outpatient therapist

medical assistant

recovery specialist

nurse practitioner

counselor

Spero Health

Spero is competitive when it comes to pay and benefits. I think that in that regard they excel. Your success at this company or lack of success will be down to your work personality & management personality and style. 

What I like: Spero does community calls with their employees which I believe is very beneficial and for the most part, they have an open door policy.

Cons: Not enough time to complete an adequate complete an assessment with continuous adding to it, but considering it streamlined.

There is no such thing as clearing up any misunderstanding(s) and you will have to walk on egg shells until the next "perceived" incident. To be more direct, my experience with management is they can and will forget the things previously said, move goal posts, not organized, but uses the word "flexibility",  lack of understanding regarding the population, frightened over basic things concerning the patients within that population which may effect their care, and continual catastrophizing over minor issues. Clearly there are some in management that do not understand behavioral health or substance abuse which shows.  Any "wrong think" appears retalitory. 

My experiences taught me as a counselor to smile, do not give any constructive or negative feedback, and communicate by email frequently while using smiley emoticons so you won't be perceived as having an attitude although it will be perceived as sarcasm. I learned that a direct truthful approach is not acceptable unless it is flattery. If I have a verbal conversation with lower management, recapping in email is neccesary. When I  have a conversation about basic things, follow up with email using delivery and read receipts. Why am I saying this?  I needed a Cover myself policy at all times. If I asked any questions as to why certain things are a certain way: labeled as a problem child. Concerns? I must stay blind and ignorant so I will not effect the bottom line; no assertiveness allowed...

My experience is that Spero talks a good game, but their actions are not congruent with their word at times. Many times Spero's idealism does not fit reality, so it seems they think they can bend reality to their will.

I left with the impression that in order to survive and stay there, I must be an obedient servant that had to say yes to my masters. If a policy top down gives authority to me on certain issues, it is trumped locally by the bottom line and opinion.

Was it all bad? No!!! It was truly 50/50 like most places there are shades of grey, but know what shade of grey you are dealing with and adjust accordingly. I did not want to have a job where I thought it necessary to document every single thing because you never know when a situation will come back up and it's presented in a different way. When I do something like that, trust has been breached.  Documentation became my post-job security so that if anything happens post exit, I know that I have detailed things accurately.

I'm just really concerned for the patients going forward.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

As an ex-employee of Spero Health, I feel compelled to share my negative experience working for this organization. My time at Spero Health left me feeling undervalued and unsupported, and it is with great disappointment that I express my dissatisfaction.

First and foremost, one of the glaring issues at Spero Health is the lack of consideration for employees as individuals. Rather than fostering an environment where each team member feels heard and appreciated, I consistently felt like nothing more than a number on a payroll. The company's focus on productivity and bottom-line results overshadows any concern for the well-being of its staff.

One of the most frustrating aspects of working at Spero Health was the heavy workload and inadequate staffing. Despite the clear need for additional personnel, the company displayed a reluctance to hire new employees. This resulted in an overwhelming burden on existing staff, including myself, as we struggled to keep up with the demands of the job. It truly felt like a two-person job, but we were expected to manage it all on our own.

The high turnover rate for medical assistants in this practice further exemplifies the organization's inherent issues. In just as little as 3 months the departure of over six medical assistants including myself. This revolving door of personnel speaks volumes about the toxic work environment and the inability of management to address the root causes of dissatisfaction among employees.

Moreover, the lack of proper training provided by Spero Health is alarming. I was expected to become fully independent within a week or two, despite receiving minimal guidance and support during that time. This unrealistic expectation not only hindered my ability to perform my duties effectively but also jeopardized the quality of patient care. It is deeply concerning that patient well-being takes a back seat to the company's desire for rapid employee autonomy.

Additionally, the negative attitude displayed by management towards the company as a whole was disheartening. Instead of inspiring confidence and fostering a positive work culture, their constant criticism and belittlement only served to create a toxic atmosphere. This behavior further eroded any remaining motivation and loyalty I had towards Spero Health.

In conclusion, based on my personal experience, I cannot recommend Spero Health as an employer. The disregard for employee well-being, inadequate staffing, lack of training, and negative management attitude make it a challenging and demoralizing workplace. If you value being treated as an individual and seek a nurturing work environment, I urge you to consider other options.

I have been with Spero in KY for several years now, and I have seen a steady decline in almost all areas. We remain constantly understaffed and this is mostly due to how new employees are treated by veteran staff members (I have seen one of our receptionists berated by 2 particular staff members daily, and only for being new and unfamiliar with our process; she of course did not stay long). This lack of full staffing causes tensions to run higher as we all feel the strain of being constantly overworked. I am worried how this environment affects our patients well being. In addition to feeling & seeing our stress, several patients  are suffering abuse from staff, both verbal and nonverbal (a counselor here has called a patient ugly, lab tech constantly brings her frustration from home and directs it toward certain patients, a trio of staff have been overheard numerous times (by patients and staff both) laughing at another patient's misfortune, and on really bad days will go out of their way to make life more difficult for patients who are struggling. The name change several years ago also brought with it a new regime who seem to only be concerned with the bottom line (or more likely, the top line) and they have overloaded clinics so that no patient could possibly get the 1 on 1 time they need & deserve. It is my intention to leave this position as soon as a more suitable one becomes available elsewhere. Honestly, the only reason I have stuck it out this long is because I care for my patients and I hate to leave them in such substandard and possibly harmful care.

