mental health technician

school counselor

crisis counselor

therapist

family therapist

National Counseling Group

This review is based off my current experience with the company and is very subjective so this could change as time passes. 

The Good: The position that I am in is salaried (Exempt) which helps ease the worry over future client cancellations. The Supervisor that I am currently working with is very friendly, approachable, and knowledgeable about the subject matter and has gone above and beyond to ensure that we know what paperwork to complete and where/how to access it. I'm sure it's different depending on which department you work for/who is your Supervisor but mine is great so far! The position and treatment modality is exciting to me

The Bad: There are some job duties that are not specifically outlined within the job description such as marketing. I understand that the program that I am in is new for my area but it is very different to have to chase your own referrals. Support is somewhat there for this activity but there is no incentive or extra pay for it as you are salaried and most places that I have worked for previously have separately defined Marketing/Laison positions for dealing with community stakeholders and obtaining referral sources. It's kind of a doubled edged sword of sorts with having the salary because while it eases your mind about clients cancelling and financial instability I could see it opening the door for poor work-life balance under the mantra "do whatever it takes" due to being salaried. Communication among mid and upper management and lower level staff appears to be strained and Site/Area Director's appear to be very competitive with each other, in my opinion, trying to pull employees in their direction at the expense of other Directors. Very strange but not my circus, not my monkey. Also, you are expected to be on call 24/7 for your caseload; however, there are way I am sure that you can offset this with having clear plans for families to follow before contacting you.

Neutral: I have seen some other reviews saying that there are unethical practices that occur along with lack of training. While I certainly understand that I have not seen anything inherently unethical or illegal yet (as of the writing of this review). As in all other companies you have some Supervisors who are more adept than others at training/teaching and more experienced; however, in this field, you have to have a little initiative and curiosity to keep yourself abreast on the latest practices and making sure that you are personally ethical. As long as you are doing your due diligence there is not much that any company can do to bring you down short of forging your signature on documents etc. I am sure clients will cancel as that comes with the territory when working in community based mental health so it all depends on how your particular company handles that and other issues that may come up as far as job satisfaction is concerned. I have not experienced this with NCG as of yet so I can't attest one way or another. Turnover appears to be high, especially in Supervisor roles; however, in my experience, turnover at most mental health companies appears to be high due to clinicians wanting to explore more opportunities within the field, burn-out etc. 

Sorry for the length of this post but I wanted to be sure to cover all bases that I could think of. So far I am having a very neutral experience with NCG. Time will tell when/if this review needs an update but I hope it can help someone trying to make an initial decision!!!


For the Intensive In-Home counselors, our typical work day can start at 8am and end at 9am (since you are counseling kids mostly, they have school and require later hours). You drive...a lot. In fact, a lot of your hours will include driving. How much does NCG pay for driving? $7.25 per hour indirect. How many hours of your 40 hour work week could you be driving? In my case, about 15 hours. So, in reality, you may be getting paid your salary for 25 hours per week. The rest is indirect. Was this mentioned in the hiring process? Not at all. Essentially, you have to have a large caseload with clients that may or may not want services every week. You are constantly having to figure out if you are going to make 40 hours direct a week. Let me repeat that...YOU ARE NOT GUARANTEED A 40 HOUR DIRECT PAY WEEK.

This job is kind of lonely. You don't associate with other clinicians very often. You mostly see your supervisor. Since clients often cancel their appointments, I would go to the office to review material and do treatment planning, but frequently, the office did not have anybody but supervisors and training staff that was there. So, if you are looking to make work friends, you have to try pretty hard with this job.

Another problem with NCG is how they juggle clients around. Say you have a client that is not compliant with services (doesn't show up, doesn't engage in therapy, etc.), and you ask your supervisor to have them discharged from your caseload. Management will not discharge the client; instead, they will transfer the client to another clinician, WHO WILL PROBABLY EXPERIENCE THE SAME KIND OF NON-COMPLIANT BEHAVIOR. The client gets juggled around, meeting all of these different counselors, causing clinicians to wonder how serious the client is about services, and, most likely, causing the client to lose faith in seeking mental health services.

The counseling aspect of this job is fine, and the supervisors are pretty understanding. This job, though, is not sustainable for someone who just got out of graduate school, has loans to pay, and is paying ridiculous rent rates in the Northern Virginia area. I advise you to look before you leap with this job, because the supposed perks probably don't outweigh the poor pay, running around, and obfuscation about licensure (another story...) that comes with this job.

