New England Center For Healthy Minds - Acton, Massachusetts

Nicole D.

This place has been great! During Covid I was stuck with a terrible nurse who happened to be a fill-in after my wonderful long term psychiatrist had retired. The fill-in nurse literally had no knowledge of psychiatry (but had been in a hospital setting for many years prior, and therefore should've had some knowledge about prescribing medication and all that entails.) During the 9 years that I was with my original psychiatrist/therapist, it took us the first two through lots of trial and error to figure out what medications and treatment plans worked best for me. (This was no easy feat either, due to the first 16 years of my life being filled with intense and severe trauma. I experienced every form of abuse imaginable, including prolonged torture amongst several other unpleasant things.) So, my mental health &treatment plans are quite extensive and need to be thoroughly regulated. Despite knowing all of this, along with the fact that I had been stable for the last 7 years I was with my prior Dr., this new nurse lady took it upon herself to cut my anxiety and adhd meds in half immediately (no tapering) and changed my depression medication because, 'she had read this one worked better for people like "me."' All of this During the very first year of covid, no-less, when the entire World was anxious and depressed. I cried every single time I had to meet with her, each time I tried to plead with her to let me go back to the medication routine that had been keeping me stable for so many years before having to meet her, no such luck. I was stuck with her for a full year before I found The New England Center and I cannot tell you how good it felt to express tears of joy after my first time meeting with Michael Pizza! He actually listened to me, he actually cared- and boy, what a whole World of difference that makes! I've been here for 3 years now and I am still receiving a highly skilled level of care! I strongly recommend The New England Center for Healthy minds!

Libby D.

I hate to do this because four years ago, i gave a 5 star rating to this place and was very comfortable suggesting them to people I knew who needed services. I even was featured in a magazine and newspaper article to spread the word about my experience with TMS. However, since the move to Acton I have had nothing but issues, and it has become a health concern, so I am taking my "business" else where. I have had 3 instances where I have called for refills (you can only leave a message) and wait days. When nothing arrives for days, I then call again, to leave another voicemail. The first time this happened, i left 3 voicemails, a full 6 days went by before I could speak to an actual person and I was told they had no record of me calling, and I would need to pay $25 for an urgent refill. the second time was basically the same interaction, but I was unable to work for 2 days because of the state my body/mind was in after be without medication for a week. As I am writing, it has been 11 days since my original refill request and have heard or received nothing. I am saddened to have a company, whom I advocated for so much, allow me to be put in this dangerous situation so many times.

Samantha L.

The providers are fine, however trying to reach the front office is the biggest hassle. I’ve tried calling them for the past 2 days to schedule an appointment so I can get a refill on my medication. I have gotten a voicemail every single time I’ve called. It’s impossible to reach them and by the time you finally get a hold of another person on the other end, you now have no medication left and they take another 2 days to fill it so you’re left with struggling with no medication. Very frustrating.

Henry M.

I have been lucky enough to have an excellent provider, Dr. Parmanand. My complaints have nothing to do with him. The service at this business is frankly unacceptable. I am not exaggerating when I say you will get a voicemail 9 out of 10 times you call, and it will take a couple days for them to return your call. For something as important as medication, this cannot be excused, and I cannot in good faith recommend this to anyone. All of my problems with this business would be resolved if they just hired a receptionist who actually did their job.

Kate F.

I’ve been going here for years, but unfortunately i’ve made the decision to find another practice. Healthy minds as a whole used to be great, including my provider. around two years ago, my provider left the practice and my case was transferred to Carol. Ever since then this place has gone to complete sh*t. Reception will NOT answer the phone. You can call multiple times every hour of the day for weeks and you will not get an answer. You’re lucky if you get a call back and they let the phone ring for more than 10 seconds. It’s insane. They book out months in advance and make it IMPOSSIBLE to change your appointment. And you of course cannot get refills if you no show an appointment. Which becomes a huge problem when you cannot get ahold to schedule or reschedule an appointment, talk to a nurse or remotely anything. Also Carol is HORRIBLE. Not only has she disregarded EVERYTHING I have ever said during an appointment, but she is rude and unprofessional. I’ve always felt like she does not want to speak to me nor help me. God forbid you actually do your job for 5 minutes over telehealth. It’s the bare minimum. Why are you getting into an argument with me over telehealth as my provider? Its absolutely insane. These people are incredibly unapologetic. They do not care that their clients on heavy psychiatric medications are being completely and utterly neglected. I am now withdrawing from an SSRI that i’ve been trying to get off of the entire time i’ve had Carol. She refused to let me off of it although i’m now a fully functioning adult unlike when I was perscribed this, and for years have only been taking it to avoid the horrible physical withdrawal symptoms. Carol abruptly ended my last appointment by screaming at me and saying she needed to call me back. That was two days ago and she, nor anyone from healthy minds has called me back. I’m just suffering the withdrawals on my own. All because the receptionist wouldn’t answer the phone for me to reschedule my appointment. So disappointing.