When you manage in this company, it wears you down to absolutely nothing. Your mental health suffers, your physical health suffers, and it literally destroys who you are as a person. The company is run in a way that does not make you proud to work there. From denying patients care due to inability to pay copays, to discontinuing payment plans, to forcing patients to sign up for auto-draft with the threat of discharge for non-compliance, to disregarding field management concerns over serious operational issues, to the constant gas-lighting, it is enough to drive anyone functionally insane. Upper management at this company is a serious problem, and it will continue to drive down morale and productivity so long as their ineptitude is allowed to thrive. Insane directives are given with no explanation of how to implement, which leads to placing blame on those who receive the directives instead of the ones giving the orders. Initiatives and ideas are created and driven by those who have no idea how to actually operate an outpatient clinic. They literally promoted someone repeatedly who was wildly inept and failed at multiple positions. This guy's ideas were terrible, they never worked, and for some reason they just kept listening to him and promoting him higher and higher in the organization. I have worked at several places, but I have never seen anywhere run the way Spero Health is run. 

The pto is great! Health insurance is expensive and really not affordable compared to the pay you get. Reviews are never done on time and there is always a reason to improve which I feel is the reason raises are never given. They have you sit in community meetings during your lunch period and then still dock you 30 mins for lunch even though you are still actively working. 

Some employees feel entitled and treat others like garbage and talk badly about new employees. Yet try and say they are a wonderful team mate. You get forbidden to speak to other employees and tension runs very high. 

Spero will call a patient over and over again to get them to come back even though the patient has no intentions on recovery! Spero counts numbers,  the patients are a numbers game and the more numbers the more money Spero makes. Patients are all treated differently there are no set rules and they change daily. 

Patients are allowed to cuss and threaten employees and nothing is ever said or done! Managers will apologize to patients and not stand up for employees. 

Co-workers were great, but if management doesn't like you, a paper trail will be created in order for them to fire you.
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays are the main days you see clients. You, as a case worker/recovery support specialist, will schedule them by looking at the list of clients in your database to determine who needs an evaluation or needs to renew their evaluation. Mondays and Wednesdays you will call clients or ask them to come in to sign paperwork or do a counseling session on the goals they are working on. You will encourage, support, and provide resources or services the client needs. You will keep track of every client you serve on a spreadsheet and work on those clients who are more apt to follow through to their goals.  The more clients who you make contact within a month (at least 4 times for each client) are the ones who will contribute to you keeping your job. You will do notes on each client you make contact with. Your immediate Supervisor gives great encouragement and support. 

When I first started at Spero Health, I LOVED it. I felt like I was making a difference in people's lives and genuinely looked forward to work everyday. The coworkers actually cared about one another and cheered each other on. However, over time it wasn't like that anymore. We got new management, who was inexperienced in medical care, new staff, new ridiculous rules and before I knew it everyone was being fired. I couldn't keep up because the rules changed everyday and I would be scolded. I had a coworker throw something at me and yell at me in my office and nothing happened, they didn't have any consequences, in fact the manager tried to defend her. Besides that, there was no work/life balance. My hours were 8-4:30, towards the end of my time there I would be there at 7:15/7:30 am and usually not leave until after 6pm, only to be told no overtime whenever there were patients there and I couldn't leave. The job turned sour very fast, and it's a shame because I loved what I did.

Years of service, hard work, and loyalty mean nothing to this company anymore. This used to be a great company to work for, employees were treated well, and we tried to do what was best for the patients. Now it seems to be all about the money and how many clinics we can open. We are now running on skeleton crews due to recent sudden “layoffs” in the Kentucky clinics. Instead of cutting from the top (the highly paid executives) or the newest hires, they fired long term employees with no history of disciplinary actions. We have a hard time keeping counselors, and now we are losing physicians too. We have facility administrators and other upper management with very little education or clinical experience telling counselors, case managers, and doctors how to do their jobs. They are basically glorified production workers at this point. Advancement is pretty much non-existent, and pay is stagnant in this company. Probably a decent job straight out of college, but don’t plan on making a career here.

Poor management with FA and regional. No longer about patient care as it once was. Employees are not valued. Employees that have been there for years are now being fired and what is left are having to take on more roles to compensate leading to being overworked and underpaid. Tension and stress are high among the employees. Management displays favoritism to certain employees. Many of the clinics hire people that are uncaring and do not know how to do their job despite their credentials. Certain case managers and counselors have no compassion for the clients and have been detrimental to their clients lives while management looks over this due to favoritism. Salaries are not competitive and there is no advancement. The only enjoyable part of the job is if you are dedicated to your profession then you enjoy working with the clients and helping them regain their lives back.

Good compensation and benefits. Spero is heavily centered on census on not as much on client care. In their advertisements they say they offer individual or group counseling. However, to push census and the bottom dollar clients MUST attend groups with no option to receive individual counseling instead. Management is largely unavailable and are usually spending time at corporate instead of the clinics where client receive care. Upper management typically does not have previous experience with SUD. Emails regarding client care will go unanswered for days and possibly weeks at a time. The productivity standard is extremely high and unrealistic for an outpatient clinic. Clients are constantly being put with different counselors each visit due to low counselor retention and inadequate staffing. I would not recommend this position for adequate and practical clinical experience. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Outpatient therapist 13 salaries reported	$60,385 per year
Medical assistant 2 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Recovery specialist 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Nurse practitioner 3 salaries reported	$76.67 per hour
Counselor 22 salaries reported	$61,750 per year

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