Left Burnt Out and Out of Faith
Pros
Coworkers, some amazing BCBA’s, fluid and individualized treatment planning, 6 paid holidays, good insurance options, 401k + match, attempts to motivate and reinforce staff (pizza days, potlucks, brainstorming fun games and prizes), some moments of taking feedback and trying to change progressively.
Cons
Very confusing and frustrating work environment. It’s hard not to feel let down. The most important thing is the failure to serve clients to the utmost of their needs. Advocacy is part of our ethical obligation, and a therapist or BCBA should never be ignored for trying to advocate for their client. Further, shuffling children through ABA who either need support from additional therapies or MEDICAL treatments that aren’t being addressed, or should be working in different modalities all together, is highly unethical. I witnessed too many instances of out of scope violations that just broke my heart in a way I can’t express. Other cons include: Not trauma informed company wide, inconsistent scheduling and income, priority on bringing heads into the building over creating fair schedules, overcrowded, never making expected income/hours, tricky 30 hr guarantee program that will give you $3 less an hour if you opt in, minimal boundaries/support for Covid care and keeping sick kids out of session, unclean environment, minimal reinforcers, denial of requests for supplies/toys and blames staff for normal wear and tear on things, improper and unsafe use of cleaning products throughout Covid (mixing chemicals, reusing bottles, not training staff on how to use cleaners, refusal to implement change after voicing concern to multiple people in administrative roles), no anonymous feedback system, cliques, nepotism and cronyism, no upward mobility for most RBT’s not seeking BCBA, not enough PTO, difficulty using PTO/using up PTO for lost hours, hourly cap, disorganized center and social skills programs.
