Lahey Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine - Burlington, Massachusetts

Rae M.

I had Ada before she retired and she was great. After, the person I saw told me I was at risk for opioid overdose due to buying weed outside of a dispensary. I could forgive her for believing something so silly but not for her response to what she believed (no response!). Any professional who is able to prescribe shouldn’t be uttering those words unless “I can send in a script for Narcan” is going to be their next words. I believe in harm reduction and I’m frankly grossed out that Lahey doesn’t. To me this is a huge error because I care about the opioid epidemic. I figured the medical professionals did too. I’m being hard on her because this oversight puts lives at risk. Outside of this error I had no problem with her. Intuitively, she seemed like a really nice lady.

But then she really personally affected me with further bad choices that ended up seeming calculated. I missed an appointment and then I was refused my prescription that I had been on for 10 years. Your neighborhood drug dealer wouldn’t do you as dirty as she did me. The irony! I went in person to set up an appointment and they still refused to fill my medications which I know for a fact was out of spite because in the past they have always filled scripts, even if you hadn’t been seen in over a year- as long as you had an appointment. They saw a patient going through a hard time and purposefully chose to make it harder. It was office staff and my providers nurse who were the worst of all. The nurse towered over me, while I sat in the lobby, with her hands on her hips. Her demeanor was aggressive and uncaring. Top management wasn’t empathetic at all when all of this was relayed to him. The compassion fatigue was palpable. I can’t imagine anyone getting disciplined there as the manager didn’t have a problem with anything I had a problem with. The whole experience was dystopian and psychologically distressing- more so than anything else I had experienced this past year! A sad fact. They should be ashamed of themselves. Peoples lives are at risk when they make bad choices. It’s insane to make a patient go without their medication as punishment for missing an appointment and requesting a new provider. It’s also retaliation.

My PCP from Lahey (who leads the department) is a super empathetic Dr and I felt he believed that what happened to me was wrong. He offered to take over all of my scripts so that I would never be at risk of being without my medications. He said he felt “very comfortable” doing so.

In sum: I was a pain in their ass and they punished me for it. And they’re trash for that.

maddie M.

I have never been to a more incompetent place for mental health. It’s scary tbh I was put on medications and doses that my body is super reliant on and my psychiatrist was so careless on multiple occasions I did not receive my medication for days after running out . I would be projectile vomiting , flu like symptoms and overall in a deep depression. No one apologized, therapy was also odd and then randomly one day I wasn’t able to book anything for 8 months so they stuck me with an intern who quite literally said “ I don’t want to be here”
And then when requesting a new psychiatrist the head of the dept said to me “ you know if this one doesn’t work out, we’re going to refer you out.”
I ended that call so fast and found new providers immediately.
And it costs $7 to park

Theresa T.

My experience with psychiatrist dr patel was terrible. She refused to listen to me regarding a medication both I and my therapist felt I needed. I was luckily able to find a new provider outside this practice who was receptive to my feedback and agreed to start me on medication for my adhd & my life is so much more manageable now. Despite the fact that i had documented adhd as a child and significant improvement to my academic life then, she treated me as if i was drug seeking even with evidence to the contrary by multiple others in my life including medical professionals. Psychiatrists need to listen to their patients! Not everything is a textbook case. Especially for women and people with co-occurring disorders

I did see Dede (forget her last name) for neurological testing and I thought she was great as well as very responsive to messages and requests so there are so bright spots so bumped up 1 star for that

K C.

There is one outstanding provider there her last name starts with G. and she’s so intelligent, kind and just a wonderful human being. So, for her it would be 10 stars! However, I haven’t been happy with anyone else. As a nurse who used to work at Lahey, I don’t like being told what the max dose is for medication when I know the max dose is 3 a day not 2, it’s just very annoying and insulting! I really feel like good therapist are hard to come by though!!

Jane N.

I have had bouts of depression for the past 20 years. I have had 3 different therapist during that time,getting very little from our sessions together. Within the past 6 years maybe longer I have seen Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine Audur Bardardottir, NP. She has guided me through the loss of my son to drug overdose, the loss of my grandchildren to their mother and now the loss of my husband. Audur takes her time listening to me rant through my sobbing. She has narrowed down the dose of medication for depression and anxiety. The dose she prescribed does not leave me feeling like a zombie. So I guess I'm trying to say not all the therapist are are incompetent. Without her help I'm not sure I would be where I am today. Thank you Audur!

L B. T.

Since therapists are people too, I can’t expect to agree with all of them, IMHO.
At Lahey, I have had many therapist. Some good ones regrettably leave, others I must decide to change. Fortunately, the two I have now are very good.
But I just realized, I shouldn’t think the therapist would change their approach, if I’m not willing to bend a little also.

Emily (.

Made an appt back in December 2018 for my 8/9 level of depression and anxiety. Their soonest opening was April 10th 2019. Luckily, I found Oasis Behavioral Health in North Chelmsford willing to take me in right away no questions asked. There they referred the best therapist Dr. Jeanne Gilchrest. They've been amazing, and my depression is now down to a 2 and anxiety 3. No wonder people suffering from extreme depression give up and commit suicide!!! This pathetic excuse of an establishment should be ashamed of themselves!!!!!! This is the problem with the behavioral health system. It's so not right! Definitely check out Oasis Behavioral Health!!!! I'm still absolutely livid at how little care these people have for sufferers of mental illness and depression.

Kathleen C.

Patty S. Is excellent. She takes her time with you and is very down to earth. She never makes you feel rushed either. Everyone loves her. As for the rest I haven't had much experience yet. I'll chime again in when I do.