One of the worst nightmare experiences I've had in an already high-conflict custody case. I saw…read moreSkip for court-ordered reunification therapy between my daughter & her estranged father. In addition to the lack of professionalism, Dr Himelstein messed up a total of 4 appts by either forgetting it was booked or double-booking and I'd show up w/ my daughter and not be seen. My daughter cried, resisted, and absolutely hated both individual and reunification therapy, but Skip kept telling everyone it was going great despite watching my daughter cry and resist at every visit. She also told me the only solution for my daughter's anxiety was to see a child psych & put her on medication after only knowing her for the space of maybe 3-4 hours. Of course, Ive received 2nd opinions about this who basically said it was absurd to jump to that conclusion in such luttle time, especially given the circumstances of my daughter basically meeting her dad for the 1st time in the middle of COVID.
I also reminded Skip SEVERAL times about my concerns surrounding my daughter's dad's lengthy history of violence & CWS cases, and each time she'd be surprised and say "Wow, I didn't know that!" despite telling her on day one. There were never any clear guidelines or treatment plans set in place at the beginning or end of conjoint therapy. She constantly acted as my ex's messenger over the phone, then would complain to me about not wanting to be in the middle of it & made snide remarks about the lack of communication... right after she CALLED ME to discuss my ex's complaints.
When courts ordered a temp return to Skip in the interim of finding a new conjoint therapist, Skip watched as my ex had yet another one of his outbursts at her office (the 1st time he stood up during session, cussed, yelled, and stormed out) & this time it was in front of my daughter. He told her "if u don't want to see me, u can find me later in life." Skip watched as he basically yelled this at my daughter standing just a few feet away from her, then he walked over to me and started yelling at me. Skip turned her back to the entire scene & told me "I told him not to say that," then proceeded to tell minors counsel, just days later, my daughter's issues were a result of the conflict between me and my ex. This was also after Skip hadn't seen neither me nor my daughter for well over a year. I cannot stress enough the lack of professionalism, guidelines, boundaries, and memory in working with this therapist. EVERYONE I spoke to about my daughter's issues w/ reunification would ask me why on earth Skip kept pushing for more time w/ her dad (after he'd call Skip & complain, of course) when there were clearly serious issues since day 1, and I have multiple text messages of communication w/ Skip to prove it.
After all this, my ex decided to withdraw his motion & give up on conjoint therapy and my daughter, proving to everyone the type of person he is, and I cannot be more relieved that Skip is not facilitating, nor has a voice, in any aspect of visitation going forward... IF it goes forward again.