support specialist

medical assistant

therapeutic staff support

call center representative

outpatient therapist

River Valley Behavioral Health

Working at River Valley has been a disappointing experience. The pay is extremely low considering the level of responsibility, especially for someone with a bachelor’s degree. After calculating my take-home pay, I was making only $16.87 an hour, which is not sustainable for the workload expected.

The caseloads are consistently high, with very little support. On top of that, there are no real safety protocols in place for staff when working in the community or entering participants’ homes. This creates not only stress but real safety concerns.

Additionally, staff are not supported if a client makes a complaint—regardless of the circumstances. It feels like management is more concerned with keeping participants happy than protecting their employees.

When audits come up, staff are often notified the day before that documents are due, creating last-minute stress and piling more pressure on top of already overwhelming responsibilities.

In short, the pay does not reflect the expectations, and the lack of support and structure makes this a difficult and draining place to work. I cannot recommend it.



I typically work 8 am to 5 pm and sometimes work on-call for peer supports when when have emergencies or vacations or breaks.  Typical day is very diverse depending on the situation.  I follow up with clients following their initial contact with the Crisis Line in which the Mobile Crisis Team responded through the 988 Suicide Prevention Crisis Line.  Also, as needed I perform targeted case management up to 5 clients at a time.  Workplace culture is very supporting, caring, collaborative, and fulfilling.  I like taking my lunch as needed and have a great upper management team.  The hardest part of the job is when clients do not follow through with appointments that are really necessary or return to substance abuse or the resources you provided did not pan out.  I just wish the tuition reimbursement was higher as you go to college because it is based on how many other employees are also going to college as you have to share the reimbursement.  

Let me start by saying that the clients that this company serves are amazing. Being able to work with such great people toward their treatment goals has been extremely rewarding. The overall mission is one to be admired. 

With that being said, the mission seems to be neglected in certain areas of the company. Management needs to learn to treat all of their staff fairly. There is a lot of favoritism, and praise for sub par work. There are great employees who do not get the recognition they deserve. Due to the unfair treatment from management, a lot of compassionate people have left. There are a couple of great staff running the show behind the scenes, but inadequate staff get the credit. This company was great, but due to management changes has created a hostile work environment. 

I love my job because it is part of the career path that I've chosen. On a daily basis I am responsible for scheduling, registration, answering phone calls and delivering messages. I am also responsible for logging doctor charts, obtaining prior authorizations for medication, and filing patient assistance claims. I have learned a tremendous amount of information while employed with this company. I'm an easy person to get along with so I enjoy my co-workers. The hardest part of my job is having to maintain the doctors schedule and medication for our patients. The most enjoyable part of my job is that I am doing something that I absolutely love. It's not just a job it's my career!!!

I was employed for the company for a few years. It’s about who you know at that company.  If you get on someone’s bad side you are quick to go.  They will find a way to get rid of you in time.  So many shady things happen, but brushed under the carpet. Like I said it’s about who you know there. I witnessed many good people unfairly terminated and others employment continuing who committed several serious violations. They will work you like a dog if you allow them for little pay. Once you are no longer a benefit for them you will be easily dismissed. If you plan to work here do not make it a place where you plan to retire. Unless you are close to the executive staff and have connections you will not make it very long there.

Working with children with behavioral issues in a home base environment and school setting . Making sure the children have received their medicine in a timely manner. Making sure that the children are doing what need to be doing with school work if they have behavior they taking out of class being escorted by staff and place in the quietroom to calm down placing the children in holds to protect themselves and others and staff if they are coming aggressive or self abuse towards themselves or staff . Making sure the day is running smoothly the mental health technician is the leader of the floor and staff and children until the shift is over making decisions for everyone .

With my experience, I worked for this company for almost 3 years. I worked for barely over minimum wage, 50 plus hours a week, plus all holidays and all weekends. Management did not provide encouragement, instead constantly complained about what the employees could do better. While being overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated, you had to deal with constant criticism and judgment. The only plus of this job was that you were there daily with patients who needed you as an advocate and for their daily living, so you got to bond with people who relied on you the most.

The modules your given will greatly help anyone coming into DSP work. The HR that trains you is great. The downside is that you will be asked to work more than 48 hrs a week which is a normal 2 days, you sleep when clients sleep. But working 5+ 24 hrs a week if someone quits or gets sick is hard.
The hardest part is dealing with supervisors and other DSP's. Record all meetings because you can and will be backstabbed. You might give up just because of the supervisor's lying. 
Clients are great to work with, it's just a dookie on paper work.

As a seasoned professional, I have never worked at such an unprofessional place of drama, lies, and mess.  The administrators are rude, distespectful, and deceitful and have no problem violating employee rights and privacy.  Children are treated poorly and are attended mostly by people who have no training or much intelligence to work with dangerous, traumatized, and challenging individuals.  Overall, this is an absolutely dreadful place to work with a toxic environment.

For the first year or two, I was skeptical as there was a lot of unspoken “rules” and cliquey behaviors in management. However, once I established myself as an employee that was sticking around for the long haul, my relationships with EVERYONE changed. I feel this has to do with how many people come for training and then dip. I’m sure that can be frustrating for management, but you do you. It’s a great job with great benefits and extremely competitive pay. Not to mention the comprehensive supports we have for our clients. Love that. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Support specialist 32 salaries reported	$14.98 per hour
Medical assistant 17 salaries reported	$17.93 per hour
Therapeutic staff support 20 salaries reported	$14.70 per hour
Call center representative 13 salaries reported	$17.38 per hour
Outpatient therapist 9 salaries reported	$59,893 per year

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