licensed practical nurse

addiction counselor

counselor

substance abuse counselor

preschool teacher

Operation PAR, Inc.

Working for this company has given me a sense of purpose and the ability to effect meaningful, positive change in the lives of the those in need.  More than anything else, working here has given me a tremendous sense of pride in knowing that I'm able to have a positive influence on the lives of people living in my community who desperately need help.  There's NEVER a dull moment (during patient hours), which can definitely get a little overwhelming at times, but what really gets me through it is the sincere expressions of gratitude from the patients.  You can visibly see dramatic improvements in the patient's health/appearance from when they first begin treatment to even just a few weeks in.      

This is a non-profit organization that accepts Medicaid/Medicare and sliding scale for uninsured, so the pay isn't exactly spectacular.  From a practical point of view, this is the perfect job for anyone straight out of college who wants to get their foot in the door in the field of behavioral health. If you're seeking licensure - this is a great way to get your required hours (while also getting paid).  It can also be really convenient for anyone in grad school because of the early, EARLY hours (5am-1pm).

Plenty of job perks and the benefits are definitely nice - lots of PTO and paid holidays.  Private office to conduct counseling sessions, and management is really responsive to any office supply requests (stand-up desk, comfortable office chair, dual monitors, etc.)  Worst part of the job is all the clinical documentation (which I expect is probably the case at any other treatment facility).  Half of the day is spent interacting with the patients (which I love), but the other half is spent writing progress notes and developing treatment plans - which can definitely be a drag. 

All in all, it's a really fulfilling place to work and a great starting point for anyone looking to work in the behavioral health field.  

What is the best part of working at the company?
You have all the supplies you need. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unprofessional environment.  There’s a lot of gossiping that goes on.  The leadership allows children who come in sick to stay and the teachers end up missing days because they get what the children bring in.  HR says that they are there for you but they really are not. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
We had some difficult parents we had to deal with and the children were full of trauma.  You need to be a trauma informed teacher to work for PAR.  Not a requirement but would help you greatly if you were.  We were always understaffed and had to combine classrooms just to accommodate the children.  I would not work for PAR again but I am thankful for the experience.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I got there early and prepared the atmosphere for the children by playing soft music and spraying a soft scent into the air and praying over my room and my children and parents. I received the children and talked to the parents, gave them breakfast, changed their diapers, did circle time and took them outside for 30 minutes.  Then it was time for free play and more diaper changes and hand washing and then lunch.  After lunch I would wash them up and fix them a bottle if they still were drinking one and give them a bottle and rock them and put them into their crib.  While they slept, I would work on my lesson plans or put up a bulletin board.  After they finished their nap, I would change diapers and give them a snack.  After snack I would take them outside again.  After outside play I would change diapers again and get them ready for pick up. I would give them free play until their parents came to pick them up. After they left, I would clean and sanitize the bottles, toys, high chairs and all the surfaces that they touched during the day.  Then I would get all the supplies that I needed for the next day.

This was my first job after I earned my masters degree but before I got licensed. I would recommend this job for someone right out of school. I loved my co-workers. The nurses, other therapists, and my supervisor were all great. They accepted me quickly and made work more fun. The case load was massive- 60 to 70 clients. With that many it's impossible to truly get to know them. I hated that. I wanted to know my clients and spend more time with them. It's a methadone clinic and it certainly helps some people to eventually get off of drugs, but some of them are simply looking for a legal way to get drugs every day, which was disheartening. I tried to focus on the ones who seemed to truly want help. The compensation is not very good, but the paid time off was nice. I forget how much time they gave but it was better than my current job offers. Also, since this is not a salary job they are pretty strict about not giving overtime, so you typically will not work more than 40 hours per week. PAR offered a good work life balance, you are not expected to take work home. Since I left Par they made some major changes and all of the therapists I used to work with left. I can't speak personally about the changes since I was not there but my coworkers hated them enough to leave. If you're right out of college and looking for some experience then a year or two here would probably be great. The hours here are kind of odd- work starts at 5:30 AM. Some people love this because they get off early, those with kids especially loved it because they could pick their kids up from school. I'm not a morning person, so I hated being there at 5:30. Oh- one more thing- the pay is low, but you will earn more money for more education and experience. Even though I had no experience I had a masters degree, so I still was able to earn towards the top of what they offered. They will give you a raise if you earn a masters degree or get licensed.

