When you are ready to seek treatment, you want to go to the best treatment center. The one with a great reputation. The one with the highest success rate.
You have standards and expectations for the facility and the staff. They must both be upstanding and be equipped to provide the best treatment for those seeking help.
Even if the exterior of the facility appears great and the staff is educated and experienced, you should still dig a little deeper before making your final decision. There is one very important element of a company that when examined, can offer you a great deal of insight.
It is their culture. The culture of a treatment program reveals the true inner workings of the organization.
What is Treatment Facility Culture?
Culture is how people, as a group, behave within a company. Treatment centers usually have much staff, all of them bringing their own cultural backgrounds with them to work. Treatment program culture is something a little bit more than where staff grew up or how they were raised.
Culture is how all the staff of the facility think and act, despite being so different. Staff needs to be united and working towards the same goal, no matter what their individual goals may be.
Culture is the personality of the treatment facility. It takes the entire group of staff to form the company’s personality. This personality is based on the beliefs and values they all share. The personality of a company can be good, or it can be bad.
Treatment facility culture is how the doctors, administrators, and staff interact. It is how they value their work. It is also how they respect the facility and each other. Most of all, it is how they prioritize you, the client.
There are many traits to look for within a treatment facility that can show you exactly what type of culture they have. Five are listed below.
Integrity
A treatment facility with a great culture values integrity among its employees and leaders. People with integrity believe in doing the right thing, the right way.
Treatment facilities with integrity do not take shortcuts that benefit themselves. They put the client first. Leaders exhibit integrity in both their professional and personal lives, making them extraordinary role models to employees.
All members of the staff behave ethically and legally, well within the rules of the facility.
You will not find staff showing up to work hungover, having affairs, fudging numbers or doing anything to benefit themselves rather than the client.
The integrity shown within a treatment program’s culture is also the integrity they will show to you.
Leadership
The leaders within a treatment facility include CEOs, Psychiatrists, Board Members, and Directors of Programs. How many leaders present in a company depends on the size of the company.
A treatment facility that has exceptional culture, has it because of the leadership. Leaders set the tone for company culture. How a leader thinks, speaks, and acts are how the staff will think, speak and act.
Great leaders have a passion for helping others be successful in treatment. They have confidence and do not try to hide anything from the staff. They inspire rather than using fear as a motivator. They have an interest in making leaders out of all staff members.
As a client in the facility, you will see the leader often because good leaders are visible. You will find them meeting with staff and other clients. They may even ask for your input on how to improve the programs.
Financially Successful
Treatment facilities with excellent culture are profitable and operate within a set budget. They have their finances in order. This keeps them from making desperate decisions that may not benefit the client.
The best treatment facilities are financially stable enough to pay staff well. The staff that is paid what they are worth are happy. When staff is happy, production is higher.
If you enter a treatment facility and all you hear from the staff is how they are not paid enough to do certain jobs, this is not the facility for you.
You will notice whether or not a facility is budgeting correctly and financially successful because everything from the furniture to the food will be of great quality. If the furniture is torn and the food and drinks are worse than a prison’s, this may not be the facility for you.
Staffing
A treatment facility with a strong culture does not have a lot of turnover among staff. Because the culture is so good, retaining great staff is easy. They want to stay because they feel valued and appreciated.
They feel they are important to the facility. And they are. Without qualified and satisfied staff, a treatment facility will not be successful.
If the turnover rate is high inside a company, the culture is suffering. You want to choose a treatment facility where staff retention is high and they have been there for many years and are still happy with their jobs.
Cultures survive on team building and cooperation among staff. This is almost impossible when skilled staff leaves for better jobs.
Communication
Communication within the treatment facility should be open and honest. There is no gossip, back-stabbing or throwing others under the bus.
If staff members within a treatment program are talking to you about their colleagues, this is not the right facility for you.
The teams within the facility hold each other accountable but do it with respect. They do this by communicating regularly. Staff are informed of facility happenings through several different methods to ensure everyone receives the message.
Staff meetings, personal meetings, conference calls, emails, and other forms of communication are used daily. Every staff and even the clients can ask questions about the company without being fearful of being reprimanded.
There are open lines of communication from entry-level staff to Psychiatrists to therapists to Administrators.
If you are ready to take the next step and enter treatment to get help with a mental health issue, find a facility that meets your standards. They should go above and beyond to ensure your success.
They should not be over populated and under-staffed. This creates chaos. Instead, they should be operating like a well-oiled machine, prepared for any obstacles, working together towards the same goals.
They should make you a part of their culture. You should feel valued and respected. The facility should provide you with the best treatments from some of the greatest clinicians.
You deserve to get mentally healthy in a facility that is culturally competent and eager to make you a part of their family. Do your research and find the right treatment place for you.