I have been in and out of therapy since age 11 or 12. (I'm 51 now). I've seen psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, et al.
Dr. Burstein is far and away the best I've worked with in these four decades.
In early 2016 I made the hard decision to leave my long-term home of Denver, to be closer to my family in another state.
One of the most daunting factors for me to consider when deciding to move was giving up my work with Dr. Burstein so soon after getting started. I felt and still feel that he really forced me to really *work* on my issues, frustrations and mental & psychological roadblocks as no other doctor or therapist ever had before. Dr. Burstein didn't hold back on pushing me to go through the really, really uncomfortable stuff, and he refused to accept "I don't know why..." as answer to the important questions he posed to me. He is warm, kind, understanding and compassionate while maintaining the ability to call me on my cop-outs (which is what I need way more of in my life).
There's absolutely nothing wrong with talk therapy. It can be invaluable in helping people unload pain, and even aid in self-realizations. In my case, however, I never realized the difference -- I desperately needed cognitive behavioral therapy to make any progress in dealing with the traumas I encountered in my childhood and adolescence, and the resulting lifetime of clinical depression and suicidal ideations and attempts.
I felt, and continue to feel a significant loss at not being able to continue my work with Dr. Burstein, but I will be forever grateful to him for the progress we did make, as well as for the fact that I now know exactly what to seek out in my future therapy and in a psychiatrist.
I simply cannot recommend Dr. Burstein highly enough. He is truly special, and I'm not certain that I'd be here today were it not for him. read more