Julia B.

I love this place, the virtual appointments are so convenient and I like that they use doxy, I’ve heard it’s more secure than Zoom. My nurse prac is Christopher Parmanand and he is THE BEST! I’m so used to people in the medical field being brief/ dismissive and treating me as a number, but Dr. Parmanand is so nice and fun to talk to! He’s so knowledgeable and takes time to fully explain things, teaching me things about the body/ brain, which I really appreciate and value.

Bessie C.

3 stars because we like the provider. Otherwise, extremely unprofessional people. The provider my son has is wonderful, but we can never speak with her in between appointments. Call and leave messages, email, and rarely a reply. This is a serious concern when we are talking about mental health and medications. We, anyone, should not have to wait 2-4 weeks to discuss side effects of a medication or concern relating to. My son turned 18 over the few days since my initial call to the call back from reception, (not provider), now guess what? CAN'T talk to me now! Apparently, I should automatically know that the "release form is available on the webpage". When I replied in frustration I was told "you don't need to talk to me that way, actually, I don't need to talk to you, I need to talk with your son." YOU called me!
Don't go here, it's a headache. The doctor is great but surrounded by..... ?

K R.

Never go here if you value your health and bodily autonomy. I almost lost my life. This place ruined my childhood starting at just 6 years old by giving me heavy medications I did not need for YEARS, and not being honest and upfront about the possible side effects that could be caused.

I came to New England Center For Healthy Minds when I was just 6 years old. I had OCD/anxiety, and ADHD. The psychiatrists told my mom over and over how this medication was necessary for my mental health and I just needed to find the “right one”.

I would be cycled on and off heavy medications, & rapidly gain 25-50 pounds within a short amount of time, become aggressive and irritable, have mood swings, and more anxiety. My mom was ALWAYS told “oh well she just needs a better diet and more exercise”

By the time I was in 3rd grade I had already started getting acne due to the hormones I was unknowingly being pumped with.

At 12 years old I went off medication by choice because I finally could verbally express to my mom I “Didn’t feel right”. My Mom gave me the chance to stop taking them and the pounds flew off! I was ecstatic, I was no longer overweight for the first time in my life! I could finally keep up with other kids! I finally wasn’t always out of breath and feeling numb, because on those medications I couldn’t even cry. I didn’t even know what normal felt like until I wasn’t on medication. I didn’t know what it felt like to not be numb, sick, and fat constantly.

When I was 16 I unfortunately came once more for medication. I had Judith Cassarella for my provider/prescriber. She is the reason I almost lost my life on a medication I should have never been on.
I expressed to Judith how nervous I was asking for medication, stating how I just can’t manage my anxiety, but I really am scared of the side effects and gaining weight. I told her my trauma with my past bullying and experiences with being overweight, and even opened up about bulimia and body dysmorphia. I said how it would severely negatively impact my mental health if I gained any weight.

Judith insisted on prescribing me Abilify. She claimed that she completely understood my concerns and stated “on such a low dose of Abilify (5 milligrams) it is impossible to gain weight and the side effects are so mild, I think this would be the perfect medication for you“ I asked persistently if there was any risk of weight gain, and she insisted going as far as to say “The most weight you could possibly gain is only 10 pounds, and with diet and exercise it’s completely avoidable.”

I gained over 110 pounds total and almost died, went from 148 - 260. Judith never admitted the weight was caused from the medication and she blamed me completely for “overeating” even though I told her from the beginning I was gaining 5-10 pounds per month. she blamed the first 20 on "holidays" and "being happier". I gained 60 by being on Abilify for 9 months and gained an additional 40 pounds after due to insulin resistance and high blood sugar/cortisol from medication.

Judith clearly knew insulin resistance was a possibility due to the fact she suggested (never prescribed) metformin during our last in person appointment when I had gained 10-15 pounds claiming it could help weight management. I got misdiagnosed with PCOS at an endocrinologist because Judith could not honest that it was the medication. I was just severely insulin resistant. I was only 16 and have still not recovered from the pain and trauma I went through then and at the age of 6 at the hands of this place and these providers.

As a 20 year old woman now I have lost over 125 pounds naturally using an inositol supplement for my insulin resistance and continuing to eat a low carb high protein diet with natural whole foods, and exercising. My mental health improved significantly with meditation, therapy, and learning coping mechanisms.

Please run from this place and if Judith is your provider RUN. It’s scary to know this place does not inform you of the black box label warnings, life ruining side effects, and even risks of death!