She has a painting of herself in her office, that alone should give you a good idea on what you are getting yourself into. BE WARNED, this doctor is more concerned with sticking to the textbooks she read in school--and has them memorized in her mind, than treating you for your specific needs. Upon arrival, she already had prejudged me. Asking me personal questions in the waiting room and then asking why I wasn't putting my dad's name with my insurance--I told her it was my personal insurance---she insisted that it wasn't and that it must be my dad's. I found this to be very bizarre as I've had my own insurance for 10 years and never had a doctor question me in such a manner. She knows what the books say to be good and bad, but she lacks the ability to use judgment and think abstractly. In terms of medications, she seems to only be aware of they are approved for; a real doctor knows the pharmacological makeup of classes of medications and knows their similarities and why they work for that they are approved for, and can also determine that if an identical medication lacks the approval for a condition it may not be due to the lack of efficacy but more so to the lack of marketing/trials for that purpose. She has MORALS in place, and will not break them under any circumstances; she would rather have a patient suffer than to reevaluate what she does and "doesn't do". In addition, she also made a racial remark against me. Asking me where I was from, when she truly wanted to know where my ancestors came from, and took a significant amount of time focused on that topic, which had no real significance to the session. She also has issues with controlled medications. It's as though her worst nightmare is that the DEA take away her licence and she is no longer able to buy Mont Blanc ink for her fountain pens or commission anymore self portraits , that she chose to live in fear of the DEA. A significant amount of psychiatric medications are controlled substances, and again a REAL doctor knows that does not translate into the drug being more dangerous than one that isn't controlled, all it means is that there may be dependency and even then its dependent on the person. This doctor would rather give you something that was uncontrolled, which would have significant more side effects, lack of long term data and may be bad for you in the long wrong, instead of giving you something that may be controlled but have limited side effects and decades worth of research, all due to her fear of the DEA. I suggest you find another psychiatrist who does not display their own insecurities in the session and has confidence in what they do. read more

Anna Wachtel, MD - She is only concerned with getting paid so that she can display more portraits of herself. - Psychiatrists Near Me - New York, New York

Would give negative stars if I could. Was referred to her by the Psychology today list of psychiatrists within my insurance plan. I have no idea why she is on this list. Upon arrival, I was forced to leave and get cash for the Copay, and promptly chastised by her for not reading the appointment confirmation email stating that she only accepted cash co-pays. Was disappointed to find that she was not friendly, warm, or inviting, and tended to cut me off while explaining my symptoms. While explaining my current regimen of medication she cut me off mid-sentence to say that the regimen I was currently on that worked for me was "very bad and problematic and needed to stop." Did not feel that she had my best interests in mind, and did not feel comfortable opening up to her - she is very judgmental. Ended the appointment by telling me that she did not prescribe the medications I was currently on that have been very helpful for me, would not under any circumstances, and curtly asked me to leave for that reason. This is the last psychiatrist I would recommend to someone. read more

Very good doctor, have been seeing her several months. Takes time to listen and finds ways to help with solutions Take a very holistic approach, looking at all aspects of health and well being. read more

I went to see this doctor several years ago and the way I was treated still bothers me. I was telling her about a tragic accident I witnessed involving my sister and how she became disabled, and incredulously, the doctor started eating a sandwich during the session. Then when she was done, and I had just, JUST finished my story, she asked me if I have any siblings! I had just told her about my sister!!! I went to three sessions and gave up. She was consistently condescending, and all she knew how to do was give out medications and ask for payment. Also, every session started 10-15 minutes late. Terrible, terrible self-involved doctor. read more

Dr Wachtel has been a great doctor for me. She understood my needs right away and tailored a great treatment for me to deal with stress. She explains the medication needed. I have been with Dr. Wachtel for a couple of months now, but already seeing significant improvement in my daily life. I strongly recommend her. read more

Awful experience. Shows up late (then berates you for not waiting, while threatening to make you pay the copay anyway as it was a missed appointment. Forgets patient information, focuses on if you have slept enough, and if you drink too much. ( I didn't see her for a drinking issue) I found that she was condescending, and did not make me feel I could trust her, as the only concern was when and how she would get paid. It was an awful experience, that I would not recommend. I like to think that I have a very thick skin, but being made to feel that things were my fault, when they clearly had nothing to do with me, was beyond frustrating. Not recommended. read more

