youth counselor

mental health therapist

therapist

care coordinator

early childhood therapist

Orchard Place

The overall purpose of OP is phenomenal. These people truly DO care about the clients that come in and for the most part they care about their staff...so long as you have proven yourself. Otherwise it's riddled with cliques and professional favoritism, even more than other jobs I personally have worked.

The training is, again, phenomenal, and they really drive home how to properly engage clients as well as defuse if things get heated. They take a good approach to making sure all staff are comfortable with their training progress and they don't throw too much at you in that regard. They are also quite aware of the nature of the work and tell staff to prioritize self-care and the sweet little discounts to help with that are neat. I just wish it continued.

As I kept working, "check ins" with upper management became less and less frequent to only talking with them when an issue arose. Management, save for a couple of the houses, were pretty hands off on the day-to-day functions and life, only popping in for meetings and pointing out where to improve. It's their job so it's understandable, but their detachment toward the reality of the client interaction put a cheapness on the work the direct staff did.

The direct staff are the other thing. The folks that work here are fantastic people that care immensely for their clients and their success, frankly it makes me feel better knowing these people are in the right place! There is, however, a massive clique culture and exclusion is quite common, especially when personality types and humors do not mix. If you have dissenting opinions about the learning curriculum then forget it, the cliques full on reject you and make work awkward, which isn't great considering the delicate nature of the work.

Lastly the hours and work. OP will give you time, no question about it. Once you present that you can work a lot, you will. Hours range from as small as 2 hour shifts to up to 14 for some staff, which is typical for this industry and level of care, and OP is supposed to give you time off to recuperate. Issue is, they're always short staffed and someone nearly everyday needs to be filled in. Most weekends or days off I had would inevitably have a call from a manager or on-call supervisor text you to come in a cover a shift, either 2 to 8 hours long. I can only imagine the lack of staff is due largely to the compensation vs. the work. They do not pay well, especially for a facility that requires at minimum an associates degree in a specialized field and, yes, the work is quite difficult. Working with suffering and confused clients poses challenge, and if staff support was better as too the pay, I think this place wouldn't have such high turnover. 
I did talk to a senior staff member about the pay, opportunities, and the extras that come with the job, and they made it very clear to me that it was a joke as they had been working at OP for years and they'd been capped out. Not only that but positions to move up are far and in-between, that professional favoritism coming into play. 

Overall this place is NEEDED in Des Moines and I think it means very well in it's mission and community outreach. I just think there needs to be some improvement as to better support their staff both emotionally, socially, and financially.



I believe that Orchard Place has been making tremendous progress in regard to their management, Life Balance, Compensation, Job Security, Culture, etc. 

The only thing  I would like to add are:

Pros:  if there is enough funding I believe that the kids/youth who make a lot of progress at Orchard Place deserve rewards as to take them to the theater to see movies, sports events at the Wells Fargo Arena, see the wild-life at the zoo,  science center, or circus, etc. Some of the company would provide donation. 

Although connection it is very important part. Try to connect with different organizations, agencies, companies, schools, hospitals, media, restaurants, book stores, small business, stores etc. So there will be a solid foundation as a big support system. Not only from the state wide but from surrounding areas. 

Attend conferences to expend the knowledge and purchase more books. Continue to provide confidential information to whom the workers could legally share. Continue carefully to provide safety as who could come visit the kids.

I believe that the kids at Orchard place should have immunization records, due to the fact to prevent illnesses. As well hand sanitize is very important. 

When people working as a team work, it does not matter what politics backgrounds they have. What matter are: to guide them to the right direction, to have compassion, understanding of their needs, and being patient it is very important. Weather physically or mentally. So they could have a better life and future. They will become stronger and more confidence if we do not points of their flaws. Instead rewards them with what progress they have been accomplish.   ~Anonymous~


.

I loved working with the kids and doing the actual job, but The mangers at orchard place really don’t care about you. They will throw in your face you had to take off for covid related issues. They will also get upset with you if you can’t cover someone else’s shift if they call off. Not the person calling off. If you have to call out suddenly yourself for a health emergency requiring an ER visit, they will threaten to write you up and won’t take doctors notes. They’ll have you work 7, 11 hour shifts in a row and not be even the slightest bit thankful for you coming in so much. The benefits are basically non existent and they’re always short staffed so you’re always pushing overtime with no thanks. If you’re night  staff No one will ask your side of a story if day staff does something to you or starts an argument. They will always take the day staffs side and treat you like you’re some criminal scum who’s always in the wrong. They’re short staffed yet also refuse to hire people who are applying. All in all don’t work here. Like I said I loved working with the kids, but the bad outweighs the good in this situation. 

