school counselor

outpatient therapist

domestic violence advocate

clinical supervisor

support specialist

The Family Counseling Center

TLDR: Training and strict policies set me up well for working in an OMH clinic and I had great coworkers.  However, there is a direct contradiction between the image that the agency tries to portray and the actual experience of working there.  There is a high rate of staff turnover due to the pressure put on staff and the general way staff are treated.  The work culture supposedly has improved but was very distant, cold, and non-supportive.  The agency is a very difficult place for neurodivergent staff members to work and (based on the nature of conversations concerning desired changes to clinician workflow and clinic policy for all clinicians) would likely be non-supportive for most requests for accommodations.
Full review: Overall, I’m happy that I started with TFCC as the training that I had to do as part of my onboarding and the especially strict standards that they had for timeliness and completeness of documentation did a better job of getting me used to working at the pace required for therapists at OMH Community Clinics than I suspect my current employer’s process would have.  In fact, thanks to TFCC’s attitude about documentation and scheduling I find myself giving clinicians at my current job bits of advice on how to keep up with everything and stay sane.  The baseline starting pay is also fairly competitive for newbie clinicians that are on their limited permit (at least in comparison to comparable jobs at other non-profit and government run OMH sites).
I’m also happy that I still have good relationships with the coworkers that I kept in touch with after I left.  I was only there a short time but all of the people that I worked closely with were genuinely good people that were trying their best in a very difficult situation.
Unfortunately, those are the only good things I have to say about my time there.  TFCC is genuinely one of those examples of why many people advise not to work anywhere that is fond of saying things like “We’re family here!”  Statements like this are frequently made when concerns are raised by the clinicians but there is little follow-up done to support the clinicians or the support staff.
The work culture was frequently filled with statements meant to reassure clinicians or clinic policies being directly contradicted by the actions and statements of administration.  For example: they would actively discourage us from taking our documentation work home with us or working through our lunch (which they loved to point out was paid) and told us to do our documentation and outreach during our no shows but required we have all documentation done within 24 hrs, would not allow us admin/paperwork time, required us to pack our schedule so full of “units” that we had little time for much else, and pushed us to get our show rate as close to 100% as possible.  They also would say that they wanted to support us in any way they could but when we came to them expressing concerns about the productivity standards and the lack of time for documentation they implied it was our own fault that we couldn’t keep up and pushed a “collaborative note taking” (taking valuable session time to write the note with the client) before putting us through a training that was more of an advertisement for the company pushing the training than something that is actually best practice or useful for most clinicians or circumstances in the therapy room.
Additionally, I left with the distinct impression that aesthetics and optics were much more important to administration than the clients or the clinicians.  The attitude of admin and the wording of the employee handbook left me with the impression that I couldn’t decorate my office in a way that genuinely represents me as both a clinician and a person because it doesn’t match the “sleek and modern” look of the building since it was renovated and the addition was put on.  There was plenty of talk about how they were paying so competitively for starting clinicians and a huge emphasis on recruitment but a huge staff turnover and little action on feedback given by the leaving staff as to why the turnover rate was so high.
Speaking of high turnover: between the date I started and the date I left every single clinician that was in a supervisory position while I was there either left or put in their resignation.  If I remember correctly, there were no less than 4 staff members that left during the short time I was there and I was the first of another 4 staff members that all left in the next round of resignations.  The most sited reasons for leaving that I heard from the other staff members were: having to work too many hours over the 40 we were paid for in order to keep up, the productivity standards being too high, repeated pressure to take on too many clients or clients far outside of the clinician’s experience and competency, the treatment that the supervisors received in meetings with administration, and policies being put in place that were not best practice or person/client-centered or trauma informed.
The amount of work put onto the therapists created a workplace culture that was very cold, detached, and non-supportive.  All of us were so busy and burnt out that what energy we had left we rarely had the luxury of spending it on each other.  From what I’ve heard, this has gotten somewhat better since I’ve left but the sense of detachment, coldness, and non-support remains between administration and the rest of staff.  Additionally, from what I’ve been able to gather in discussions with former supervisors, administration has the tendency to be dreadful to the supervisors (especially if they are outspoken and not willing to fall in line with decisions made by non-clinical administration leaders even if those decisions are going to be a hardship for clients or staff).
While there has not been anything that I know of that has happened that someone could take legal action on, I do believe that there is a certain level of systemic bias against neurodivergent individuals.  I would not recommend that any neurodivergent individuals that are not able to be more or less self-sufficient work here as the discussions had between staff and administration lead me to believe that there would be very few supports or accommodations that would be deemed “reasonable” by administration and even fewer that would be maintained for any significant length of time without additional effort by the therapist.  While there were several of us working there during my time with TFCC, many of us were in near perpetual burnout and our ideas for how the situation could be improved (many of which could be considered neurodivergent accommodations to an extent) were written off as not possible, not cost effective, or not a reasonable change to any clinician’s workflow.  Furthermore, I noticed a pattern of clinicians that were obviously neurodivergent being spoken to and treated differently than those that appeared to be neurotypical.  To be clear: I never felt that this was purposeful discrimination and nothing I witnessed or heard about after leaving gives me any reason to suspect that anyone in administration is conscious of how their policies and actions are impacting their neurodivergent staff members.  I feel that it is far more likely that administration has built a very rigid system (both policy wise and work culture wise) that is very difficult on neurodivergent staff members and that they do not know how to adequately interact with neurodivergent employees and do not have the flexibility and self-reflection needed to adjust the system when the needs and values of staff members conflict with the system.
I do not regret my time at TFCC, however I would not personally recommend working here to anyone unless it is their only option for getting their first job straight out of their graduate program.