I do not recommend Anna Wachtel under any circumstances. First she asked me to pay her 186 dollars or she wouldn't see me. that was feb 8 2019. I told her this has never happened to me with medicare and arrp. I still haven't gotten it back although I called five times. She was insensitive to me. I came for help and she said she didn't follow politics and what was happening. I said a few things and tried to get back on my problems. Then she said the session was over. I have a hard time walking because of a stroke. she asked me to bring in my two cats so she could see them. It was so obvious that I had trouble walking. I have high anxiety from post traumatic stress from an explosion, bipolar II and generalized anxiety disorder. She didn't want to give me the anxiety medicine I have been on for fourteen years but tried antihistamines. They didn't touch the anxiety.Then started getting stomach aches because of the anxiety. My former psychiatrist just went off medicare and recommended a wonderful sharp and humble doctor. what a difference! read more

She is rude!!! On my LAST appointment, she greeted me saying I missed the previous appointment and she didn't want to start the session if I didn't pay for the appointment I missed and the one I was there for. I had to go outside to get the cash right away! I told her I forgot the appointment because I didn't receive the email confirming it and the appointment reminder either. She did not believe me, acted as if I had done it on purpose or as if I didn't understand that I should have canceled it 2 days before te missed appointment date. She kept on and on with the same thing, wasting consultation time! She even had the audacity of asking to see my emails on my phone, because she didn't believe my word!!! read more

Admirable in every respect. Kind, polite; conscientious on follow through; aware of medication risks, hence careful on prescription; logical, well-read, hence brilliant insights. read more

Dr. Wachtel is a fantastic psychiatrist, very knowledgeable and with a lot of experience, but mostly, she is such a compassionate and kind human being. I'm so grateful to have her in my life. read more

The doctor made a huge different in me! My wife can't thank her enough! I was suffered from depression and was very passive and sleepy during the day. Now I'm much more active and happy! I highly recommend her! I wish I knew about her before. I tried couples of paycayetrist before and none of them helped me! You can't go wrong with doctor Anna Wachtel! read more

She called me at 11:45 PM to cancel an appointment saying the information in the back of the health card was wrong and than after making sure that phone number was right she started telling me that she doesn't see adolescent. She did not wanted to see my daughter for some reason. Notice that my daughter is a month to be 18th. read more

I went to Dr. Wachtel for help with PTSD. She was 40 minutes late for our appointment. I stood out in the street waiting for her, the entire time, feeling more and more nervous because I spent 3 weeks searching for a psychiatrist in the city. Finally, I got a phone call from Dr. Wachtel telling me that she didn't think she could see me because she doesn't take my insurance (but I found her through my insurance company). I responded by telling her that wasn't possible since they are the ones who contacted her on my behalf. Then she told me that she couldn't see me because of a co-pay issue -- which, also wasn't true, because my appointment was covered by the insurance company. When she finally arrived, she spent another 20 minutes having me fill out forms and call my insurance company regarding her co-pay. After FINALLY getting to the actual appointment, she asked a few questions, ignored most of my answers and spent the next half hour making me feel absolutely terrible. She questioned my situation, even after I explained it to her several times. She ignored almost everything I said. She wrote me several prescriptions, and when I told her I was uncomfortable taking them, since she didn't really seem to understand my symptoms, and she told me that I should "just take it" and to ignore any side effects, and to call her in a month. I walked out of the appointment feeling tired, hopeless, and frustrated. I left in tears, and I will never go back. read more

Dr. Wachtel's approach to psychiatry is unprofessional. She is uncomfortably lax with her distribution of medication and her diagnosis is questionable. She is extremely unorganized and does not respect patients' confidentiality. Not only has every single session started late but it is so obvious that she never took the time to glance over my file since the last session. I listed below all the reasons why I was completely disappointed with her practice: 1. My first session: I ask her what it means to be bipolar and she bluntly says, "Well, look it up". 2. She has a scheduler yet she failed to put me into her system properly, twice. Moreover, she did not bother to call me to say she made a mistake. 3. Dr. Wachtel never had a clear idea of what was wrong with me. My first session she's playing a guessing game and just puts me on Cymbalta. Next session she's saying, "well maybe it's a little bit of 'this' and 'that' and maybe you need a mood stabilizer with the Cymbalta". Dr. Wachtel is the definition of why people are afraid to turn to medication for help. She's the classic "shove some pills down your throat and hope for the best" kind of Dr. that no one wants to get involved with. 4. After showing up to a session to find out that she messed up the schedule, I explained to her that I was going on vacation and that I needed to refill my prescription before leaving. She had me write down the information on the cover of a magazine in the waiting room and promised me she would call in the prescription. She didn't call. I had to take double of the pill I had to hold myself over during vacation. Not only did that situation make me so upset but she had the nerve to say, "See the medication is working. You're not getting angry". She had a patient in the room too. This proved to me that she was not looking to help me; she was solely focused on making the medication change me, not making the medication work with me. 5. I haven't showed up to her office in 2 months. Luckily, I had a few refills left and I was able to fill them without going through withdrawal. In the two months, she has not called me or followed up with me at all. It is unbelievable to me that Dr. Wachtel is allowed to continue practicing. read more

