Reviews of Washington Square TMS-Shelly Menolascino MD (Psychiatrist)

Peter Jenkins

Dr. Shelly Menolascino has been an invaluable resource in managing my chronic health condition. From the beginning she was very thorough in terms of deeply listening to me and researching family history to prescribe the correct medicine. We have also done two genetic tests which have helped inform treatment and pharmacology. Shelly takes a holistic and comprehensive approach employing everything from the aforementioned genetic tests to TMS, neurofeedback and QEEG. When it comes down to it, Shelly is extremely intelligent, very insightful and very easy to work with. I can honestly say it's been a pleasure to work with Shelly for over 9 years. I wish for the last 9 years I had always lived in NYC to have Shelly manage my care because anytime I go to other psychiatrists the level of care and treatment declines. I highly recommend Dr. Menolascino.

Randy

At first, I found Shelly inspiring. Unlike others who provide TMS as a treatment option, she didn't re-traumatize me during intake (e.g. dig for unnecessary, explicit details in my history). She requested quite a few, relatively broad details regarding my challenges (e.g. why I was seeking said treatment), and then laid out a general treatment schedule. Unbeknownst to me, her plan of action contradicted my--and my referring psychiatrist's--explicitly stated needs. I came to her seeking treatment for depression (which TMS has been proven effective for) and she chose to target my PTSD (which TMS has yet to be proven effective for). Prior to my initial consultation I was asked to fill out a number of forms. One detailed all of my vitamin/mineral/herbs and medications. During my treatment, she offered several medication options that were contraindicated by others I was already taking. When I pointed these discrepancies out to her (repetitively!), she stated that "I am just fulfilling a consultative role with you regular psychiatrist." At some point, this explanation morphed to "I would be recommending very low doses." To be clear, every single medication she recommended had negative contraindications specific to medications and/or medical issues that I have (regardless of dose). Beyond the above-mentioned, both Shelly and her partner Mitch struck me as disorganized, scattered, and stressed most of the time. She can be very insightful at times, but she's equally, if not more often, rummaging in her office or her head for information that should have been prepped prior to her consultations with me. He oversaw the vast majority of my TMS treatments (e.g. device placement, power, length, etc.) and I often had to prompt him to up the power, shift the device, confirm my appointments, etc. All of these things should have been both promptly and professionally done by him without my ongoing input. Let's just say that neither of these two meaningfully inspired my confidence or comfort along the way. Quite the contrary at times. My most negative interactions with Shelly (and Mitch) occurred when I requested a temporary break from treatment (after 30+ sessions). Such a request should have been a non-issue given that I was specifically told that 25-30 treatments were the norm prior to entering a less intensive "maintenance" phase of treatment (and the usual limitation imposed by insurance companies). Even more importantly, I was requesting a break to reduce my treatment-specific stress levels and to meaningfully determine whether or not I was receiving any benefit from treatment. Regardless, I had to repetitively request and debate this issue with Shelly. At around this same time, Shelly realized that she forgot to bill the organization that was covering my treatment and informed me that she would bill my private insurance instead (after her office explicitly agreed to not bill my insurance). I pointed out that she couldn't bill my insurance because the paperwork I filled out to consult with her explicitly denied her that ability. Resultantly, she decided I should have a "true break" and stated that she would not offer me further treatment due to my inflexibility (surely not due to her ignorance of the forms I filled out to receive treatment). She even went so far as to tell me I would need to receive a form of therapy we both previously agreed was not for me if I wanted care from her office in the future. All of this occurred the day after she and Mitch decided that I should be receiving a different type of TMS treatment (e.g. the bilateral treatment that also aims at depression, which is what I should have received from day one). Unfortunately, their approach to my treatment did nothing for my depression and nothing for my PTSD. I could accept this outcome, even in the face of the myriad inconsistencies of her office and treatment, had Shelly not strayed from my (and my referring psychiatrist's) explicitly stated treatment target (e.g. my depression).

Ana Grana

Dr. Menolascino and her staff have always been so kind to me, and has helped me so many times through the years. She recently started using TMS to help my depression, which just really did so much more to help my depression, more than all the meds that have been prescribed to me in the past. I don't know how it works, but for the first time I am really relieved from my depression. Dr. Menolascino has truly been a lifesaver and I will forever be grateful !

Lizzi Bougatsos

TMS proves highly effective for artistic types. Specialized to one personally and genetically, I highly recommend Dr. Shelly Menolascino as her credibility and dedication to her practice is remarkable.

robharmonsworld .

I've been seeing Dr. M for more that 2 years now. This is a Doctor's office I never mind visiting. It is so nice to be heard, understood, and then treated properly. I very much enjoy time time there, and I highly recommend her to anyone seeking psychiatric treatment.

Sally Lee

Was directed to Wash Sq TMS by a friend , who is a therapist , and knew of my long term struggle with ,probably mild, but constantly affecting the quality of my life. DEPRESSION. Was suspicious of the whole thing & at first not sure they thought I was a candidate for it. Finally was accepted & for first month , no change . Was further depressed by questions about how I was feeling. Then one day , I arrived at a workable plateau and from then on really have been able to tale charge go my life & have handled so much. I very much appreciate this needed help , but also like the fact that they keep monitoring my situation & call me back for what I call "tuneups". Kind, Kind people!