Toxic Environment - Therapist NOCD Employee Review

- it really feels like I am making a lasting impact in the lives of people who are suffering - great support from my clinical manager, the training team, the NOCD community, the member advocate team, and IT - varied and interesting trainings and modalities - I definitely feel well compensated for my work and that my healthcare is much better than in prior positions - fully remote (I do NOT miss my office commute!) - coming from a community mental health setting, we just have so many resources available to us at NOCD; you don't have to beg and scrape for help or worry about the financial state of the program long term

- you do have to meet expectations for sessions in terms of the overall number (25 hours minimum per week) and targets for treatment improvement, and work nights and weekends (up to 10 hours). I don't mind this because I love the flexibility of free time during the day, the documentation feels much less intensive than at other jobs I have worked at (especially with AI tools), and I like the challenge- but I imagine it's not for everyone - the overall structure is definitely corporate at upper levels. I don't mind this because I got so burned out on community mental health and nonprofits, but some people might chafe against it

I wish I could recommend working here because the mission is important and the therapy helps a lot of people. There are talented therapists and employees throughout the company who care deeply about the people they serve. Unfortunately, the culture makes it difficult to recommend.

Stephen Smith often talks about wanting to end the mental health crisis. That message rings hollow when so many of his own employees experience chronic stress, burnout, extreme micromanagement, unrealistic expectations, poor work-life balance, and communication that can be demeaning or dismissive. These are not isolated issues or the result of a few bad managers. They are the direct result of the culture Stephen has created and continues to reinforce throughout the organization. The culture revolves around keeping Stephen happy, and fear is often used as a tool to maintain that dynamic. Employees quickly learn that approval matters more than collaboration. This creates an environment where politics and self-preservation often outweigh teamwork, trust and effective communication. Employees are often made to feel that spending time with family, setting boundaries, or prioritizing their own well-being reflects a lack of commitment to the mission. For a company in the mental health space, the gap between what is said publicly and what employees experience internally is hard to ignore. It is also difficult to overlook the lack of female representation in senior leadership despite a workforce that is overwhelmingly made up of women. I do not believe that is accidental.