Dr. Wendy Shumway took years away from me. I was misdiagnosed, and overmedicated at physically…read moredangerous levels. She discouraged me from being in medication trials that have since proven to save my life. She made me feel that I could not trust my instincts, and this is the only reason I stayed with her for almost 10 years. My doctors today are amazed that I made it out from under her care with my heart, liver, and life, intact. I never knew a psychiatrist could be so biased against people with mental illnesses. It makes absolute sense that I only continued to get worse. I was being treated by someone who didn't think I could get better. Two words of advice: 1) see a psychiatrist who spends more than 15 minutes with you four times a year. 2) If you've been diagnosed or medicated for over 5 years, it's time for a new evaluation. True psychology is a baby science, and if you're not being looked at with fresh perspectives on a regular basis, your doctor is your enemy. Not your friend. And, definitely, not your advocate.

Excellent doctor, saved my life, would recommend to anyone, however, she really pushes the…read moreKlonopin, although, I was at extreme anxiety. I was her aptient for eight years, she is very down to earth, and compassionate.

I've seen psychiatrists since I was about 8 and I've never had an experience like this one. In…read moreCalifornia, a practitioner like this would be out of a job. I had to drive an hour to Corvallis because my insurance doesn't cover anyone within my area that is accepting new patients. When I got there early, I was reprimanded for not having filled out an in-depth questionnaire and then asked to fill one out, which took me about 40 minutes. I had just finished taking finals and completing projects in school; more paperwork is the last thing I wanted to do. Instead of talking to me and getting to know me, Dr. Elder attempted to pick apart my answers on the form and diagnose me based on each one. I wasn't looking for a diagnosis (and if I was, this would be an interesting way to get one!), simply trying to renew a prescription I've had for over a year. When I mentioned this, he got snappy and told me prescribing medication was a risk and he needed more "details" about me. I asked what sort of details he needed, which led him back to picking apart my questionnaire answers. Since I wrote "yes" to "Do you worry about contamination and sanitation?" he started to say I had OCD tendencies, and I explained that the question wasn't clear, I meant that I don't eat meat but I'm not washing doorknobs obsessively. When I told him there wasn't a connection and he was reading too much into my answers on the form (just talk to me! that's what you get paid for!), he got defensive and informed me that based on my answers I also show signs of "attention deficit disorder and depression". Well duh, I wrote down that I have "ADD and depression" on the very first question and that's what I told the receptionist I needed to be seen for! Very difficult to work with, and when I questioned his strange practices he got EXTREMELY defensive and then angry at me, eventually telling me he didn't want to work with me and then kicking me out of his office, yelling "God!" and slamming the door behind me. I'm reporting this to the medical board, he really should not be working with depressed people because he makes people more depressed. Absolutely no compassion or concern and a very quick temper.

I saw Dr. Elder for a couple of years despite his beside manner. I will say that he isn't a…read morepleasant man to deal with, and in this setting, that makes for problems. I initially set out to work with him to get OFF medications, but he just kept adding more insisting that it would stabilize me. It had exactly the opposite effect. When I expressed suicidal ideation to him, he cut the appointment short and sent me on my way. He told my GP that I'd been abusing a prescription because he hadn't figured in 31 day months, and one time I needed it two days "early". He caused me great distress, solved no problems, and to top it off, he's expensive! I would not recommend him to anyone who is looking for a compassionate psychiatrist. The one positive thing I'll say about him is that he knows his meds.

He creates an antagonistic environment. After being informed that I have PTSD from psychiatric…read moremedical negligence, he made fun of me, blamed/shamed me, and re-traumatized me. He has such contempt for his employer and patients, yet providers like him make the system WORSE! Avoid him if you can!