things don’t change. 

At the onset of being hired, I felt greatly supported and valued by leadership. However, like any start-up, there were and still are gaps that have led to frustration and burn-out by myself and colleagues. Similar to other reviews, the 'optimization' of your schedule has drastically increased the number of clients you see per day ranging previously from 3-4 to 6-9 a day which is not ethical, especially since we are working with children and adolescents and there needs to be more time to prep for sessions/chart/etc. The benefits and pay are in the high average however given the number of clients you may see per week, it may not be worth it. There is typically weekly supervision and team meetings however it can get tricky in balancing everything. As this is a start-up, the tech involved is also still evolving and there continues to be hiccups along the ways which sometimes impacts session.

Terrible place to work. They make you false promises upon interviewing/hiring. Most of the clinical managers are rude or have no idea what they are doing and it ends up going up to their chain of command. No, you are not in control of your own hours. No, you will not have a work life balance. You are expected to be a machine and have no control over the kinds of clients you see. Meetings are basically opportunities for "experts" to act like peacocks with each other.  You are expected to get a license in other states or else experience passive aggressiveness from superiors. The salary isn't worth it and you are walking a fine line with your code of ethics. Never again. 

I worked at Hazel Health for a few years, and unfortunately, my experience was far from positive. The management was disorganized and lacked proper communication, which often led to confusion. There was little to no support for professional growth or advancement, and the work environment felt stagnant and unappreciated. Employees were often overworked without proper recognition. Additionally, the administrative higher ups was toxic, requesting therapists to seek additional licenses from outside states. Overall, it was an incredibly frustrating experience, and I would not recommend this company to anyone looking for a supportive and healthy work environment. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Therapist 47 salaries reported	$80.16 per hour
Mental health therapist 29 salaries reported	$40.03 per hour
Customer success manager 5 salaries reported	$27.63 per hour
Pediatrician 1 salary reported	$145,000 per year
Account manager 1 salary reported	$120,000 per year

Working at Hazel Health: Company Overview and Reviews

Hazel Health

Hazel Health Ratings

Popular jobs at Hazel Health

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected