Duke Psychiatry at Civitan Building

RE: Provider Marisa Smith: I'd have happily given her 10 stars; unil now. I had considered her a caring provider. One of the rare ones that allow their clients to participate in their own care, listens not hears, asks valuable & thought-provoking questions. At my last appointment, I got very upset; our opinion regarding the next step in my tx were in contrast. I abruptly ended the session in frustration. Next? I get a call from administrative staff that I am being handed off to another clinician...then lied about the reasoning until I called her on it. Relationships of all kinds can be ended by either party. Those words should have come from her. Extremely unprofessional. I've never experienced such passiveness from anyone in my 40 years of doing this dance. It's like your spouse's best friend letting you know youre being divorced. All respect & trust vanished.

In the past, this clinic was wonderful. Around 2016/2017 I received care from very compassionate professionals who seemed to love their work. However, this is not the case anymore. The clinic is shifting from long term care to short term care. This decision is coming from people up top who have no involvement in your care. If you will need therapy longer than a few months, just go somewhere else. Employee moral could not be any lower.

Ok, for one, it seems many of the people here that write reviews don't have any idea how psychiatrist do their jobs. And furthermore, you don't give a negative review because you couldn't figure out there is a parking garage next to the building. I am seeing Arkady Millard, who has been great at listening to me and understanding my scenario. She has been tremendously helpful, and has given me confidence in the Duke system. Yes, sometimes you have to try different things, for those of you out there that think you get a magic wand and a solution the first time. Mrs./Miss Millard is really a gem and an asset to the Duke Psychiatry system. I cannot thank her and the Duke system enough for existing and having staff that can empathize with what some people may be experiencing. Yes, medical systems can be "cookie cutter"; you can't have a perfectly individualized plan all of the time and medicine works this way everywhere in the U.S. Duke just does it with passion and empathy and this brings me to a level of comfort I seldom feel at other places. Thank you!!! Especially Arkady!

Pro is great charity care program to keep cost down. Cons I found were that in both individualized and group therapies they tend to do cookie cutter psychology that puts people through set symptomatic treatments that emphasize symptoms while ignoring causal factors. This gives patients a false sense of security that they are receiving effective care when they aren't. This model benefits them so that they have patients to train their residents and can conduct research studies but lets patients slip through the cracks and promotes slow or ineffective treatment. Group interpersonal therapy ignored individual problems over one year duration. Individual therapy ignored areas the therapist wasn't trained in (depersonalization, child of a narcicistic parent). Ok for short term problems, depression/anxiety/anger but I wouldn't trust them for chronic ones because treatment isn't individualized enough. For example, I came in as a child of a narcicistic parent and had my background completely ignored and dumped into ineffective individual then group therapy then DBT therapy then recommended for autism screening! I saw patients that went for years without making progress (Bipolar and someone with a phobia against working). I wouldn't trust them to get at the root causes of someone's problem, only provide symptomatic care (like a bad physician). Probably best if you know you need a specific treatment regimen like CBT therapy for depression or DBT mindfullness therapy for suicidality. Parking costs are expensive unless you have a disabled placard, then there is free parking behind the building. Non disabled can get a parking discount at the gift shop in the hospital across the street-$4 for the whole day.

This place is a godsend. They have a variety of doctors that can help you with whatever problem you are having. My doctor in particular is very awesome. For the following reasons: 1. He talks to me on basically a equal level. 2. He always says what he suggests we try as part of my therapy plan, but he then asks me if I would like to try it. This is important because by giving me the choice instead of lording over me, it makes it more likely that I will try it with an open mind. 3. He's really super nice to me. 4. He's not judgemental of the things that I tell him about. He just asks if that's working for me. Oftentimes we find out it isn't and he suggests an alternative idea in that regard. Your experience may be different depending upon the physician you get but they have a variety of new and seasoned professionals there to help you with your life goals.