Short story: I was not impressed. He is very "pro meds." Likes to up dosages, a lot. Does not come across as a deep thinker. To be clear, I do think he is fairly likable, but that does not make a good doctor. I just do not think he thinks about his patients outside their quick sessions. He has A LOT of patients. His suggestions of medications seem off the cuff and in the moment, rather than really contemplating whether it makes sense. Your initial apt will be around an hour to collect a bit of background and medical history, the rest will be for med check ins, lasting 5-10 min. Do not expect conversations or any type of talk therapy (granted he is a psych, not a therapist, but ideally a psych should have some emotional intelligence or have therapists to connect you with).
Long story: I saw Dr. Katz for awhile (over a year). Initial apt was in person, the rest were virtual and quick. I do not find him helpful or deeply thoughtful. He is a classic psych who wants to throw meds at you and see what sticks. I was open to medication to alleviate symptoms of a personality disorder, but he wanted to give me very intense medication that would have side effects that would easily outweigh how bad my life already is. He would not give me SSRIs (seems like first choice?) I was so confused. Each apt he just upped the one med he had put me on, then I had a side effect and he acted surprised (it is not common, but it was one listed in the med pamphlet). We had to lower the dose, and the current med/dose remains the status quo. He doesn't know what to do from here.
He seemed perplexed that people would be concerned about taking meds or have many questions. He barely knows you then wants to put you on intense medication (like Lithium, yes, he likes it and won't hesitate to consider it. As mentioned, I refused to take it). When I said I was scared and that medication simply seemed too intense or not indicated for someone like me (main issue, personality disorder, depression), he was like "how is it intense?" "what does that even mean" and an attitude of "it can't be any worse than your life already, what do you have to lose?" I have an unstable mood, sure, but I am a very fit and bright 30 yr old woman, why throw Lithium at me? Strong risk of gaining weight and being a vegged out person. I can assure you gaining weight would not have stabilized my mood. lol So glad I refused it. On balance it makes absolutely no sense to put me on something like that, or other things he suggested. I asked repeatedly and he did not give me a diagnosis and but he said he does not think I am bipolar, yet kept trying to give me meds that are for bipolar. Why can't I even try a SSRI before Lithium? I begged to try a SSRI because I thought that was the starting point and I never got to try it. He refused. He would rather experiment with Lithium of all things, instead of letting me try a basic SSRI? What the...?
He does nothing to comfort you or instill trust in what he is prescribing. Really is a pill mill operation. I happened to see another psych after him (who I did not retain for other reasons) and when I told this other psych that I had seen Dr. Katz, the other psych raised his eyebrows and said "Dr. Katz sees something like 50 patients a day," which is believable seeing how short apts are, and now most are virtual. Overall, not impressed. My life did not improve under his care. Now I have to wean off meds by myself. I workout a lot now, even more than I did when I saw him, and, on balance, I think this has done more for me inside and out then his intervention.
He does not follow up with you. If you kinda disappear, he does not see if you are okay or see what happened. When you interact with a mental health care provider, I think it is natural to desire a bit of follow through to feel like people care about you. You won't get that most places sadly, and you won't get that here either. Really makes you feel like just a number.
As for the receptionist Ally, I actually have nothing bad to say about her and I am surprised people have had a poor experience with her. I actually thought she is quite attentive (always answers the phone, is "quick"). She is very easy to engage with and I found her to be likable.
2 stars instead of just 1 for level of communication (easy to contact, Ally is cool, ease of making an apt, no confusion about billing, etc). Also, he does takes insurance. read more