mental health technician

therapist

registered nurse

outpatient therapist

clinician

Ridgeview Institute Smyrna

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing if I could give this place 0 stars I would. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The work environment itself is incredibly draining. Patients can be physically and verbally aggressive, and there is not enough protection or backup for staff. You are often left to manage unsafe situations on your own, which creates constant anxiety and fear while on shift. Instead of teamwork, there is a culture where staff can be rude, dismissive, and unsupportive of one another, which only adds to the already overwhelming atmosphere.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
This was by far one of the most stressful and disorganized work environments I have ever experienced. From the moment I started, it became clear that there was little to no structure, support, or accountability from leadership. Management is constantly changing, and instead of creating stability, it has only led to confusion, inconsistency, and internal conflict. Leadership openly disagrees with each other, and those conflicts trickle down, making it nearly impossible for staff to function effectively.

The pay does not match the level of responsibility, risk, or emotional toll required for the job. Staff are expected to handle extremely high-stress situations with minimal support, and at times it feels like your professional license could be at risk due to the lack of clear protocols and ethical guidance. There is a serious concern about how things are handled, and it often feels like cutting corners is normalized rather than addressed.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Another major issue is the revolving door of the same clients. There doesn’t appear to be any effective long-term planning or continuity of care, which makes the work feel repetitive and discouraging. It often feels like nothing is improving, and the system is not designed to truly help patients or support staff.

Overall, this place is extremely unethical in its practices and unsustainable for anyone trying to maintain their well-being or professional integrity. The stress is constant, the environment is toxic, and the lack of leadership makes everything worse. If you value your mental health, your license, and your peace of mind, I strongly recommend staying far away from this facility. Run as fast as you can.

Ridgeview has the potential to be one of the best psychiatric hospitals, but unfortunately those in higher positions only care about the money and not the patients. It also does not help that those in leadership positions (ie; Directors, CEO, and CNO) are reactive and not proactive, and continue to try to apply quick fixes to big issues such as, lack of staff. Due to the lack of staff, therapists are over worked and find themselves picking up the slack of others such as the nurses, UM staff, and mental health techs. 

As a Program Therapist (case manager) you will never be able to finish all that is required of you in 8hrs, especially if you decide to take your scheduled lunch. Also, Program Therapists are salary, therefore you will NOT get paid overtime. 

There is also a lack of appreciation for the Program Therapists. You can do everything right, and show consistency everyday, but if something goes wrong that is out of your control, the directors always try to find a way to blame the program therapists.

On a lighter note, you will meet some amazing people at Ridgeview, and the patients tend to remind you why your work is important. Also due to the "versatility' of the role as a program therapist, you will have a lot of experience to add to your resume.

After Ridgeview was bought by Healthvest the hospital became unrecognizable. Ninety percent of staff left and many of the new staff border on incompetence. Management cares little for patients or staff. Staff is constantly working short-staffed. There are not enough staff to care for the safety and needs of the patients. Management knows this and will not change. Staff is disposable. Just hire another person even if they do not know about psychiatric nursing/care. Management places burdens on staff that they know can not be fulfilled. Patients are not safe at this hospital now. JCAHO called numerous times for safety issues. The hospital fools them into thinking issues are being addressed. They are not. Nurses no longer have input into admissions. Unqualified people in the admission department decide who is too sick to come there. Patients get admitted that are too sick to be there. The only thing management cares about is filling the next bed. They do not care if the patients already there are cared for. Most of the staff on the floor are trying to do a good job with little resources. It is Healthvest, the CEO, HR, and especially the director of nursing that is the problem. Vengeful people that do not want to hear from staff about issues.

Before the change of becoming a for-profit hospital Ridgeview seemed to be a pretty good place to work from a therapeutic standpoint. Despite the fact that it seemed to be in a bubble as compared to other facilities and how they paid their front line workers particularly the MHTs. There were many seasoned workers who had been there for years who’s hourly  pay was  inadequate for the work they did.( even today). Right now  Ridgeview is a shell of what it was, with the staffing being cut everything is affected. The operations of units are lacking as a result of the reduction to  staff, The units are not ran efficiently and this affects the integrity and quality of care of 




 the patients. Safety is a major concern for both the patients as well as the staff and again this is the result of management trying to saving money.
 Even the  infrastructure of the buildings seem to be compromise with the lack of staff to maintain them. (from house keeping to engineering)The patients now have to eat on the units  rather then go down to the cafeteria where they could have choice of the food they want to eat, along  with a salad bar. Going down to the cafeteria is a plus for many patients it meant they were getting better.  Overall and  speaking frankly Ridgeveiw is a “Hot mess” for anyone seeking any type of employment.

I worked at Ridgeview as a dedicated professional hoping to make a difference in people’s lives, but the work environment made that incredibly difficult. Staff burnout is ignored, leadership is disconnected from the daily struggles of the team, and turnover is high for a reason.

Communication across departments is inconsistent at best, and policies often change without warning. The workload is unrealistic, support is minimal, and recognition is rare. Many talented people leave because they feel undervalued and disrespected—not because they don’t care, but because the system doesn’t.

If you’re passionate about mental health and helping people, this environment may quickly drain you. There is potential for this to be a great place, but until leadership listens and prioritizes staff wellness, I can’t recommend it.

I like the fast paced environment and expansion of duties that the company offers. lots of turn over in staffing. I interact daily with a treatment team of qualified professionals- doctors, nursing, and case management.  we all work together to assess patients in a hospital inpatient setting to provide managed care organizations information. this ensures patients have the time they need to recover from their illness following admission. I set up MD reviews, appeals, and data entry of authorization information for billing. I audit medical records to ensure they meet the standard for joint accreditation. I also work prn in intake department doing precertification of new cases for inpatient and outpatient services.

This company is corporate owned. They do not care for the employees or the patients, all they care about is the bottom line number and making sure they are profiting. People who work here will guarantee work nothing less than 2-3 people roles, low pay, long hours and not appreciation. I have seen people get assaulted and nothing happened. The turnover rate is always high and there is no stability but always threats of losing your job. It is a VERY stressful and hostile environment for everyone. This place is the capital of people who will throw you under the bus in a heart beat to save themselves. And do not expect a raise or anything, they will say you will get one but you may be waiting months up to a couple years for it.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The free health insurance that was available. The hospital is understaffed. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The nurse had to do admissions, discharges and manage the milieu at the same time. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is very stressful because of limited computers and documentation was done on hand. It took 2 hours to do a admission. And orders had to taken off by hand. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Medication pass. Finding necessary paperwork to do documentation. Admissions, discharges, documentation, taking orders off chart and little communication with the patient.

This position was for three months as an addictions counseling intern. 

This internship afforded the opportunity to explore all facets of addictions counseling, from practicing counseling skills to the completion of progress notes.

The workplace culture was collaborative. Each staff member was supportive and always available for questions and to provide feedback.

The most difficult part of the job was leaving at the end of the internship, with the most enjoyable being the counseling experience.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing the facility is severely understaffed patient safety is not a top priority 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Showing up and not being provided with the tools necessary to do your job 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Extremely toxic management is about keeping the census up and not providing the much needed psychiatric care patients need 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Frustrating and long during the pandemic patients weren't being screened prior to admission putting numerous staff at risk

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mental health technician 18 salaries reported	$16.19 per hour
Therapist 7 salaries reported	$51,000 per year
Registered nurse 12 salaries reported	$39.04 per hour
Outpatient therapist 4 salaries reported	$50,750 per year
Clinician 2 salaries reported	$22.50 per hour

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