1. First Step Counseling

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San Pedro, CA

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First Step Counseling

4.3 (41 reviews)
Closed • 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

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11 years ago

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Ask the Community - First Step Counseling

Do you have men counselors?

Hi thanks for contacting us. Yes we do, please see our clinicians listed online at https://fstepcounseling.com/. You can also give us a call at 310-938-4575 during our office hours and we'll provide you with more information.… 

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Review Highlights - First Step Counseling

“Liz also found a way to squeeze me into the schedule, despite all of the therapists being booked and at capacity.”

Mentioned in 13 reviews

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Anew Era TMS & Psychiatry - Long Beach

Anew Era TMS & Psychiatry - Long Beach

4.8(62 reviews)
5.7 mi

They are a great team! On time appointments, reliable doctors, and helpful with prescriptions!read more

I have used them as a provider for four months, but I'm breaking up with them today…read more 1. They were nice enough in my first visit, but scheduled my appointment with a doctor who told me during our visit that he was quitting. Why would they place a new patient with a therapist who was leaving? 2. They are incessant about their TMS option. When I told them that the approximate $4,000 (!!!) cost was way out of my price range, they "discounted" it down to $1,000 magically, and repeatedly called me to schedule an appointment, even though I told them that was still too expensive at this time. 3. They have required a monthly visit the first four months, even though I was seeing my previous therapist once every six months for a condition I've had under control for 4+ years. 4. On this last visit, I was told by the provider that it would be two months until my next visit, and wrote me a prescription for 60-days instead of 30-days. 5. I was randomly assigned an appointment for today, one month after my last appointment. I did not schedule it, I did not ask for it. 6. Their office charged me $75 for a no-show appointment this morning. 7. The front desk receptionist, who obviously hates her job, told me that I was wrong about my appointment date, the follow-up date, and had no response when I asked why I would be scheduled for a 30-day check-in when my therapist wrote me a 60-day prescription. Seems to me like one of those groups that is taking advantage of the mental health provider shortage by treating their patients like cattle, nickel and diming them along the way. I've already opened a credit card dispute, but wanted to hop on here to warn everyone that this may be a good short-term solution if you are in desperate need of an appointment immediately, but find a solid practice with ethics and morals for the long-term.

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Anew Era TMS & Psychiatry - Long Beach - Comfortable and calming waiting room.

Comfortable and calming waiting room.

Anew Era TMS & Psychiatry - Long Beach
Anew Era TMS & Psychiatry - Long Beach

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Sarah Harper Psychiatry

Sarah Harper Psychiatry

3.9(8 reviews)
6.3 mi

Dr. Harper has been so helpful in the past several years through many crises. I highly recommend…read moreher.

I saw her several years ago. Like some of the other reviewers, I thought she was a kind, good…read moredoctor in the beginning, as that is the demeanor she initially presents. However, this woman does not know how to safely prescribe serious medications and she made things much worse for me. (Plus, what's been written here about no receptionist, her not getting back to you in a timely fashion, etc. is all true.) I went to her wanting to get off of Alprazolam, as gently and naturally as possible. It's the strongest of the benzodiazepines, which had only been prescribed for me by a DO off-label for back pain, not anything psychiatric...and before I knew what benzodiazepines were, let alone how bad they are! I was on 1.5 mg/day. She ultimately bumped me from that dose to 4 mg/day! This did not feel right to me. But I trusted her then. And I became a wreck! Anxiety through the roof and not feeling grounded enough to do things, especially driving. Her answer? She put me on Gabapentin, too! She took no responsibility for anything as I became more and more debilitated. In fact, she became angry and short with me, as another reviewer also shared. Also, once I began asking more questions as things were getting worse, her immense arrogance rose to the surface, as well. She's a wolf in sheep's clothing and, due to my experience, I don't believe she should be allowed to prescribe psychiatric medications at all. She's the kind of doctor that everyone is hearing about now, adding to the prescription drug problem in this country, who keeps throwing another med upon another med until the person is in a terrible mess, trying to safely get off of them. I ultimately found a great psychiatrist who knows the dangers of psych. meds. and works primarily with getting people off of them, not prescribing them (a rare bird). He got me off the Alprazolam with a slow, gentle taper (not trying to do it in two weeks or a month, as many MDs try to do, putting people in hell on Earth, and sometimes seizures, strokes and the like). He was absolutely horrified by how she had put me on so much of it, and so fast...and embarrassed for his profession. And since I sadly know that people who see a psychiatrist can still be stigmatized, I decided to write this review because 1) I wasn't given psych. meds for psych. reasons and 2) She is just awful and anyone considering working with her on meds should know of at least one person who found out that she's incompetent, to say the least. Stay away.

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Sarah Harper Psychiatry - Dr. Harper

Dr. Harper

Sarah Harper Psychiatry
Sarah Harper Psychiatry

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First Step Counseling - c_and_mh - Updated October 2026

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