I interviewed with the CEO. They were looking to expand to outpatient SUD clinics after their success with their Helping Hands Hollywood Recovery Center. The posting mentioned that we would get ~100k per year to allocate as necessary to budget for the clinic, including our personal income as director. I’ve truthfully never seen a posting like that. I would say it sounds like needing to take on extra financial roles that most clinical directors wouldn’t usually need to. Regardless, I mentioned to the CEO (to which they begrudgingly agreed) that the budget is too small to operate an entire outpatient substance use clinic in West LA, especially in consideration of needing to hire on certain staff like admin assistants and intake staff.
The following day, I was texted by the CEO asking if I could fill in for a group at one of his programs the next day, as one of the facilitators had cancelled……Mind you, I was not an employee yet, no business aspect or compensation was mentioned (which you would think you would at least include), and no communication beyond a basic 30 minute initial interview had transpired up to this point, with the CEO communicating the general diagnoses of the clients and available times to do the group, all in a highly presumptuous manner that honestly came off very disrespectful. It’s like he expected me to just a pick a time and do it. I felt that it was very insincere to his dual diagnosis clients to ask someone he barely knew to cover a group last minute, without even a proper screening to ensure that I had the proper skills and training to do so (can you imagine if there was a need for a crisis intervention due to Suicidal ideation from a client in the group and I didn’t know how to handle that!?). I’m truthfully still in shock due to the sheer level of unprofessionalism displayed. I think a phone call rather than a last minute text would at least be a starting point for a request like that. I declined (as I was both busy and felt it was highly unethical to agree to anything before I had a chance to review the client population I would be working with, not to mention actually discuss a business arrangement). The CEO called me a few days later, and I tried to express the importance of ensuring the quality of candidates who he brought on to serve his population. He didn’t take the constructive criticism too well and hung up on me.
A few months later and I responded to another listing on Indeed that was very reminiscent of the previous listing. However, the company name was different: instead of Joser Forever, it was now “beverly recovery.” Yes, with lowercase letters. I had a hunch it was the same company. They reached out to schedule an interview, and sure enough, it was the same CEO. He asked if I had interviewed before, and I reminded him, after which he promptly said I wasn’t a good fit and disconnected from the Zoom call. We exchanged a few emails following that, to which he justified changing the name because they “were expanding” .. followed by a quick insult as to the prospects of my job search..
I’ll admit, that I know nothing about what it’s like to work for their agency (agencies?). And I don’t want to assume, but I think that a basic encounter like this speaks volumes. Putting profit ahead of the possible expense of your clients and trying to find the quickest possible way to capitalize on the increased demand for mental health services is everything that’s wrong with the industry. Far be it for me to criticize the CEO’s incredibly rude behavior, but as a recovered addict myself, I take it personally when programs try to offer sub-par quality services to their clients. This is a matter of life and death for some clients, especially if you’re working with vulnerable populations like Opioid Addicts.
Most companies (like Didi Hirsch and Exodus Recovery, for example) post listings under the same company name, and just change the facility or location, even when they’re “expanding.” They want brand name recognition. The only time I have witnessed listings under a completely different company name is as a possible ploy to deflect from bad PR, amongst both clients and potential employees (so if one company name has a bad reputation, there’s always another name) or if they provide completely different services. Or, it could be due to possible liability and fiscal related reasons. Regardless, I think most would agree that it sounds fishy. It all sounds like a typical “fly by night” operation. I think it pretty much speaks for itself…even the 2nd job listing title sounds like it was posted in such a haste, without even proper capitalization.
So many agencies are trying to capitalize on the recent demand for services without proper patience and planning and don’t consider the cost that it takes on the field as a whole in the long run. Profit is great, but not at the expense of people. That’s part of the reason whey there’s so much regulation nowadays!