I've gained invaluable knowledge about crisis intervention during my time with CR2 and most importantly obtained the clinical hours/supervision I needed for my license. If you ask me if I had to do it all over again with CR2, my answer would be NO. The program and the job were more manageable before the current management began in summer 2018. Current management is a cruel, inefficient, incompetent “leader.” In fact, current management is the opposite of a leader and does not possess the skills needed to lead a crisis team. This individual is not compassionate, honest, good at communicating, transparent or emotionally intelligent. This individual does not have integrity, does not take accountability and does not have the vision needed to be a manager of a very much needed and valued resource in northern Virginia. This program could be so much more, but not with the current leadership in place. I admit that I was ready to move on from the position anyway because crisis is a lot of work and takes a toll on your mental and physical health. BUT, also know that management is a large reason in me choosing to resign. I know my value and worth. I can work under a supervisor who is strong and holds their staff accountable. I did that very successfully with prior CR2 management. I know how to take direction and comply when my supervisor directs me to do something. I will not work under someone who is malicious and overall just not a very decent human being. This is a friendly warning from a prior CR2 counselor for anyone looking to join this team. They will make promises to you when you agree to join but know that this is the honest truth of how your experience will be when you are employed as a CR2 counselor. Also, I hope you aren't leasing your vehicle because you will be racking up the miles on your car. 

And for the hire up management...look at the trends in staff resigning from CR2. Yes, CR2 has a high turnover rate because of the nature of the job, but I know you will see more staff have resigned under current management than any other manager. If the shoe fits then you know what the problem is, or who the problem is.

The management was great, but the job itself was stressful.  If you're living in Northern VA, expect A LOT of travel and very little compensation.  This was basically a fee for service job.  If your client cancels...you don't get paid, even if you drive 45 minutes to their home and wait for them for an hour!  There's a lot of pressure to get hours, so expect to work 6-7 days a week, but not fully get paid for all of your hours.  It was nearly impossible to budget since you never knew how compliant clients would be.  I really struggled with not having any set expectations about my salary.  Things may have changed, but when clients would cancel, you would be required to use your Paid Time Off to make up the hours.  So, while the company always talked about self-care, it was really hard to do it with no PTO truly available.

The supervisors (most anyhow) were knowledgeable and the director cared a lot about staff and would bend over backwards trying to advocate for or assist us. It seemed like there was a disconnect between the site and all higher levels.  Many changes and expectations didn't seem in line with what was best for us, but the supervisors and director would always be supportive and encourage us when necessary.

The turnover is bad, as there are a lot of other companies in the area that pay more and offer more stability.  This was the most difficult part as clients and referral sources would have a lot of questions and provide poor feedback about the turnover.  

The upside to this job is that you will learn A LOT since you're working with clients with severe mental illness or behavioral issues.  The staff meetings and supervisions were helpful (and even fun sometimes).  They really tried to create a "family-like" feeling within our site which was nice.



**Ended employment in 2016

I feel prepared to practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor because of the work I did as a Community Based Counselor (CBC) with NCG.  CBC work can be tough and demanding – if you let it.  You will learn to focus on the clients issues and help foster change within the clients world.  I found that the work I did helped develop my clinical style, helped me learn to create appropriate boundaries with clients, know what to do in crisis, and exposed me to a wide variety of clinical issues (depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, personality disorders).  I also feel prepared to one day start my own clinic as I learned to set appointments, hold clients accountable, and develop skills so clients want to continue working with me.
 
Job security is fantastic.  Before coming to NCG I worked for two other home based companies, both of them went out of business while I worked there.  NCG has a ton of programs (TDT, CBC, outpatient, TFC) and they aren’t going anywhere.  They are able to weather various Medicaid regulation changes and I have felt secure working here from day one.
 
The clinical training I received is great.  I was able to get my license (LPC) and feel prepared for clinical work in most settings. I am also a resident CSAC and plan to obtain that license through the work I do with NCG.  
 
I started as a CBC worker and was promoted to Clinical Supervisor and then to Assistant Site Director.  Now that I am licensed I shifted to an outpatient therapist role for NCG and am extremely pleased with my role and job.  The person who filled my supervisor position was also a CBC worker and was promoted from within.

NCG is constantly changing something. Add that to an always changing schedule. They tell you that you are "salaried" but that's not totally true. Yeah you get a base salary IF you can get your clients to meet with you 30 hours week. It's like we get penalized for someone else canceling on us. Even though we STILL drive our car up and down the road all week, you still won't get your gas stipend if you don't make 30 hours a week. That or be ready to clear out YOUR PTO that they FORCE you to use if it's accrued (which makes it hard to take a vacation when you actually want to). PTO is a joke anyway because even when they make you use it, it's not like they aren't still worrying you to death with emails, phone calls, texts, group me, etc. You would think if you are making me put use PTO on a day I was forced to use it because a client canceled that you would at least leave me alone, after all it does stand for paid time OFF. NCG only cares about the clients not what the employees feel. If a client doesn't want to work with you, they honor that request. If a worker isn't comfortable with a client, they try to force us to work with them anyway beacsue they are "the client". They have mental health issues so that gives them a reason to treat the workers like ****. NCG only cares about maximizing your hours (money). They make you do extra work for no reason. You have to put your schedule in Credible just to have it change 50 million times that week anyway. (Pointless) Then you have to do a projected hours sheet that pretty much repeats what your schedule said. In a nutshell, the company is all about the clients, money, and they have unreal expectations.

