My husband took the brave and challenging step of seeking therapy, and this office made the process…read moreunnecessarily difficult. It was a very discouraging experience for him, and nearly deterred him from seeking help.
Dr. Espinoza, himself, is not the problem. His secretary, who is the first line of interaction for patients, is the issue. She is rude, condescending, and repeatedly gives blatantly inaccurate information.
--When we first reached out to the office, she talked over me repeatedly, insisting that our insurance had a deductible, because, "everyone has a deductible." I repeatedly explained to her that our insurance does not have a deductible. I was so put off by her argumentative and aggressive behavior that I started looking into other providers. But because Dr. Espinoza had good reviews, we decided to give this office a chance.
-- She gave my husband an appointment for his first therapy appointment (Friday), which he was highly anticipating, but when he showed up, the office was closed. No courtesy call. No apology. He called the following business day to see what happened, and she claimed that she made the appointment for a completely different day the following week (Tuesday). But my husband wrote down the date and time immediately after that initial phone call, and there was no way to confuse a Friday for a Tuesday the following week.
-- The day of his rescheduled appointment, my husband wanted to ensure the office was open prior to showing up again. So he called 3 times and received no answer. He drove there anyway, and within 1 minute of his last phone call, he walked in to the secretary having a private phone conversation, laughing, and talking about what she ate that day. He asked her why she didn't answer his multiple calls, and she replied that he should've left a message. Again, no apology.
-- The session, itself, was fine with Dr. Espinoza
--She then charged my husband double the copay because she insisted that this *therapy* visit fell under "specialty provider," (as in a cardiologist or nephrologist) - not under "mental health provider."
--Lastly, when giving my husband his next appointment, she told him "Tuesday, June 6th." My husband corrected her and said, "June 6 is a Thursday," to which she responded, "that's what I said." This is exactly how the first appointment error was made.
This was such an unnecessarily frustrating and disheartening experience for a man who is already feeling vulnerable taking the first step to seek therapy. This woman is not competent to manage any kind of office, much less an office that requires decency, compassion, and sensitivity, such as a therapist's.