If you are a starting therapist (like right after your masters) please be aware of the work that is required to do and keep in mind that there is a lot of turnover at this place. I had at least 4 different supervisors there and I didn't even stay a year.  Also there was new therapists like me that started and more than half of them left within the first 6 months. This population is tough as there is a lot of trauma/generational trauma. When I worked there you get to work with a variety of people which is good. However once you realize that a certain population isn't for you, you don't necessarily have a choice to not take that population. The only thing that kept me staying was the other coworkers that would vent about all the issues happening at the place. I got more support from my coworkers and navigating being a counselor at times than my actual supervisor (s). There is constant miscommunication between supervisors and the directors which does not make you feel like there is any consistency.  There are some therapists that have been there for a long time. However they started when it was much a smaller place and it seemed like most people who have stayed long (more than 3 years) seem to be fee for service. As a new counselor that can be daunting.  If there was anything somewhat good about that place was the coworkers but like any work place there is always gossip. Also let's not forget that sometimes you can be so busy you sometimes don't see anyone. Most people that have I talked to that left this job seems to have the same summary. That it CAN be a good job after graduating but after a couple months there is more cons than pros.

I have now been with this agency for almost two years and can honestly say that this has been one of the best careers decisions. It is a great stepping stone for new clinicians to get their feet wet in the world of counseling, mental health and State laws and documentation. After coming from a cut-throat, cliquey and at times demeaning Healthcare/hospital position, this job feels like a dream. VERY positive supervision and management. This agency continues to grow and expand throughout Montgomery and Fulton County. The job of a Social Worker isn't always glamorous and comes with setbacks that you will find ANYWHERE. The benefits are okay, administration recently added 401k, paid holidays. PTO is not as great  as a hospital setting but that is to be expected. Work life balance is what you make it. Social Workers may not want to hear that but this job ALLOWS you to have a choice as to how many clients and hours you work.

This place was nothing but a negative and toxic atmosphere from EVERYONE who worked there. Providers and social workers hanging out with clients on their off time and one provider even adopted one of their patients. Insurance fraud. Incorrect billing practices. Double billing. Constant lies from management. Cut throat and ruthless. Just disgusting. This place needs to be sorted out from the top down and start fresh with new blood. The rats and backstabbers need to go. UNLESS you are one of the good ones who are favored, then you are treated like gold. Even though the ones who are treated like gold have the worst pasts ever being ex-alcoholics and spouses who cheat and ruin families. They are the worst hypocrites ever. Using money from grants to pay bills because the finance department didn't know how to even balance their own check book properly. Make sure you cash your check asap or it might bounce. Looks like not much has changed over the years except for new employees feeling the same way past employees felt. 

I started this job a few months after I finished grad school - I loved that I'd be able to be in a school setting and counsel kids everyday. I think my opinion of TFCC is different than those who work at the agency because I do not have to deal with the pressure that they do. I'm almost never at the agency. I feel like my work is meaningful, which is very important to me. However, management isn't great. Some of them will act as if they're above you or as if you are just a little person compared to them. The pay is also terrible for my position - I could make more working in many retail or fast food positions. If you can get a school-based position in TFCC, I think you should go for it, because it'll give you good experience, but I wouldn't be a therapist there due to how much pressure they're put under.

Executive leadership is extremely poor resulting in VERY high turnover.  This organization is known as a career stepping stone so if organization longevity is something your looking for, this is not the place.  Medical and dental benefits are average, no retirement, no COLA's, no training, no tuition reimbursement, mission statement not adhered to.   PTO is very poor for new hires, but great for those grandfathered in resulting in staff division.  The Board of Directors is aware of the continued problems facing this organization but chooses not to address them and accepts good, very competent staff resigning on a regular basis.

The family counseling center is a truly client-centered, mission-driven community agency that I feel proud to be a part of.  Over the last several years, the agency has worked very hard to prioritize employee culture and grow employee compensation, benefits and emphasis on self-care.  The culture is very supportive and encouraging and you never feel alone in managing client concerns or needs; in addition, the agency strongly values continuing education.  The clinical expertise of the clinicians is second to none; and the services the agency provides to the community is inspiring.  Management is extremely open to new ideas and suggestions from all staff.  This is an excellent place to work!!

On the surface, TFCC presents as caring for their employees’ needs. But once you’ve been around long enough,  you see that really isn’t the case. Nepotism is a real problem - they put family friends over qualified individuals in leadership roles. Also, the fact that they’ve been through 4 clinic directors in 1 year is alarming. They’ve made a lot of big changes here in the past year, and their employees have suffered as a result - high caseloads, burnout, menial work for little personal reward - causing high turnover rates. Remote work policy is relatively inflexible. 
The actual culture among employees is welcoming, I would say, which is what makes working at TFCC at least tolerable. 

Lies from management did not create a positive work environment.  The way they "got rid" of two people in the department was unconscionable.  To walk in for work and be told not to start, and to take my personal belongings and leave because they were down sizing the department because they had outsourced the billing, was pretty tough.  My co worker was told the same thing.  To be let go on the spot was quite the stab in the heart, after being told that "the billing being outsourced would not have an effect on J and I, that there would be more work than before.  LIES.

Very consumer focused place to work with loads of caring, empathetic individuals ready to help not only the community but fellow employees within.  Direct management & supervisors are great, willing to work with you when circumstances arise. Worst thing about here is the little to nothing benefit time new people receive while older employed people are grandfathered into 10x's the benefits, making it a very uneven playing ground within identical positions.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
School counselor 4 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Outpatient therapist 7 salaries reported	$75,000 per year
Domestic violence advocate 2 salaries reported	$18.50 per hour
Clinical supervisor 4 salaries reported	$89,375 per year
Support specialist 3 salaries reported	$24.00 per hour

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