Many years I've been working on my mental health. Due to circumstances with the place I previously went to a friend suggested Perspectives to me. The staff has been amazing overall. Dr. Witherington was not a good match for me, I shut down because of the vibe I got from him. To me you have to be comfortable with your Dr to be able to discuss what is going on and be able to ask questions about your treatment plan. He did not come across that way to me and as I said I shut down which hindered effective treatment plans and treatment for myself. Dr Baker on the other hand, hands down the best I've seen for mental health. You can tell he is listening to you even while typing notes on the computer to your file, I admit I tested it.We were in the middle of talking about what was going on since my last appointment and I threw him a question out of nowhere. He didn't hesitate what he was doing and was able to give me an answer to my question.
John has done more to help me than all therapist combined. I still have a long road ahead of me but I have gained hope again since I've had John as my therapist and his technique is very effective as long as you are willing to try and truly want to have your life back .
The appointment times and waiting have been an issue here and there. I understand a lot of the Dr's patients are in facilities outside of the building and they get calls in reference to these patients and what needs to be done because of their behavior or something they said to staff at the facility. Mental illness isn't like a broke bone with a standard treatment, a person that is suicidal can be pushed to the edge if given the wrong medication or a staff member says the wrong thing. Being said as a patient's Dr, Dr Baker and Dr Witherington do have to take calls during the day causing appointments to get behind. When I first started going to perspectives, before I had John for my therapist, it was an hour past my appointment I was getting anxious and they let me reschedule my appointment. They changed something about the policy around July. I had to wait 3 hours past my appointment time, they wouldn't let me reschedule without paying for the "missed appointment" out of my pocket (they would also cancel all of future appointments on the spot) because I have commercial insurance, I had my 2 year old with me and it was past lunch time and nearly nap time and that didn't matter. That was the worst experience I've had, crying hungry 2 yr old that was sleepy, waiting room full of people causing my anxiety to go crazy. Add my 2 yr old's needs and not being able to do what any mother wants to do, take care of her child's needs, I was not happy. I've had 2 appointments since and haven't had that kind of wait, thank goodness! 3 hours past your appointment time and being told you would have to pay for it and lose future scheduled appointments for therapy was ridiculous, giving any doctor office an hour past your scheduled time has been a general rule of thumb since I've been an adult, 3 hours, I feel any place with good business practice (with or without a child), should waive their "you have to pay" policy as you were there for your appointment and on time.The office should cancel it and let you reschedule without reprocussion: for people with mental illness, especially, they are already out money for missing work due to their illness, canceling future appointments that are their treatment plan to try to function properly hurts their drive to want to try, making them wait for med refills this long instead of letting the Dr call in enough medication to get them through until a rescheduled date and seeming as if the money is more important than the patient, this doesn't help patients, patients that these people took an oath to treat...not rob blind, just one way it can be viewed. I don't like feeling like a hostage when I was on time for my appointment and can't afford to pay the ransom for my own health.