therapist

registered nurse

administrative assistant

behavior technician

admissions specialist

Meadows Behavioral Healthcare

To be fair, to start out with a significant pro, the company does offer a very generous PTO and benefit package for all employees which heavily promotes a good work/life balance. Part-time employees are also eligible for their 401K plan which includes company match. In addition, many of the employees in the organization are committed to the success of the company and know how to contribute to the team overall. 

Now, for the cons which there are many different ones. To begin with, the company lacks leadership in many of the departments. It might be due to the high level of miscommunication that exists throughout the organization, but it can be very frustrating and contributes to the high turnover rate which is something that continues to plague the company. Turnover was something that I noticed during my tenure there and I truly believe it is because employees grow frustrated with the lack of communication, the changing processes that aren't properly communicated or shown to employees, and the general lack of training. I know many employees were frustrated with the lack of training they received when they started as well as the lack of resources they were given to do their job properly. It feels like the company executives are highly unaware of many of these ground level issues and have become more focused on the future growth of the company and expansion efforts for many of the programs. 

In turn, that has led to employees being viewed more as "numbers" compared to valuable members of the team which is a shame. The company started as a small, hometown company with great core values and a mission statement of trying to be a leader in the mental health industry. It feels as though that has gone to the wayside and the leaders have lost sight of those core values. Furthermore, to go back to the lack of training, that is something that definitely needs to be addressed before anymore growth happens. There are many BHT's and Nurses who are not trained the same way and that in turn impacts the level of quality and service that can be provided in each program to the patients that pay a significant amount of money for their treatment. 

Moving forward, the management and executive team needs to remember their grassroots and how the company started as well as the fact that it's because of the hard work and contributions of their employees as to why they are able to grow so much right now. Don't lose sight of that! In addition, do something to improve company morale such as more team building activities and events where employees can feel like valued members of "one" team. I know Covid has made that very challenging, but there are other ways to make work fun and not make it feel like the same thing everyday. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The Meadows clinical staff do truly wonderful, life-changing work for their clients. It was wonderful to contribute to that work, even in some small part. (Recruitment) 
The clinical leadership is very invested in the growth and development of their associate level clinicians, and because of the inpatient environment, there is so much opportunity for recently licensed therapists to expand their knowledge base & hone their skills. 
That being said, it is extremely challenging work, expectations are set very high, and the majority of clinicians will be expected to commute to site in Wickenburg, AZ long term. (No remote or hybrid options- even after years with the company) 
Benefits are average and while self-care is encouraged, many clinicians have complained of an inability to take time off or even slightly vary their schedules to balance their work and the fluctuating needs of their personal life. 


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The culture. The extremely high (sometimes unachievable) expectations, the consistent turn-over, unpredictable group layoffs, the requirement to be in-office/onsite in Wickenburg with no remote flexibility, the toxic positivity that seems to target and punish well-intended individuals who speak up about problems within the organization, and an HR team that seems to function only to protect the company- rather than employees seeking support or assistance. 
Work stress seems to go hand-in-hand with feelings of unsafety, and that is what I experienced with The Meadows on the employee side- largely due to the ineptitude and lack of empathy on the part of corporate and HR leadership. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
On the corporate side- ROUGH. Do not recommend. 
On the clinical side- while the work is incredibly challenging, the clinicians in leadership seem to be working to counterbalance the corporate side, attempting to creating pockets of safety and support where clinicians can grow. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
As a senior recruiter, a typical day was jam packed with onsite and virtual interviews, seeking out niche clinicians to staff various programs in need, and meeting with clinical directors to gain better insight into their needs. It was difficult to find time to use the restroom and feed myself, much less engage with my peers… which was both expected and punished by the HR team. 
My commute was 1 hour long (sometimes more) and all desert highway, putting a lot of wear and tear on my vehicle. 
I poured my whole heart and every ounce of effort into my work at The Meadows, staffing out multiple brand new programs and backfilling for constant turn-over. It was rewarding work on the clinical side, but punishing on the corporate side.

If I reviewed working here one year ago, I would give Meadows a glowing review. I still believe strongly in the Meadows Model. I worked with some very talented therapists throughout my tenure. That said, there have been recent changes to cut costs that put more administrative and clinical work on me in an effort to stop the financial bleeding. I did not receive a raise for any of this additional work, and so I became burned out.

The company claims you receive 17 days of PTO, but you must use 6 days of PTO for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.). The company also cut how much holiday time we received right before the holiday started in 2024 when many of my coworkers and I already had holiday plans! I had to cancel all of those plans.

Meanwhile, all leadership staff receives unlimited "flexible" PTO and can take off whenever they want. 

There's little/no room for growth within the company. Every day will largely be the same (group, individuals, and intakes). Speaking of intakes, the company will add intakes to your schedule at a moment's notice. My leadership staff rarely, if ever, assisted with an intake, even if my coworkers and I already had full calendars. This meant that I had to cancel my individual appointments (usually without being able to make them up because I have so many patients) and couldn't deliver on the advertised promise of individual counseling. Many of my clients complained because they were in big groups of 10+ people and felt they weren't receiving more individualized care.

The intake process is LONG and requires a few additional hours of administrative paperwork afterwards. You are then graded and compared on your administrative accuracy relative to other locations, all while being expected to plan for group, schedule 10 patients a week for individual counseling, and somehow find time for "self care" and professional development.

