I'll try not to get too vulnerable here on yelp, but this place has kind of saved me, or if that's too dramatic, it's offered me a lot of hope and for real, a second chance.
State insurance can be challenging to navigate, and ADD/ADHD that has run rampant and untreated is also challenging to navigate. Now put two scoops of untreated diagnoses into a blender bottle, two heaping scoops of AHCCCS, a ladle full of anxiety, put the lid on it, shake it up till there are no lumps and drink it all in one go.
This blend of state insurance and mental health issues is the thing that has caused me so much grief, I have been trying for a long time to get to a psychiatrist, and due to my own ignorance with insurance and never having worked with a psych doctor before, and constantly being stressed, unfocused and worried about losing my job, it took me four failed attempts of me either having appointments cancelled on me (not by this place, but by other psych locations due to me not understanding I need a primary care physicians referral in order to start meeting), me just straight up forgetting the time, or not following instructions correctly, I'll restate, four failed attempts over the course of several months, until I finally got with a primary care physician and told them I don't know what I'm doing, and they referred me to 2nd Chance.
I arrived so discouraged with my circumstances; my boss was concerned for me, the previous month he had let me know that if I was working in a different job, I would probably be fired by now, and instead I was given a paycut, something to try and suss out if I was working at my job for the right reasons. I felt spurned by these failed previous appointments.
So anyways, I arrived, checked in, took a UA (required), and then met with Nicola Ciarelli, the first psychiatrist I have ever worked with. I described my challenges, I had taken tests at home required prior to my first appointment so she already had an idea of what I was dealing with.
I described my work, my history, my family, my struggles and fear of losing my job, and all of this kind of came out between little crying sessions that felt a bit out of my control, I was a little embarrassed for that and tried to apologize and Nicola helped me understand that it was okay to cry, we were gonna find a solution and she wasn't gonna leave me in the dark.
I felt like I was listened to, and understood, when she probably could've cut me off in my first sentence and just told me what I needed, she listened to me and let me just say everything that was eating me up and making me sweat. And then when she knew there was nothing else that I felt like I needed to say, she offered the first couple steps of the solution for me. She started me on a low dose prescription and a return appointment, then had me take a test that will determine how my body responds to different prescribed medications.
In my ignorance I cut her off at one point with a bit of panic asking if I only got this one appointment, to which she assured me that we would be meeting regularly to assess my progress and adjust medication as we discovered how they affected me. I was relieved.
I left 2nd chance treatment center with a prescription sent to my pharmacy and a return appointment. Nothing had changed for me yet really, other than I word vomited all over Nicola's desk and she responded with grace and patience.
I guess long story short, I showed up thinking I was gonna leave sad and hopeless again, but I left feeling validated, optimistic and relieved. I called my mom and dad and told them that I think it really is gonna be okay.
There's not a whole lot worse than being 30 and making your parents worry that you may need to move back home, Nicola has taken that worry away, really before I had to put my parents in that position. But I owe this place a lot already. Even with taking this prescription and it not doing very much, I know that I'm going back for another appointment, I know I'll be taken care of and I know that I'll be able to figure this out with Nicola.
All the staff are beautiful and kind btw read more