youth development professional

mental health therapist

clinical supervisor

registered nurse

direct support professional

Nexus Family Healing

The staff and supervisors of this facility do not honor their current workers time or effort to go above and beyond. You can work 80+ hours and they will straight up deny you time off and give it to a coworker through favoritism. Good luck trying to have any free time, you’re scheduled to work almost daily and then at your team meetings you cannot leave until all open shifts are filled so you end up with overtime way too frequently. They have a whole list of on-call staff that they keep on the schedule but never require them to even show up for pickup shifts. All the work is put on the full time employees. Overnight staff works overtime as well. You don’t get any scheduled breaks and it’s very rare you get to take one when needed as you have to make sure all your coworkers okayed it too. If you have to go to the bathroom you’re usually out of luck especially with under-staffing because you can’t leave unit to get to the bathroom without an extra staff to cover you in that time period. When concerns about schedule changes are brought up they do not make changes and they do not accommodate to their employees whatsoever. When staff need medical leave they are not lenient with it and have fired staff for medical issues and missing work for medical reasons. They tell you to take care of yourself but are also the reason you can’t make it to scheduled surgeries, appointments, etc. 
if the people for shift change don’t come in they try to mandate you to stay in place of them even if you have already worked your scheduled hours or a double shift. 
Staff (including new staff) are constantly working doubles to fill shifts.
They leave shadowing staff alone with the youth when they are supposed to always be with a long-term employee for the shadow shifts. 
I was told in my training to keep my head down and stop asking questions about the job (basically to stop trying to learn the job I was taking) 
Other staff at the job have voiced the same complaints and have been ignored. 


I carry around lots of heavy materials just to perform my job duties from building to building, my boss is very controlling and makes most things more difficult than they need to be, I will admit i have learned a lot from this job, things and skills i didn't know or know how to do before. The management is fine, they do their jobs and that can be difficult sometimes. My co-workers are a different story sometimes. Some are very good, professional, and beneficial to the work environment, however, most are loud, very unprofessional, and don't really do their jobs well. They spend excessive amounts of time talking, whether on cell phones, office phones, or to each other and not enough time doing their jobs, which is why unfortunately, my job is so necessary and difficult sometimes. The hardest part of the job is being the person who has to check up on whether people complete their work, carrying lots of heavy materials to do one simple task, all the steps i have to go through to do any task, and dealing with my co-workers and still managing to get my work done. The thing i enjoy most about the job is the flexible schedule and the pay, and having the feeling that i am a very necessary part of the organization.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing, it is an extremely unsafe environment. The children have taken over the campus. They are absolutely in control, they are violent and nexus does not do anything to protect its staff that gets beat up on a daily basis that is why their turnover ratio is phenomenal.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Knowing that the children are not a suffering any consequences for their behaviors and that there is not enough staff to protect each other when the youth decide to become physically violent, which is several times a day on a daily basis throughout the entire campus.And involves several buildings at a time.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Absolutely horrific. The administration is the absolute worst.It is always short staffed, and the youth on the campus are ungruely because they know that there are no consequences to their behaviors and even if there was a consequence initiated, there are not enough staff to enforce it. The turnover rate with staff is phenomenal.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Daily physical confrontations with the youth lack of support from your chain of command and your administration, complete chaos.

Working at the Woodbourne Center was an eye opener for me. The Direct Care Staff were a group of loving, care, flexible staff with the intellectual capitol needed to really effect the lives of the population for which we served. The direct care staff had rapidly attempted to establish a good family culture standing on the ethical standards set forth by the company guideline but the management would constantly destroy that. Many times the staff really felt neglect and abused as result of workplace bullying, fear of retaliation, and fear of termination.  The management of the staff/clients was horrible at best. The management never attempted to put the staff in the best position to properly perform their day to day activities/jobs. Often the Leadership style was Coercive and based on if you agreed with the management or if you informed the leadership on the wrong doings of others. Often times the management did not represent the five pillar culture for which the company supposedly stands. All though I learned a lot there I only recommend this job as a stepping stone to something greater.  The direct staff are not treated with any value.

