registered nurse

mental health technician

therapist

licensed vocational nurse

licensed practical nurse

Laurel-Ridge-Treatment-Center

There are too many negative things I can list about working here as a PRN staff member.
-The pay is average for the position, but I think it could be better for the amount of work that has to be done. It will pay the bills, but at what cost?
-I will echo what others have said which is that they are ALWAYS understaffed. Expect people to call out and expect to do an absurd amount of work because they refuse to hire more people. They will not hesitate to take and take until there is nothing for you left to give. 
-They are "generous" about working around your schedule, meaning they will give you your requested time "off," but you will be asked to come in due to understaffing.
-Further, don't expect to have weekends off unless you have seniority, there is a lot of favoritism that happens here. Basically, if you're new you can give them your preferred schedule, but it will be ignored.
-For the PRN group therapist position they will throw you in with very minimal training. It's a YOYO culture- you're on your own. You figure things out on your own, and most of the materials you have to acquire yourself.
-Typically there are 25-30 pts on ONE unit and when it's time to work with them you will be thrown into a room with them ALONE. We're talking about being put in a room by yourself, with no backup, with people who are going through psychosis and people who are aggressive because they don't want to be there or don't like the staff.
-There is minimal (basically nonexistent) support from management. They're quick to tell you that you're doing most things wrong, but still don't provide proper and adequate training. They simply just say, "you should have been told that" or "well now you know not to do that."
-You WILL have about 90-120 notes to complete a day, depending on the units you have to work on. Because they are often understaffed you will typically end up being on 4 units throughout the day, which equates to more than 100 notes to do a day.
-Support from other PRNs is okay, there is some camaraderie there because the job is difficult and the only way to get by is through venting. 

As for some positive things:
-The pts are mostly okay to work with. I mention all of the bad stuff first because the job listing and management are not transparent about what you're getting into. If you lack empathy this will be a very hard position for you to do. The Pts are fine so long as you treat them like HUMANS, which most staff fails to do, which makes the position of the PRN therapist that much harder. The sad truth is that a lot of the Pts just need help that LRTC does not provide them with. There are times when the Pts are off the walls, but that's to be expected since Pts are constantly coming and going, and the milieu shifts so frequently here.
-Additionally, you do get free snacks and meals, which is a plus. The cafeteria is nice, and the snacks and beverages get me through my days. HOWEVER, good luck finding time to eat your lunch if you want to get off work at a decent hour.
-Lastly, if they just hired the proper amount of staff it would not feel impossible to work here. Additional staff would improve the work/life balance so much, and it would be good for the Pts. At the end of the day, management doesn't care about staff or Pts, we're all just numbers and they're trying to keep money coming in; I don't think that will change. If you can, save yourself and find a better place to work. 

Prior to joining Laurel Ridge Treatment Center I had a very inviting interview with one of the managers, and the discussion left me feeling excited to begin working at Laurel Ridge. 

Only 2 months into the position I found myself working an average of 60 hours weekly. Moreover I learned that the so-called "treatment team" does not usually work together (part of the job culture, apparently, for the various units don't work together, either) or know what one another is doing...pretty dangerous when it comes to patient care. On a number of occasions patients had taken notice of this and remarked on it--that most things appeared disorganized, that the staff "always" looked stressed (we were!), and that I did not "even" have business cards--despite having asked for them on day one. During my 8 months of employment with this facility these things continued. I grew tired of working 12-hour days, despite the decent pay, and feeling tired, stressed, and praying day after day that I would get a better offer somewhere else.

With regard to patient care this facility has chosen to place its emphasis on two things:  the census/number of patients (more is always better) and not being sued.

The benefits are merely okay, and the company's healthcare plan administrator changed my enrollment several months into employment because they were apparently no longer offering the plan, for which I enrolled (but still charged me for the higher premium).

If you like being around others, who won't support you and will actively criticize, mediocre benefits and a hospital, which does not consider organization or patient care as its top priorities, you'll LOVE working for Laurel Ridge Treatment Center!

