When I was in middle school I was referred to Mr. Gentile's practice by school authorities after disciplinary problems. I had appointments with him on a regular basis for several years after. I remember playing a-lot of chess with Mr. Gentile. A real lot of chess. My private meetings with him basically consisted of playing games of chess. In a typical meeting he would ask me a few brief questions, i would give brief answers, and we would sit quietly at the chess board playing our chess games. I did not have a particular interest in chess and he was the only person who I played the game with. Only in the occasional meetings with my parents was time devoted to dialogue and conversation. It didn't seem quite right that my counselor was not more curious about my life, but I hardly felt like I had anything to complain about. I was a rather awkward boy, very introverted, and was not very communicative. Playing games of chess each week was not unpleasant. Eventually I stopped seeing Mr. Gentile, supposedly after having been given a clean bill of mental health. Approximately fifteen years after my experience with Mr. Gentile I became aware that I had ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). As I learned more about this condition it became clear to me that I displayed many clear symptoms of the disorder all through childhood and my later adult life. I can find no reason other than poor clinical practice (or malpractice?) that Mr. Gentile did not correctly identify and diagnose my ADHD. The disorder is a rather common one and I displayed textbook symptoms. (Poor grades despite having above average intelligence, difficulty staying awake in some classes even when well rested, difficulty with academic performance despite being motivated to get good grades, procrastination, difficulty maintaining focus, etc.) Mr. Gentile did not make an effort to create a dialogue where in which I would discuss with him the academic and cognitive problems that I knew I had and which did in fact cause me anguish at the time. If Mr. Gentile was uncertain as to the nature of my behavioral problems, he should have referred me for evaluation by a psychiatrist. He did not. Proper diagnosis and subsequent treatment of my ADHD condition at that age would have had a huge impact on my life. I can conclude that Mr. Gentile either did not understand the symptoms or nature of ADHD, or that he simply did not make sufficient effort to inquire about the problems I had. The results of never having my condition properly diagnosed were huge. Had my ADHD been properly diagnosed and treated I probably would not have ended up dropping out of university and instead probably would have obtained an advanced degree. I probably would not have suffered through several episodes of mild depression, probably not be currently receiving social security benefits due to psychiatric disability, etc. Generally speaking, my life probably would have been much less chaotic and much happier if I had a real awareness of what my mental health problems were. (Thankfully, life did turn out quite all right for me, although not without considerable struggle.) I am writing here about an experience that took place around 15 years ago. It is very possible that Mr. Gentile has gotten better at his profession with the passing of time. It is also very possible that he has not. read more