residential counselor

residential manager

mental health technician

direct support professional

program coordinator

SERV Behavioral Health System, Inc.

 Extremely catty atmosphere - Other departments frequently CC tons of people on every email and try to make you look bad before you even have a chance to look into things. People in every department gossip frequently about employees.

Favoritism - Promotions are based on favoritism instead of hard work. Certain people are treated well no matter how little they do while others are treated poorly no matter how hard they work. Evaluations reflect personal biases from management instead of reality.

Micro-management/Toxic Environment - Employees are not trusted to work independently. Senior management will not allow managers to manage employees. Instead they issue orders that are to be carried out by managers. They manage through their managers. They don't allow their managers to take care of things. Senior managers are toxic perfectionists. 

Pay - Pay is far below the market rate across the board. Even promotions are usually met with a very low boost if any.

Turnover/Job Security/Advancement - Senior management is extremely cliquey. Highly qualified staff members are written up in an effort to get them to quit, save unemployment costs and replace them with cheaper employees. Senior management frequently engages in gas lighting and quiet firing. Hard working employees are removed from core duties and given lower level responsibilities and excluded from meetings. They are also forced to complete large projects, train other employees and write standard operating procedures before they are fired and replaced with someone cheaper. 

Harsh evaluations are given in an effort to make people to work even harder for their low rate of pay. Second-hand gossip from catty employees ends up on evaluations from managers.

Hard working consultants are not rewarded with job offers while insubordinate, gossipy consultants are.

 They have a lawyer as the head of HR. That should tell you everything you need to know.

 Senior managers are often away from their desks or listening to podcasts instead of rolling up their sleeves and working hard like everyone else. 

A typical day at work would start with a panic attack.. followed by walking in the door, being briefed by the staff whose shift was previous to yours (they were required to clock out EXACTLY when the schedule said their shift ended, NO EXCUSES *exceptions made IF there was an ongoing emergency at the ending of the shift - BUT managers usually would prefer a handoff to the next person on shift). It depends on your exact schedule, but for me - ALL/MOST shifts are worked alone (sometimes there was a 2 or 4 hour overlap), but with how OFTEN the residents bother you or have to be taken to appointments, it is EXTREMELY difficult to get everything done in ONE shift. Management ALWAYS EXPECTS EVERYTHING (notes in EMR(s), physically written down notes of what happened that day) TO BE DONE THE DAY THAT IT HAPPENS WITHOUT ACCRUING OVERTIME, WHICH IS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE… Managers don’t even put notes into the EMR system for residents OR write out a “daily log” sheet, so why they expect us to do it is beyond me… There were MANY times that I had a manager that FORGOT to even write down (in “med-log” book AND in the resident’s EMR chart) that medication was monitored for a resident and that is a BIG “NO-NO“ and something that they would fire someone beneath them for… but apparently managers are untouchable.. 
Overall, this company is the worst. I NEVER had ONE CHANCE/DAY where I actually got to sit down and eat lunch WITHOUT working while I was eating. I felt like a slave, and I was being paid like one too… 

THIS JOB IS A WASTE OF TIME! They say they aren't required to give you a lunch break so you won't always get one whether you work an 8 hour shift or they force you to work a16 hour shift and I do mean FORCE unless you want to lose your job.  I once called and told a counselor that I hadn't eaten in 10 hours and I'm feeling faint after getting stuck and she said well you can't leave so I suggest you order something like they pay enough for that. You will have to work a 3pm-11pm shift and return the next day at 7am for a 7-3pm shift just to not be relived at 3pm because your relief called out and they cannot find coverage so now you have to wait until 11pm for someone to arrive. You better hope that management found someone to relieve you at 11pm because if not you'll expected to be there for another 8 hours, a whole 24 hours GONE. Senior counselors will ignore your calls to call out, won't help you find coverage if you get stick (some of them stick you purposely if they cannot find coverage), and refuse to come in, in place of you even if it costs you money.They gave their workers a raise $13.99 to $14! You can barely take a day off or tend to your regular life working here. Don't expect to ever move up in the company. Management doesn't care about its workers, it's all a game to them. Some of their demands are ridiculous (be a maid, be a chef and prepare dinner, be a collection agency and collect rent and pharmacy dues, transport consumer like a cab driver, etc.) . Some homes have bed bugs so good luck. The company isn't understanding or empathetic to you. It is exhausting and stressful.  People quite all the time and barely hire anyone so the workload falls on you. If they don't change things this company is done for.

Initially, it’s all peaches and cream when you start off with the company. Eventually, you will be approached by veteran employees who bad mouth the hire ups and culture of the company as a whole. Leadership and Management is pretty much non-existent. There is no communication, you hear about changes within your own department through gossip and water cooler talk. Additionally, certain Management are extremely unprofessional - will openly yell, belittle, curse and threaten employees. 
Upper Management, although made aware, does nothing to stop this type of behavior. You will receive no support, unless you are willing to play by they’re game. If you find yourself on the wrong side of certain management, you’re work life is made extremely miserable. Purposefully ignored and excluded, the objective - to seclude you so much that you ultimately want to leave. 
Although, there are management that are aware and will attempt to give you helpful advice; they’re hands too are tied. Oh and don’t even bother giving the appropriate, professional 2 week notice when you do decide to leave, as they don’t work by those same rules or guidelines. You will be sent home long before your 2 weeks are up, and medical insurance immediately terminated, even if at the beginning of the month. 
No loyalty, no respect, no support and no proper training or help! Employees from janitorial staff, direct service and management have all complained about the culture of this company. Just wait till your first all staff town hall meeting; but by then it’s too late!