I am passionate about the mission of Laurel Ridge Mission Resiliency in Killeen, Texas--providing day treatment for active duty service members.  As a therapist I led groups daily and was expected to carry a caseload of about 10 individuals, offering weekly individual and family therapy sessions, which was manageable.  CBT is the primary treatment modality used, there is not a whole lot of other training opportunities offered and Laurel Ridge will not pay for CE's or opportunities in advancing certifications.  Lack of support in any growth or advancement.  Management was my biggest issue and ultimate reason for leaving.  As a result of losing connection and lack of referrals from Fort Hood, without notice or warning all full-time therapists and staff (except two supervisors) were moved from full-time to PRN status.  This organization demonstrated a lack of integrity when doing this as they were not transparent throughout the process.  When called into work there was unpredictability and job responsibilities were unclear.  Without support from Fort Hood, the mission has changed and a new program for military adult dependents was added on, primarily focusing on providing DBT groups and short-term intensive care.  The supervisors have poor work ethic and demonstrate lack of leadership skills.  The supervisors were not receptive to feedback and unsupportive towards staff.  Overall, I feel that if leadership were to change than this could be a healthy work environment again, but at this time I would not recommend others to work here unless you are looking for something temporary.

From the moment i got there everything seemed to be in chaos. The worker behind the desk just let me in the gated court yard alone like she was too busy to show me where to go for my interview - I had to bother a worker who was probably busy to find out where to go.  My interview host said they'd been waiting on me and how I should have went through another entrance - I didn't mention too much how it wasn't my fault because I didn't want to look like a bad candidate. We're getting ready to do the computer test and one of the computers wasn't working,  yet apparently it had been working "for all the other applicants that day", coupled with the other events earlier I knew this was a bad sign with this company. I completed and passed the test and waited 30 min to speak with a nurse for an interview that wasn't an interview - they were talking as if I already had the job and strongly implied that,  it was just a matter of what schedule I wanted and if I'd be okay with dealing with aggressive residents; she even said see you soon after the interview - the nurse who interviewed me wasn't the hiring manager, which i didn't realize until after we talked - apparently the hiring manager was too busy to interview me at the moment and would call me back later to schedule another interview.  After I hadn't heard back over Friday and the weekend I called back Tuesday to see what was going on and they told me I basically had to wait for this one busy person to call me back.  A week later I get an email saying I didn't get the job?! - straight waist of time

LRTC is one of the only sites that pay LPC & LCSW interns a salary while collecting hours toward full licensure, and the pay is generous in this regard. I gained much experience in terms of different client groups, but I did not receive much in the way of training. I would highly recommend LRTC for LPC and LCSW interns; no other sites in SA hire interns at this rate. The experience is valuable. The culture varies among the different programs. There is the IOP day program, the inpatient adult units, the inpatient child/adolescent units, and the military unit. I recommend that new employees remember that LRTC is a for-profit hospital - it is what it is. As such, management is pressured to keep overhead down and profits up. Turnover is high, depending on the program. I recommend that new employees keep their heads down, go along to get along, finish your intern hours, and move on to greener pastures. The Center helps many patients; it also fails many patients. There are better programs in the city but none that are hiring at the rate of LRTC (due to high turnover). You will learn a lot here if you can stick with it. There are some great and passionate clinicians and teachers, and there are some pretty awful ones. Stay out of the drama (there is A LOT of drama in some programs), protect your license by taking excellent notes, and leave work at work. Get your hours done, and protect yourself and protect your license with thorough, timely notes (this is the #1 reason clinicians are fired).

They have really good benefits, the starting pay is HORRIBLE! You have to pay for your meals, you only get one free. They rarely give you enough staff to cover your shift! Co-workers were amazing, most of the supervisors are rude but demand respect from you! You can get OT all the time, it’s a hassle  trying to use PTO, you have to work out deals like work 4 extra shifts for ONE DAY OFF! In stressful moments no need to go to anyone they do not care! When situations occur on the units on days you weren’t even at work supervisors try and make you do the paperwork for an incident you was never clocked in for. You can’t trust people higher than you. No matter how great of a staff you are they will find ANY reason to get you out if they do not like you, they will put you in bad situations anything! Favoritism is all around! The more you are favored by ALL SUPERVIORS AND HIGHER PEOPLE the more you get to do whatever you want. Supervisors constantly talking about they employees in a negative way. They let situations escalate until they get out of control no matter how many times you ask them to step and help rectify the situation they wait until it’s too late. Being an employee here you not valued or appreciated! Their is no type of career advancement! The raises depends on how much they like you. If you actually are a great employee they just use you! They have you do everything extra that others can’t do! Disciplinary is NOT the same throughout the hospital! It really can be an amazing place to work if you follow the hidden rules and not the book rules!


