This was the worst experience with a psychotherapist I have ever had! It was not much of an experience, considering of the four 30-minute appointments I had with him, I only spoke with him for less than twenty. He has extremely limited availability and will only see patients during the morning hours. Despite being limited to telecommuting appointments, he flat out refused to arrange an appointment that did not require me to speak to him while I was at work. At my position, it is difficult for me to take a break or call out because my position is unique and there really is not anyone who can cover for me.
Appointment 1: I arrived on time but there was no Dr. Barrett. I tried calling several times and leaving messages, but his staff refused to answer the phone or return my messages. Twenty minutes past the start time, I gave up and went back to work. I checked my phone later and found that I had a voicemail. It was his receptionist, Nicky, telling me that the doctor was waiting and asking if I still wanted the appointment. I returned the call, but as usual, Nicky couldn't be bothered to answer the phone until I called again on my way home from work. She was unsympathetic and unapologetic, stating that Dr. Barrett arrived twenty-five minutes after the appointment began (five minutes after I left) so had technically not missed the appointment. She said that I was the one who missed the appointment and that I was considered a no-call no show. Well, I have news for you, Nichole; twenty-five minutes late for a 30-minute meeting IS MISSING THE APPOINTMENT, and I left three messages that day so piss off with the no call no show B.S.!
Appointment 2: Learning from last time, I checked in but did not start waiting in the waiting room website until a few minutes after it was supposed to start so I had more time away from my desk. Dr. Barrett out-did himself by not showing up for the entire 30-minute appointment. I called and got no help from Nicky, so she transferred me to her manager who was rude and impatient and acted like it was an unreasonable request to expect a doctor to ever be on time for an appointment. He then flat out lied to try and get me off the phone by telling me the doctor was in the waiting room already, not realizing I was still on the meeting site and could see that he had not entered it. He retorted by chastising me for not taking a half-day off of work for my 30-minute web appointment. Excuse me? I can't drop off of work every time I have an appointment to get my meds refilled, I have a job to do! Barrett did finally show up and we had a compressed appointment before I had to rush back late to my desk.
Appointment 3: This one I was late arriving because I was busy at work and couldn't be pulled away but the doctor had not shown up yet anyway, so the point was moot. He never showed up for that one and his staff refused to take or return my calls until the next day where I rescheduled yet again.
Appointment 4: This appointment was for 12:45-13:15. Fortunately, it was a slow day for me so I was able to sit there on my phone waiting solidly from 12:44-13:30 and I never heard from Barrett. I tried calling repeatedly but Nicky still refused to take my calls or return my messages. I did not get a response until I e-mailed her after I got off of work and this was the response I got, "Thank you for your patience. Dr. Barrett reached out to let me know that he did attend the meeting and could hear eating/microwave going on the other end. He waited about 4-5 minutes before he had to move on to his other patients."
First off, as I said, I was there early for the entire appointment plus 16 minutes. Second, I had eaten my lunch an hour before the meeting time. In addition, my food at work is usually a protein bar which does not require using the microwave and I work in a classified facility, so I am not able to take my phone inside anyway! I am forced to conclude that Barrett was either lying or confusing me for another patient. There's an old saying that you should never assume malice what can easily be explained by stupidity, but I would wager on the doctor actually lying in this case. If he misses an appointment, he does not get paid, but if he blames me for missing the appointment, he does get paid.
This is a terrible company with terrible doctors and an unpleasant staff who do not care about their patients except to get as much money out of us as possible. I am now struggling to find a new doctor who can take me while I am almost out of my necessary medications. I can not stress enough to stay far away from Beyond Mental Health, and I hope Dr. Barrett loses his license and is never able to practice medicine of any kind again. read more