Operation PAR offers good benefits to full time employees.  The HR department is very approachable and helpful.  The management is willing to work with you regarding family issues or family emergencies.  Paid time off is better than most!!  PTO Increases with years worked.  Working at the PAR methadone clinic (Medication Assisted Patient Services), you have to work early morning hours starting at 5:00 a.m., but your shift is over around 1:30 or 2:00 pm, giving you the afternoon to be with your family or run errands.  The staff works well together at coordinating care between the nursing department, counselors, and front office staff.  Everyone tries to be a team player at the clinic.  I've noticed the majority of the staff are caring, empathetic people who would not be here if they didn't believe in our goals of helping those people impacted by substance abuse.  One of the  hardest part of the job is the fast paced environment, which at times can be hectic.  However, time goes by quickly, and everyone pitches in to help out.  I would say one of the most enjoyable parts of the job are my co-workers.   These people seem to really care about what they do here.  I have met some good people working here.  Secondly, being there for the clients and seeing them succeed in their goals toward a better life.  Not all may succeed, but for those who really work the program, it is a joy to witness the changes they have made in their life; how they have become productive citizens, working, and being thankful for the help they receive.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with the patients, motivating them to do better, listening and talking to them, and seeing their progress. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Company politics, ever changing policies, backbiting amongst the staff and cliques. Every time management changed, there was always a difficult issue with the work environment. Since starting there the program director position changed 6 times and nursing supervisor changed 7 times and the counselors change out often that there is only one counselor left from when I first started. The staff has a very high turnover rate, some because they go on to get their RN’s or MBA’s, others to get a job that pays more or just because they can’t take the stress of the job.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
There is an air of tension because of the high paced environment, but it is enjoyable to work there. The best way to enjoy working there is to concentrate on your job, don’t get involved in office cliques or politics and get along with your coworkers.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Start at 0500, prep the station, medicate patients for 6 hours while processing any hospital paperwork, adjusting dosages per standing orders and writing new orders. Once medication time had concluded, stations were broken down and cleaned, all meds were reconciled and daily numbers were done.  Once all was completed and chart filing was done, everyone left by 1330.

At one point, I had 86 clients on my caseload- with the exception of my first two weeks, my caseload was NEVER under 70! Management expects you to be "in compliance" at all times with NO overtime and frequent meetings/trainings (about the never ending policy changes) during work hours. Work is also micromanaged by supervisors. Overtime is STRICTLY enforced and it can (will) be removed from your time at the end of the period. Unbelievable staff turn-over which significantly increases pressure and stress for those of us there- because this field is where we WANT to be. Pay is minuscule (not a livable wage for a single check household) for clinical staff/nursing/front desk while management/supervisors/director are buying NEW vehicles and going on vacations to Europe. Handful of coworkers were supportive of each other, but if you did not "fit in" you didn't matter much. Some staff call out regularly and leave the other counselors to cover their caseload as well as the caseloads of the staff that stopped coming to work- some of these patients go for MONTHS without a counselor!

It’s evident that management on a local level really cares and wants to improve the environment for the employees and the patients, but the further up you go, the less evident that is. 
Corporate is in the process of restructuring now, so anyone interested in learning and growing as a counselor should look elsewhere. It used to be a good opportunity for experience and mentorship for new counselors, but corporate decided the individualized 1:1 sessions are taking too long and they’re more interested in paperwork and getting patients in and out as quick as possible. It’s just not what it used to be. The counselors have case loads reaching the 100s with minimal support. The patients aren’t getting the care and attention they used to - it’s just not possible with the workload and requirements. 
The HR department doesn’t respond to complaints of bullying and harassment, and they’ve overlooked clear cases of workplace retaliation. There’s just not a great culture, unfortunately. It used to be a better learning and healing environment on a local level. 


What is the best part of working at the company?
Learning ethics, getting the highest level of qualified supervision for licensure possible, learning substance use counseling services, gaining transferable leadership skills and clinical documentation skills that far exceed any other clinicians clinical documentation knowledge I have worked with in the past ten years. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Having flees in my office that jumped on my clients and a maintenance team that refused to do anything about it until I delivered a empty water bottle of flees I picked off myself during work to the manager as proof there were flees in my office. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
They highly emphasize training and competency of staff. However this high compensation of knowledge and transferable skills gained through work experience balances out with the extremely low financial compensation. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Run group therapy, complete assessments, schedule individual sessions, host individual sessions, manage a caseload.

It starts off fine and inviting. Everything seems normal and it seems like it's going to be a nice calm job working for a good cause. But once you get settled the people around you pile more and more work and expectations on you for no extra pay. The annual raise is only 1-2%.

Entry level positions are not treated with respect. Management is demeaning, insulting and intolerant on a regular basis. And when you report the issues you are having with coworkers nothing is done about it. Even if you're told something is going to be done about it.

The entry level employees are treated like an expendable revolving door and get terminated (or are threatened with termination) for any little thing, but the higher ups behave however they like and stay with the company for decades. 

I worked through goodwill here and when my 90 days were up I got hired full-time at Operation Par, it was okay at first but when I got on full- time with the company things went left, I start getting chewed out by my boss on several different occasions about different things, lied on by clients, other co-workers and doing several different job descriptions that was out of my job description of housekeeping , being threatened about my job, advise no one to work here, this place isn't being managed right , no advancement for another position, with the requirements of having a high school or G.E D, favoritism in the workplace and  special friendships with  other employees, so all the mess that I went through with this job for six months I decided to quit 12-7-2023 and I don't regret my decision, and it wasn't hard for me to make my decision , I made the right decision and I feel free and I'm not tired anymore I got my energy back 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Licensed practical nurse 26 salaries reported	$26.24 per hour
Addiction counselor 4 salaries reported	$20.83 per hour
Counselor 15 salaries reported	$21.55 per hour
Substance abuse counselor 13 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour
Preschool teacher 3 salaries reported	$17.14 per hour

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