I was told I'd be evaluated by a psychiatrist. There was no psychiatrist, it felt like a scam or a timeshare pitch. I know this is a relatively new company. My OB office just referred me - so I will definitely let them know about my experience and recommend they do not continue to refer patients here. I even received an email and text reminder that said "Your upcoming appointment with your psychiatrist, Dr. Cameron Culver is March 4th..." - however, I met with a non-clinical office worker who asked me basic intake questions that could have been done online. That was the extent of my appointment. That was what I took a half day of PTO for, drove almost 3 hours round trip for, paid a nanny extra for, arranged my mother in law to pick up my child for, cut my work meeting short for, and basically re-arranged my entire day for. Huge disappointment, incredibly frustrating to say the least, and one of those experiences that just makes you angry cry. Some companies can be so misleading - and even that is wording it generously. They completely lied about the services they provide. Huge waste of time - and even extra disappointing that they're in the mental health space.
I also come from a background in healthcare, so that's what makes it extra disappointing and almost makes me take this too personally. It's already hard to access quality mental health care, and they didn't make it any easier. If anything, this experience was the worst thing that's happened to my mental health in weeks. Even though the drive was over 2 hours round trip, I decided it would be worth it, especially since they confirmed all appointments following the psychiatrist evaluation would be virtual.
However, that wasn't even true. I was told that I'd have to come back a SECOND time in-person for the actual evaluation with a psychiatrist or nurse. When I asked what the point of the current in-person appointment was for, she said to fill out the intake form and schedule the next appointment. Someone please tell me why this warrants an in-person visit.
To give even more context - these intake questions were extremely basic. It was not "evaluating" anything. These were basic questions like my emergency contact, current medications, medical history, if I've done therapy before, etc. All of these questions could have been answered via an email form. There is absolutely no reason I needed to be in person for this.
I do not understand why a company would have a process in place that would make someone come in person for the sole purpose of filling out an intake form. There was no evaluation, there was so psychiatrist. It felt like a scam.
To make matters worse (if that's even possible), I called the phone number and provided the feedback to a customer service rep. Interestingly enough, she said that they actually could have scheduled me for a virtual appointment with a psychiatrist that would include the intake and full evaluation. So why even offer it as an option for someone to come in person TWICE when they could just accomplish everything in one virtual visit? This organization is disorganized, and their staff does not seem aligned on their process because I heard three different stories from three different staff members. I cannot wrap my head around why a company would ever make someone come in person to fill out a basic intake form when they told them they would speak with a psychiatrist.
This company is unethical, and I would not recommend it to anyone. I'm sure most people working here mean well, but their process is completely inconsiderate of people's time and incredibly disorganized. If you go to their website and read their pamphlets you'll also find typos, grammar errors, etc. Definitely lacks professionalism, thoughtfulness, and is not "Mindful" at all. read more