Management is reactionary and will find a way to turn even the most mundane of problems into a crisis. All of the supervisors are on edge and stressed out frequently because the director requires them to be at her beck and call at all times because she does not have any boundaries around work and expects everyone else who works for her to similarly have no boundaries. Any attempts at having appropriate work/life boundaries will be challenged at some point or another. Oh, the director needs you to answer some whim of hers on your off time? "You're salary so you're expected to work off-schedule". You will work at least 10 hours of unpaid overtime a month.  They also will constantly keep changing the way that things are done, ensuring that everyone is perpetually confused about the correct process. I have been through at least 4 major shifts in what my work looks like and it has not even been a year. And those are just the major shifts. And even that wouldn't be that bad, but every mistake is treated like a crisis. They will tell us that everyone will be patient with us while we learn the new process but this is a lie. If I make a mistake on a form that I am filling out for the first time  I will have 2-3 people sending me emails, text messages, phone calls, and trying to set up video calls to discuss the correct way. After work hours sometimes. Everyone is stressed all the time at this job and in my opinion, this is directly the fault of poor leadership with poor boundaries.

The job was a great opportunity for an individual out of graduate school to learn about what mental health counseling looked liked in a home-based setting. I worked with a lot of different individuals of different ages and various mental health diagnoses. I was always responsible for creating a individualized treatment plan for each client and putting attainable goals for the client to reach. I typically worked 10-13 hours a day, 5 days a week. I was typically on the road going to each client's home unless i was in the office for a staff meeting or a supervisor meeting. I worked with young children dealing with ADHD, Bi-Polar, ODD, Suicidal Ideation. I also worked with adults needing help with life skills coaching. I also worked in a school for a period of time as a TDT counselor and worked with 5 specific children that the school had identified as needing extra one on one counseling due to their disruptive behavior in the school environment. I did not have much contact with my co-workers unless I was sharing a case with one of them or saw them in our weekly staff meeting. I learned to be self-reliant and disciplined. I learned to trust my skills and at the same time improve them on a daily basis. I learned the value of communication due to the constant need to communicate with case managers, parents, guardians, principals, teachers and most importantly co-counselors on a shared case.The most difficult part of the job was the fluctuation in my paycheck due to cancelations. The best part of my job was seeing my clients improve and helping them to make a positive change in their lives.

I have been with the company for approximately a year and a half, and have gained a tremendous amount of clinical experience, received free licensure supervision, been able to start and develop new clinical programs that I've been dying to do since grad school, and recently received a promotion for my efforts. NCG has a million fantastic clinical and leadership opportunities, and if you put yourself out there, you'll get to experience them.

When starting at the in-home level, you will absolutely have to work your butt off, but can realistically make 50k if you're willing to put in the hours. Work-life balance is a challenge for this reason, but once you get the hang of scheduling, you can definitely make it work.

Each office has its own personality, but in general, you're looking at working with involved and caring supervisors who used to do in-home services, too. The company audits themselves weekly to make sure ethics and guidelines are being met, and sends reports to all of the supervisors and site directors, so they can work on addressing problem areas. 

If you are a highly motivated individual looking for clinical experience, able to think on your feet (because cases can be intense at times), and work independently, you'll do well here.

Work/Life balance is difficult to achieve when working in excess of 50 hours per week with no compensation for "indirect" time (paperwork - which takes up the majority of your time - meetings, emails, phone calls, ect); much of which occurs outside of regular working hours. You are expected to work in excess of 3 to 4 hours per day outside of the regular "9 - 5"  due to the many hats/ roles you are expected to fill with very minimal compensation if any at all for the extra work you do. Compensation is based primarily on "direct" time spent face-to-face with clients (this is done so the company can profit from the hours billed to Medicaid and compensate you a small portion of the amount they've received from billing). Your work day can vary widely - anywhere from 9 or more hours a day to 1 or no hours per day (clients may cancel or no show for reasons outside of the employee's control). Management was fair, however there appears to be a general lack of cohesion among management staff as there is a lot of competitiveness and misinformation funneled down to employees. The most enjoyable part of the job is working with clients. The most difficult part is feeling as if you are being taken advantage of as an employee for the company's profit (low compensation with an expectation of high productivity). Also, job security is unstable being that the positions outside of administrative work are primarily client driven. If you value your family life and time spent obtaining multiple degrees, then NCG may not be the place for you.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mental health technician 112 salaries reported	$26.08 per hour
School counselor 86 salaries reported	$1,250 per week
Crisis counselor 32 salaries reported	$68,469 per year
Therapist 1 salary reported	$59,220 per year
Family therapist 8 salaries reported	$63,482 per year

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