She was absolutely terrible. Condescending, judgmental, rude, and abrasive. She was late, and asked for the copay before even introducing herself. Within 5 minutes she decided that she had figured me out and refused to prescribe me the medication I've been taking for years. When I asked her what she was thinking of as an alternative she told me we were out of time. This was 25 minutes into the session (most initial psychiatry sessions are an hour). As a strong believer in the benefits of psychiatry and therapy, and working in the field myself (I'm a clinical social worker), this was an overwhelmingly disheartening experience. Needless to say I will not be returning to Dr. Wachtel. read more

I don't know what these others are talking about, Dr. Wachtel is a highly intelligent lady and I find her to be a good listener, but to the point. My co-pay is accepted wit no problem, with Aetna, and when I first thought the co-pay to be more, she corrected me to reduce it to the proper amount. As for someone's implication that she is loose with her distribution of medications, she has stated to me that were anyone to come to her, looking for restricted drugs, she refuses them out of hand. Call that rude, if you like. read more

Please DO NOT waste your time with DR Wachtel. My first office visit she was late and made me stand outside for 15 minutes while she "got ready", then asked me to fill out a form and how much my copay was before an introduction. My session was completely rushed and all she did was judge my past and tell me everything I've done wrong which I already know, thus the reason for seeking help. At the end she wrote me one prescription ( which ended up being written wrong also) and then called me later on to say she made a mistake and isn't authorized to prescribe the medication which I had already filled at the pharmacy. I'm sure the pharmacy will be calling me next to say she's not an authorized Suboxone Doctor. Wachtel is listed as an addiction MD and lacked much knowledge of the medications and treatments. My first impression of her was horrible and I will not be returning. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL! read more

I never even got to see her, but was dismissed over the phone because one of the medications I take wasn't one she liked. Rather than make an app't to come in and talk to her about WHY, she just rudely hung up. This is no way to treat a potential patient with possible urgent emotional issues calling for help. I would report her to some board, but frankly, she's taken up enough of my time. read more

My 91 year old mother was in a deep depression and having daily severe panic attacks that ended her up in the hospital. I honestly didn't know what to do. After reading great reviews, I reached out to Dr. Wachtel as a psychiatrist for my mom. She was so thorough, collecting all the information and following up with my mother's doctors. She prescribed the right meds and closely monitored my mother. She has weekly check ins and within a short amount of time my mother began to feel better. She hasn't had a panic attack in months. Dr. Wachtel goes above and beyond her job. She is a rare in the medical profession because she has compassion, and truly cares. My mother loves her. She always answers my emails and concerns. I am extremely happy with how Dr. Wachtel helped my mom, and I honestly don't think anyone else would have taken the time to really help a 91 year old woman. Dr. Wachtel is an expertise in her field and a miracle worker. I highly recommend her. read more

PSYCHIATRY IS A SHAM and this lady proved it for me. It's an absolute joke that this person has any kind of medicinal license, whatsoever. Wake up, people, you're all being enslaved. This lady is pure FRAUD. Has no interest in treating root cause (in my case, Celiac's disease/gluten intolerance), and just wants to put you on a bunch of dangerous drugs. When I said I didn't have an interest in that she literally told me she couldn't help me and to go somewhere else. A few simple questions could have helped me but since she didn't see $$$ in her future she kicked me out. I've since done extensive research and have solved my issues myself. Go get some 5-HTP with Tyrosine and watch what happens.... naturally. read more

I have been seeing Dr. Wachtel for several months after going through a major surgery and a lot of other significant changes in my life. She is extremely caring and has gone above and beyond to help navigate the changes in my body and how we can improve my quality of life. As another reviewer put it, she treats the brain as any other organ in the body and addresses what needs to be addressed. She is extremely knowledgeable and I highly recommend her. read more

Dr. Wachtel is very professional and has been a great help to me. She listens well, provides solid guidance and considers things beyond your psychological health when providing advice. read more

The absolute worst- I wish I could give zero stars. Unprofessional, callous, curt, and completely disconnected from reality. I appreciate that she wanted to be thorough and asked me to get a whole variety of medical tests done (including a neuropsychological exam) before prescribing me the medication I had been successfully taking for 7 years, and when I informed her that my insurance would not cover all of those tests she accused me of only being there to hunt for drugs. False. She only accepts cash for copayments, takes notes on lose pieces of paper, and refuses to use a computerized system to write prescriptions. Seriously, if you have any other option I highly suggest going to literally anyone other than her. read more