Employees are overworked, underappreciated and the culture is unhealthy. Management leaves employees unsupported, employees gossip and talk poorly about their patients. Morale is ridiculously low and seasoned workers get away with poor behavior, creation of their own schedule as they see fit and treating others however they feel fit in a true spirit of unprofessionalism.  Juvenile, judgmental, bias and cowardly behavior occurs on site that will make a person with a conscience  feel sick. Some of the people they hire have little experience and my 10 year old niece could conduct themselves more appropriately within the work setting. The clinical staff act superior to all other staff and make it well known through their attitude and actions and do not have respect or appreciation for those who are non-clinical whom deal with patients on the daily, overall lack of respect and compassion resulting in loss of empathy, compassion and understanding for the patients in which the team and company is supposed to be serving which in turn negatively impacts staff.  Also the pay is offensively low compared to other establishments and offerings within the state, with similar job descriptions under similar organizations-unless you are a management, leadership do not expect a reasonable wage or salary. There is little room to climb the ladder and I watched employees who were promised raises and extra pay never receive what they were told they had coming to them. There is no transparency, and employees are not given tools or direction to succeed, then later their hands are slapped for their mistakes and shortcomings.  

The communication between HR and the hiring manager was poor. There was conflicting information and things HR agreed to were not passed on to the hiring manager. The shadowing process was horrible. You receive little to no direction about where you are going, whom you are meeting, and what you will be doing. I was sent to different campuses and twice the person I was meant to shadow wasn't there. These campuses are not small and you don't know where you are supposed to meet anyone, not that you can access the clinical areas or even staff bathrooms without keys anyway. Once shadowing is complete, you do receive opportunities for continuing education and the training I received from my direct supervisor was great. The culture is different between campuses, with some being much better than others. Covering on other campuses as needed is a terrible experience. You receive minimal guidance and communication around what is needed or how they would like you to do it. When you are asked to cover it is usually an emergency type situation and asking questions is met with frustrated responses. Executive level management has made many changes over the last year with poor communication/delivery and it makes employees feel uncertain about their job security.  Some members in management are great at addressing needs identified by the team and others do this very poorly. Caseloads can be heavy and leadership can be slow to respond to requests for support. Very often leadership is reactive instead of proactive, which increases stress overall. You do get to help patients with a variety of needs. You get a lot of clinical experience and patients have access to modalities and interventions that are helpful. Leadership is supportive of education and offers opportunity to expand you clinical skill set. 

I really enjoyed working at the kitchen I did. It was fast paced and I learned how to complete my work at a faster pace. I learned a lot about food prep at a professional level. We had to prep for 3 other kitchens besides the main kitchen. The salad bars had 3-5 different types of lettuces, and spinach.  The vegetables and the pickles, cucumbers, olives, and other additions numbered a variety of about 30 or more. Plus there were several in house dressings we made. We made our own egg salad, tuna salad and Caesar salads and potatoe salads, plus any other specialty salad. We made our own croutons. We had to make sure the desserts were ready for the noon meal, as there was no dessert for the other meals. 
We had to make sure that we had speciality food for those on restricted diets.
The people I worked with were very helpful to me, being it was my first time working in a professional kitchen. The level of food was very high quality. The head chefs were very kind and made it fun to work there. 
The hardest part of the job to me was the heavy lifting of the prepped food and unprepped food. And sometimes getting all the prepping done as fast as it needed to  be prepped.
I think the most enjoyable part was the learning of the job and challenging myself to work faster.

My experience working at a Talent Acquisition Specialist  for Meadows Behavioral Healthcare was one of the best so far in my career.  Between my director's amazing support and the team's  drive to help each other fill positions with the best candidates, the department was able to supersede our goals.  It is also a company that is well known within the community as one of the most valuable places to work and follows their mission in providing strong behavioral mental healthcare to those in need.  The only suggestion that can be made is the level of communication between management and employees may need to be improved.  

Great clients, but terrible leadership.

The clients and fellow therapists were the only reason many of us stayed as long as we did. Management was consistently unavailable, lacked accountability, and often seemed disconnected from the day-to-day realities clinicians faced. Support was minimal, communication was poor, and concerns raised by staff frequently went unaddressed.

The workload was excessive, work-life balance was practically nonexistent, and there was little opportunity for meaningful advancement. Compensation did not reflect the demands of the position, especially considering the emotional intensity of the work. There were also organizational decisions and practices that regularly raised ethical concerns among staff and made it difficult to feel supported as a clinician.

Hmmm, where do I begin?  Let’s just start right off the bat that they are offering sign on bonuses for new employees anywhere between $16,000-$30,000 for new hires! $30,000 for a new nurse coming to work for a company that I have worked for 15+years. This is not only so completely unfair but just goes to show this company does. Not want to retain the good employees they have now. Morale is so low because they never do anything nice for their employees. HR did away with the committee that was dedicated to employee appreciation a couple years ago. Now they do nothing. Employees are not appreciated at all. So over worked and exhausted from so many changes and case loads. Underpaid but the CEO and Upper management are clueless about what’s going on and don’t seem to give a darn. We are all treated like we are peanuts. 

If you really want a good place to work where they will treat you with respect don’t work here. It’s not worth it. 

I kept hearing about "The Meadows" from patients and decided to apply. What a great choice! For the first time in a long time, I love showing up to work every day. The patients truly make it worth it.

PROS: Competitive wages with annual COL increase. Block scheduling. Management and providers are amazing at most campuses. Mostly private pay/selective insurance, so the patient population is more "normal" compared to public health settings.

CONS: Long commute; most people drive an hour each way and the miles add up. Scheduling can be petty (most people don't get their PTO approved and you have to find your own coverage). No part-time options, only full-time or PRN (must work 5 or more shifts per month). 

Overall this is a solid place to work with a great group of patients and co-workers! 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Therapist 19 salaries reported	$91,447 per year
Registered nurse 6 salaries reported	$47.00 per hour
Administrative assistant 6 salaries reported	$19.83 per hour
Behavior technician 3 salaries reported	$24.00 per hour
Admissions specialist 11 salaries reported	$25.27 per hour

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