1. The expectation to work long hours in and out of office leads to an unhealthy work/life balance.
2. The demands placed on clinicians to wear multiple "hats." Clinicians provide individual, family and group therapy in addition to working the floor during staff shortages, multiple meetings/phone calls/emails for insurance reviews, court orders and attending court w/youth, aftercare planning with completion of referrals, and doing all these job duties in conjunction with copious amounts of paperwork leaves you drained, and often times, staying late, coming in early, or working from home unpaid.
3. When other departments do not follow through with a task, it often falls on the Clinician, which is reasons for #2 on this list of cons.
4. Clinicians and their therapeutic work are not respected and when a youth struggles to maintain safety to self or others, often times management places fault on clinicians and expect clinicians to have this magic wand to make it all go away. When this does not happen, as it's unrealistic, the expectation is to help manage the milliue because "it's your client." This leads to paperwork, emails, phone calls being delayed, and again, stay late, come in early, or work from home.
5. Work/life balance is almost non-existent because of 1-4 on cons list. Phone calls when off work, being asked to come in early/stay late because of staff shortages, being tasked with other dept jobs when shortage of staff/no staff/ or not being done leads to clinician primary job duties being put on back burner.