*Minimal training(5 days), inconsistent policies leading to unwarranted discipline.

* No lunches granted here even on 16s. Unless you work in non scrub areas. no coverage provided. Must eat at the nurses station or in the copy room. But you get paid.

*Food provided by LR is very poor, but free. It's made me sick before.

*High turn over rate for patients. Many DCs, Admits in one 8 hour shift unless it's long term unit.

*Staff are inconsistent showing up to behavior emergencies.

*Paper charting, ONE medical record in a hand at a time. Hand written everything. Much confusion. Very redundant charting.

*Admissions will rarely medicate a psychotic patient before sending them down to the unit.

*No clerks, RNs must build charts and answer phones all day in addition to their other responsibilities.

*IDD and Autism are often admitted with no specialized programming provided. Very challenging for staff.

*No more than 2 medications given at once for emergencies. Incident reports and page long documents required even for 1 IM on a somewhat agitated patient, even with no restraint or hold.

* Pool staff will rarely get assigned to their desired location. RNs expect to be placed on 1:1s at times on violent patients, even with enough MHW on the units.

* Patients cannot return to their rooms throughout the day, so expect some crowded spaces and behavior running up next to each other.

* Military units are great.

*Adolescent units are very challenging, but no surprise there.

*SUPER political. You're in. Or Out. 






Just because of the nature of the work, you develop a strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie among your coworkers. However, given the nature of the beast, the organization is highly resistant to change and improvement. 

There is a very high turnover in their inpatient units. Unfortunately, you often see power struggles between staff and patients; however, this is not solely on the staff, as there needs to be shared accountability that leadership does not provide sufficient professional development for technicians to be as effective as they could be. They do provide CPI training, but it does not appear robust enough for therapeutic support. 

They state they provide trauma-informed care; however, there are very few practices directly aligned with this title, and at times, it seems more like branding than integrated practice. 

In their outpatient services, it is easier to maintain work-life balance; however, if you work inpatient units, you have to be very confident in your boundary setting, as there can be days when you can stay past the “9 to 5pm” due to last-minute discharges, making sure your patients are taken care of and paperwork is completed. However, these are very common challenges in any inpatient behavioral health setting. 

I was with this company for two years. I was one of the good employees that did everything they asked for. Most of the time I have to work on certain units alone which can be very unsafe. I placed my two weeks notice in to finish my Masters in which was demanding, the HR said no problem as long as you place your two weeks notice you can be rehire-able. Upon completion of my master I attempted to come back and re-apply, I called the HR and they stated I was TERMINATED once I left. Even though I did have the documentation of my two weeks notice with the signature from myself and the HR, I decided I’m not going to fight it. Not worth it! The only good thing about the place is SOME of the co workers. Other than that this place is not to be trusted at all! And also if you get hired here be warned some in your hiring classes probably will be making $2 extra dollars more than you due to who they know (just needed to throw that out there)..... hope this message helped your job search.

Laurel Ridge Psychiatric Hospital hired me right after I finished my 4000 hour practicum. The job was easy at first but as the industrial landscape of the job changed and we had a series of reduction in force I stood alone as the only licensed chemical dependency counselor left. I quickly learned that continuing education was the key to managing clinical and administrative challenges. I was fortunate to work with a multidisciplinary team. The hardest part of the job was working with teenagers who had no internal motivation for chemical dependency recovery and trying to initiate change within a family system. The most enjoyable part of the job was developing a customized treatment plan for each individual and dealing with anything that walked through the door.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 9 salaries reported	$38.11 per hour
Mental health technician 3 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Therapist 3 salaries reported	$30.84 per hour
Licensed vocational nurse 4 salaries reported	$26.10 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 10 salaries reported	$30.03 per hour

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