Typical day was waiting for everyone, working the shift to show up. Then trying to, get/give information accurately to the next shift. Then having little to no guidance, on groups, and activities. I learned that the company has administrative staff that have no, idea how to run a facility, and how to violate sedentary restrictions laid out by a medical professional. Management at first was great but after the experienced management left the newer managers, were power tripping. Writing staff up for no reason, even threatening staff, to the point staff quit, or were looking for different job opportunities.  The culture at first was great staff respected one another, but later on it turned into high school drama. Staff talking/ starting rumors about other staff. The most difficult part of the job was figuring out, on  a day by day basis suffering from the whim of management how the shift, and client interactions should be run. The most enjoyable part, was hearing how clients have taken the lessons they’ve learned to improve their lives.

Working with youth in residential treatment has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. The staff here truly feels like a family, providing unwavering support and fostering a positive culture and climate. While the work is undoubtedly challenging, witnessing the growth and transformation in the youth is incredibly fulfilling.

Our primary purpose is to build strong relationships with the youth and guide them in developing new skills to change maladaptive behaviors. By teaching them how to regulate their emotions and solve problems effectively, we help them navigate their challenges with resilience.

It takes a compassionate lens and the ability to see beyond surface behaviors to truly support this population. The dedication and empathy required in this role are immense, but the rewards are equally great. Seeing the progress and positive changes in the youth makes every challenge worthwhile. This is a place where both staff and youth can grow and thrive together.

My tenure with Woodbourne is greatly valued.I learned to appreciate more and the importance of showing up with positive impact. 

Prior to my experience at Woodbourne,  I did not understand the presence of residential treatment. It's a great place to learn the industry and get your wet in your career. If you are a certified professional, and authentically invested in helping youth, your knowledge could aid the organization with growth in good directions. 

My advice to people: Learn your role, take it seriously. Take the leap,become a State Certified Residential Counselor. Pay attention to you gut feelings. You are not there to make friends. Listen to the youth openly and apply empathy. Great mentors are always needed. 
Be a voice. Share your process improvement ideas with the executive management. "If you or your child were temporarily residing in such a place, what would you want or need to be successful?"  


Nexus provides its staff with extensive in person classroom-based training as well as on the job training. 

The workplace culture can differ from program to program. Some programs are ran efficiently and smoothly, but others struggle due to various reasons. The individual leadership for some programs are weaker compared to others.

You will be working with and supporting children, teens, and young adults with traumatic backgrounds. Sometimes the youths will lash out due to their past traumas.

Overall the culture from the top brass at the Nexus Corporate Office is positive and encourages healing with the youth and families they work with. It is rewarding to see a youth first admit to the site, work through their treatment issues through completion, and achieve permanence.

I have always been a person who likes to help people and so I was over the moon when I got the opportunity to work at this company. Helping the kids who are just trying to pick up the pieces from what ever situation life threw up on them. 

Staff was amazing for the most part, the kids weren't always the best... But again they are healing from trama.

However, certain children, are so aggressive and disrespectful it was hard to know which version you'd get from day to day. One day they were bright and bubbly, next you're getting sucker punched in the face.

Ultimately, I left due to my own well-being but even now... I wish nothing but the best for those kids and staff.

I really do believe we as staff did our very best to help these kids.

One of the greatest benefits of working in the field of mental health is being given the opportunity to make a positive (and lasting) impact on the lives of others.  Without a doubt, it not only takes a compassionate and dedicated mindset of the individual employee, but also the willingness to be a collaborative member of a professional team.  This agency, and the departments within, work to support, assist, teach, and guide individuals who are navigating through the challenges of mental health.   My personal journey at NFH has been with the Education Department, and the philosophy that guides and shapes this unique on-site educational program is the following: Regardless of our students' histories, mental health, diagnosis, or past perceptions, it is our job to provide them with a new educational experience, and an experience in which they feel valued, heard, and supported. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Youth development professional 109 salaries reported	$20.28 per hour
Mental health therapist 39 salaries reported	$71,096 per year
Clinical supervisor 34 salaries reported	$84,074 per year
Registered nurse 29 salaries reported	$43.53 per hour
Direct support professional 18 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour

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