Orchard Place has an amazing mission, but falls short due to how the organization as a whole chooses to operate. Higher-ups turn a blind eye to the underlying issues occurring (poor supervisory staff, lack of flexibility, understaffing, underpaying employees, under-training and overworking staff), which causes employees to fail, which ultimately fails our clients. Though we preach self care as an organization, self care of employees seems like the last priority which leads to burnout and high turnover. The work environment is high stress and support from supervisors and upper management is seemingly nonexistent. I genuinely hope that the organization can turn things around because I know how much our community needs our support. We need to worry more about our clients and how our decisions impact them. Care for your employees. You will see the benefit within the organization, and more importantly, within the community.

The day starts with a handoff from another co worker on the previous shift and reading the documentation. The students follow a daily routine. Staff will escort students to campus, appointments, and visits. I learned the importance in managing my own emotions and personal circumstances effectively through self care and work-life balance. The management is supportive to goals in self-care and safety plans. The workplace culture involves gaslighting, passive aggressive behavior, and leadership have used white lies to get people to accept positions they are eager to hire for. The hardest part of the job is watching students come and go (admitting for circumstantial reasons and discharging after months to years of treatment). The most enjoyable part is playing a positive role in every students' treatment.

Working as an MTC on the residential units can be extremely taxing, however that is the nature of psych units. It can also be extremely rewarding to witness youth grow, change, heal, and discharge successfully. Orchard Place is always working on improving and is open to feedback. What I really appreciate about working here is staff on all levels, from MTCs to the VP, have a voice when it comes to decisions and changes made within the organization. All voices count, management is transparent on what is going on, and there’s a huge emphasis on self care, open communication, and trauma informed care. The treatment program is not one size fits all, but rather tailored to each youth’s needs. There are many free trainings to further your education too. Lastly, the bonds I have forged with my coworkers have turned into long lasting friendships. I love how tight-knit the community is and how everyone deeply cares about helping the youth we serve. 

The knowledge you gain as a direct care staff can set you up for future successes. All of our therapy team used to be direct care staff. There is flexibility in going to grad school. You truly make it what you want. If you always have a negative attitude about the job you’re doing, then you will hate it. I love it, because of my teammates, because it’s rewarding, and because I remember that the kids we work with have trauma and I remember “what’s happened to them.” It’s essential to stay organized, be a self starter, and be a problem solver. Others say self care is impossible in this job, I know it’s not. I’ve been with OP for a few years. I refrain from checking my email on my days off, I help my teammates, I take appropriate time off, and I communicate with my supervisor. Our management team does so much work in problem solving, showing countless ways that they care, and advocating. I’m grateful I’ve had the opportunity to work at OP! 

My co-workers were great. Supervisor and team lead not so much. While being there I was on an emotional rollercoaster with my job/duties. One day I was doing great and the next I was being threatened with HR coming in to talk to me about my performance. I feel I was a guineapig for my team lead bc she has never been one until I came along. The standards she set for just me was unrealistic. The office manger was very childish and would berate me in front of co-workers if I did something wrong or tried helping another co-worker with job duties. I did my job well and was more knowledgeable about what I did than my team lead. Very unorganized place to work. Turn over is horrible there as well.

OP is a great place to grow in leadership skills, as well as to provide a structured environment for youth in the mental health community.  Although each day runs by a specific schedule, it can be difficult to stick to it when crisis situations occur, which happen quite often. During times of stress, staff and the youth are encouraged to utilize "safety plans," created specifically to meet an individual's needs as coping mechanisms. 9/10 times, staff are unable to use them, due to the fact that the buildings are understaffed. It is very difficult to take the space needed to regulate your emotions when needed.

I work on the campus in one of the houses. I help the kids with their treatment, by helping lead groups on the unit and ensuring that the daily schedule was being ran. Yes there are times that consequences had to be handed out but we work as a team and I talk with my teammates before giving consequences.

This job can be stressful just due to the clients that we serve here on the campus. These children have mental illnesses and many have had severe trauma in their past that they do act out at times. The staff get trained on how to handle when there are crises. 

This is a great job for those who have graduated from college and is looking to get into the mental health field.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Youth counselor 18 salaries reported	$18.50 per hour
Mental health therapist 12 salaries reported	$52,250 per year
Therapist 3 salaries reported	$49,833 per year
Care coordinator 5 salaries reported	$19.45 per hour
Early childhood therapist 6 salaries reported	$52,250 per year

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