( b l l acck raaaciii st ffffffuuuuuu. cccckkkkksssssThis was one of the most frustrating and unprofessional work environments I’ve experienced. There is a clear disconnect between policy and what is actually enforced day-to-day. In my experience, doing your job correctly and following procedures does not always lead to fair treatment—in some cases it felt like it made you a target rather than being supported.

Management and leadership were, from my perspective, inconsistent and ineffective when it came to handling staff concerns. Issues reported through proper channels, including HR, did not feel meaningfully addressed and often left employees in the same or worse situation afterward.

The workplace culture felt chaotic, with ongoing conflict between staff and poor communication across teams. There was a lack of accountability, and basic professionalism was frequently missing, which made it extremely difficult to maintain a stable working environment.

I also had serious concerns about the overall standards of care and attention in the facility. At times, it felt like resident well-being and proper procedure were not consistently prioritized, which was extremely disappointing given the nature of the work.

Overall, this was not a supportive or professional environment. Based on my experience, I would not recommend working here unless major structural and cultural changes are made.

The best part about Serv is meeting the clients and helping them reach their goals. 

There have been ups and downs with this company, but one thing that has never changed since day one  is the gossip, drama, and division amongst different positions and even different parts of the county. If everyone could just come to work and do their job, it would be a better place. Be careful who you trust. They may throw you under the bus. 

Management is inconsistent on training staff on site, and some of the managers above you don’t know what they are doing/how to do their job….so they constantly ask you how to do their job….but get paid more because they have a Masters Degree.

I think Serv should focus less on your degree, and more on staff’s abilities, time within the company, experience, loyalty, etc when it comes to advancing within the company. 

Also, recently Serv decided to discreetly give employees who work in certain parts of Middlesex County a $2 raise, leaving the others out. Not realizing the damage that would cause and how it can be a slap in the face for those who come into work, and do everything they are supposed to and so much more. Unfair and a decision made in poor taste.

I love the clients but Serv just has a lot of work to do. There is a disconnect between direct support staff and upper management.  

Overall advocacy and oversight of residents - interactions and responsibilities included general counsel; monitoring, packaging, and upkeep of medications, scheduling and confirming various appointments; transportation for recreational, medical, and other trips; advocacy for benefits coverage, assisting in other activities of daily living; documenting daily and weekly happenings and overall progress of residents. 

Learned to create a positive rapport with residents, other staff, and outside healthcare providers; patience and understanding for those with mental illness; and better organization and efficacy through micro and macro management of daily tasks with each resident.

Management and co-workers were both professional and personable, easy to work with, with each staff member taking care of their responsibilities while ensuring overall team efficiency.

The hardest parts of the job were at times, working with a non-compliant or avoidant resident, also time management of daily tasks and responsibilities within a single shift.

The most enjoyable part was the satisfaction of aiding in the rehabilitation and overall progress of a resident, betterment of quality of life.

I’ve been in the social work field for over 10 years and I must say that SERV has been one of the best. In my experience management has always been an issue either to rude, dictator like or unprofessional. At SERV that is definitely NOT the case. SERV offers supportive management that guide and assist their staff with respect and professionalism. The culture at the agency is pleasant, there are some bad apples but management keeps that under control by providing supervision and guidance. There is room to grow at SERV and the schedule is so flexible that I was able to go to school. I loved that I was able to use my sick days, personal days and vacations stress free... no hassle, no questions, no problems with pay. The pay could be better but it was the average of what most social workers get paid. The benefits are pretty good, health, vision, dental, life, 401k and a nice amount of vacation, personal and sick days. For salaried employees the BEST part is how flexible the schedule is!!!!

I find that the job is quite easy and I really get along with my coworkers. They teach you everything you need to be able to do so you’re fully prepared. The hardest part for me are the residents because sometimes they really get on my nerves, you have to have strong patience. Also, if your location is understaffed it might lead to more stress about having to pick up overtime. But overall I really enjoy working here and I find it to be a easy and fulfilling job. 

It’s worth noting that little of what you do is really “mental health counseling”. It’s mostly assisting with ADLs like driving residents to appointments, prompting them to shower, helping them cook, promoting them to clean, etc. And yes, you will be required to drive in this position, the company provides minivans for you to take the residents to appointments, grocery shopping, etc. 

So at Serv,you work with individuals with disabilities.The individuals are not monitored all the time .If you have worked in this type of environment before you’ll be fine.If not,this job will NOT be for you.No what you’re getting into.

Mangers (Some) are ok and understanding.Others not so much.Upper management only care about money and getting more funding from the state.The State  pays Serv out of the Medicaid/Medicare program .And the company received millions of dollars.Having said that.you as an employee will get little pay for what you do.Also,the company will fire you for the littlest thing.Not on my case however,I resigned.

Hardly zero to very little raises.Even if you save the company thousands of dollars doesn’t count.People with real talent don’t stay at the company.Because the company just doesn’t pay you anything for your hard work .And I mean,hard work.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Residential counselor 76 salaries reported	$21.10 per hour
Residential manager 29 salaries reported	$59,920 per year
Mental health technician 5 salaries reported	$25.18 per hour
Direct support professional 18 salaries reported	$16.13 per hour
Program coordinator 7 salaries reported	$66,182 per year

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