addiction counselor

mental health therapist

patient access specialist

behavioral health counselor

outpatient therapist

Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health

I agree with the person who said they were "micromanaged down to the molecular level."  Structure is a good thing but this environment is suffocating. Multiple supervisors with different expectations, sometimes one wants you to lie to the other one. "Supervision" consists mostly of nasty little comments and asides. Any difference in clinical judgment is not permitted, and certain of the supervisors actually have rather poor clinical judgment when it comes to issues such as LGBT inclusion.  They are certainly not open to anything that suggests they themselves could improve.
 The philosophy for the rank and file employee seems to be "if you aren't having daily anxiety attacks, you aren't working hard enough." Management and their favorites, OTOH, get to coast, take time off when the office is already short staffed, etc etc. 
Even the pettiest client complaints are treated as Very Serious Issues and fodder for chastisement. Even if you document all your interactions with a client, management will not back you up because they want the numbers and will act like hotel managers if that keeps people coming back. 

It's no surprise that they always seem to be advertising--anyone other than the core group gets sick of it and moves on to save their sanity.

 Since I have been here, there has been a transitional period where a lot of things are changing but the company has been extremely transparent during this period which is greatly appreciated. The team that I work with (Patient Engagement) has been patient and understanding from the start with a great supervisor to help lead the team and continue to strive for success. Management has also been understanding and flexible when it comes to work-life balance and assists with time off or remote working as needed. Each team that I have worked with always tries their best to accommodate and assist each other which creates a very connected workplace culture. Of course, the job comes with some general stressors but everyone that I have encountered has been understanding and willing to assist as needed. Before working at Kolmac, I was hesitant about starting here because I read some of the other more negative reviews but since starting, I have zero regrets. Overall, a great company to work for!



In the beginning, I was very excited to work here, but after a few months, I could feel the burnout. It's a high-stress workplace environment which added with excessive micromanagement, makes it absolutely terrible to work at. One could even push it through had the pay been better, but it's pretty average. On top of that, every coworker is just out there to either get you or save themselves and their own interests. Any new suggestions are shot down. I felt very lonely and unwelcomed during my time there. Things change on a whim's notice and information is not brought back while you are still expected to somehow know it. The Asst. Clinical Director would try to help herself and her agenda of getting up the ladder while tromping on those below her. I was hired as an office manager, but all I would constantly do is work as a "glorified receptionist" trying to do front desk tasks on repeat.

Upper management/administration appears to see the treatment model as a sacred cow and do not adequately understand the modern nature of addiction treatment.  Additionally, and perhaps actually nefarious, is that they give lip service in their literature to concepts/theories that reflect modern addiction treatment but they shirk consistent application of those interventions. Egregious lack of professionalism on part of senior management that dismisses front line staff's suggestions if they even remotely challenge the aforementioned (sacred cow) treatment model.

Every intervention was dissected, every interaction is confined and controlled and the Director enforces her power with an iron fist. There is no room for growth, making a mistake or even having your own ideas to share with the staff. As an intern your time is not valued in any meanful way and any confidence that you might have will be shut down by the director and reinforced by the regional director. Changes are only made if they benefit the hyarchal system in place and even clients are disregarded if their needs and wants conflict with management. I’ve heard that the Gaithersburg location is much more welcoming, but the Silver Spring location is cut throat!

Loved working here until the new CEO came on. The culture of the company shifted from prioritizing good patient care to how can we profit off of vulnerable people. Decisions are now made based off of finances and doesn't take the patients into consideration. If the pay and benefits were better I would be willing to stick it out. Once the founder left and most of upper leadership also left I knew it was time to go. Communication from the top down is a mess and felt like I never knew what was going on. I really can't give a single reason why you should work here. 

I was working at this organization and I was bullied and discriminated by my direct supervisor and co-workers. She did not take my grievances seriously, and, she held a bias toward a particular co-worker. This co-worker would be rude to patient’s and was months behind on paperwork - with no consequences. I became very depressed and ultimately terminated for something I was told to do. Overall I enjoyed the company, but the office culture was toxic and emotionally exhausting. The patients were great and extremely resilient. I wish the company the best, however, it would be wise for them to re-evaluate management.

I've worked at Kolmac for two years and I love my work as a counselor. I co-lead groups, have a great team. Working with the patients is the best part. Sometimes I wish there was more flexibility with my schedule. The leadership team is dedicated to the patients and is very responsive to employee needs. Everyone did an amazing job transitioning to telehealth because of COVID. Because of Kolmac's growth there are also a lot of opportunities for growth. 

I initially loved working here until I got tired of hearing about "the model."  That is the clinical model that all of the group therapy was based on. Management had a tendency to talk out of both sides of their mouth in terms of what they wanted from staff and the CEO (who I believe has since retired) was a misogynist with no experience in addiction treatment. and there was soooo much focus on client retention that client care was lost in the shuffle. 

I learned a lot during my time working for this company but the culture fostered by senior management took its toll.  It was clear who the favorites were.  Once the change in ownership happened, things went from bad to worse.  There was little regard for the impact of decision making on patient care.  Employees were not treated respectfully and left without any meaningful support.  The decision to add more highly paid executives while cutting front line management was the last straw.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Addiction counselor 55 salaries reported	$29.77 per hour
Mental health therapist 35 salaries reported	$87,214 per year
Patient access specialist 27 salaries reported	$21.07 per hour
Behavioral health counselor 7 salaries reported	$33.13 per hour
Outpatient therapist 10 salaries reported	$28.50 per hour

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