Here is a real review of Providence from a real former client. This is not a legitimate provider. Their services do not meet the minimal standard of care, and their talk therapy is irrelevant to substance use disorder. All they do is promote faith-based new age pseudo-religious nonsense (i.e. they are not evidence or science based), and "Dr" Heran was very dismissive when I expressed my concerns. For someone with a non-medical PhD, it's disturbing how his scope of knowledge is so limited. Their psychiatry consultant Dr Steinman was a clown, giving me medication for a made-up mood disorder (aka "dual diagnosis") so they can add another billing code. Not once did Dr Steinman offer medication for addiction such as vivitrol. What a disgrace. After I switched providers, I started on vivitrol, and it made a world of difference. Since "Dr" Heran is not a real medical provider, his ignorance is not only negligent, but also dangerous. People were relapsing while I was here, and they were more than happy to ship these people off to Caron and profit off their insurance when they came back, like a revolving door. They contradict themselves and violate your trust in order to keep you from making real progress as long as they can extract more insurance money.
My Providence therapist Scott Strubinger (who runs a private practice called New Truth) was a serial liar. Our group sessions taught me nothing about coping skills, and the individual sessions were literally the same conversation every week. At one point, Scott staged an unsuccessful intervention against me to force me to shell out more money for Providence. Scott is a detestable excuse for a therapist. Multiple members in my group spoke out about his constant lying and manipulation. But "Dr" Heran saw no problem with that. It's no wonder that I never made any progress with the clinical objectives. All they care about is money.
Billing is a flat out lie. "Dr" Heran's husband Gabe does not tell the truth when he explains insurance coverage. He told me that my insurance would cover services in network, and then I was blindsided by an out of network bill. When I confronted Gabe about it, he denied everything he told me previously. How unprofessional. It's ironic how "Dr" Lau is so unorganized yet has a nonsense PhD degree in organizational management, whatever that means. What business does he have working in a therapeutic setting?
As a medical doctor, the kind who medically treats people based on science, I am insulted by these charlatans who pretend to know what they are doing. By the way, the affiliations they advertise on their website are false. I have a letter from one organization to prove it. The fact that they use bogus psychiatrists to manage make-believe mood disorders in the setting of addiction shows how desperate they are to make money off vulnerable people.
Another issue I had was obtaining my records from Providence. They will stonewall you and delay as much as they can. They knowingly violated HIPAA by refusing to give me my records when I asked repeatedly. When I filed a complaint months later with the federal OCR, Providence submitted adulterated evidence in order to absolve themselves. I have proof of this. They concealed the dates on my correspondence to avoid getting caught. They thought that I didn't notice.
Providence did not treat me for anything. They only wasted my time. I have worked with other face-to-face and virtual providers out there who make Providence look incompetent. If you are suffering from substance use disorder and want a provider who takes the issue seriously, do not go here. If you are involved with PHP, they will likely try to force you to go here, but you can negotiate with them to find a better provider. read more