Made me feel very uncomfortable during our visit--I walked out more upset than I went in. She just wasn't very professional and it seemed like she was only there for the money. Don't waste your time, there are a lot better psychiatrists out there. read more

Beware! I had an appt with Dr. Wachtel this morning. I not only waited for her but when she came out but she completely dismissed me. She claimed that I wrote a bad review on yelp prior to our visit. This is my first and will be last review about her. She told me to take down my review and she will think about seeing me. She was extremely unprofessional, abrupt, and just nasty. She should not be practicing medicine let alone psychiatry. I wish I would have read the reviews prior to making an appt. She deserves zero stars. read more

The conversation I had with Anna Wachtel was very awkward from the beginning but since I am looking for a psychiatrist in my network I told myself to let it go and meet for the evaluation. Despite her condescendence we eventually found a time that worked and while taking my information she insulted the difficulty of my last name. (As if I didn't grow up hearing that enough!) Then she asked for the phone number for my insurance provider from my insurance card and I told her there was not one listed. She refused to believe me, she insisted that there must be one and that I just couldn't see it. I explained I agreed with her logic of a number being on there but unfortunately there wasn't one. I even volunteered to send her photos of the card but she continued insisting and her tone became very strange. Eventually she told me that she didn't think we seem to communicate well and hung up on me. I wasn't sure if we had confirmed or not so I had to call back to find out what had just happened. She told me she didn't think she could help me and to cancel. I came to her for help and she wound up making me feel worse than before. read more

I wish I had read these reviews before seeing her. What a horrible person! This is the worst experience I've had with any doctor, let alone a therapist/psychiatrist, who I would think would be the most supportive. And I've seen many doctors in the city and there are many bad ones among the good, so this is saying a lot. I rarely write a review and I've never given a bad rating but I'm so upset about everything this woman put me through when I really needed someone. If I could give her negative stars, I absolutely would. I only went to her because my general physician referred me to her because she's in my network - I will tell them that they should no longer refer anyone to her. This will be a long review and still won't include everything so if you only read this paragraph, take this away - do NOT go to her!!! The first time I went to see her, I was given the wrong address and once I realized it, I had to run to where she's now located and miss more time from work. But fine, I'll take responsibility for that - I should have double-checked, but it would've been nice to have a direct line to her because I kept having to call through her appointment line to get someone's help (although the people who answered the phone were always very polite to me - great customer service, it's shame they work for such a terrible sham of a doctor). The entire appointment she tried to push drugs on me without really getting to know me first. I'm already on meds and her immediate solution is to pile more on. No, thank you. The next time I went to see her, my appointment was at the same time I start work. I figured I'd be an hour late then make up the time. I waited outside her door for an hour before she showed up! The ladies who answered her appointment line (the only number she gave me to "get in touch with her") were apologetic and tried their best to contact her but she wasn't answering the phone. I was literally crying on the street because I didn't know what to do. When she strolled up, she tried to tell me that we didn't have an appointment which we obviously did because whoever made my appointment verified it. When she realized she was wrong, her excuse was that she left her phone in the office. I told her I was really upset and needed to get to work but needed my prescription and that was the only reason I stayed. She didn't make me pay the copay (as if I would've!) but took up more of my time trying to push more meds on me again until I finally ran out to take a cab to work. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt so I tried one more time. When I made this last appointment, I told the operator that it would be for workplace accommodations and they said they would leave a note for her which I believe they did because they're very on top of things. Thankfully, my job has been very supportive of me so all they needed was the form to get things moving. When I walked in (on time), it looked like she had just woken up and I had to wait for her to get situated. Fine, whatever. When I told her about why I was there, she said no one gave her the message (I highly doubt that) and that she doesn't sign forms especially since she doesn't know me well enough. So she can sign prescriptions without knowing me but not a form that would really help me without having to be drugged?! I paid my copay, asked for my receipt, told her exactly why she's a horrible doctor then left immediately and I will NEVER go back, and I will tell everyone who will listen not to go to her because she will leave you worse off then you might already be. read more

Dr. Wachtel was a lifesaver for me. My mother had recently passed away quite suddenly a few weeks after I lost my job (I was able to get another soon after). I was a wreck, constantly nervous, insomniac, fretful about the future, unable to think straight and barely able to carry out normal activities. Through a combination of talk therapy and medication, I was able to return to "normal" within 4 or 5 months. The medication regimen was especially helpful - we tried a number of meds until we found one that worked for me with no side effects. I can't thank her enough. read more

There are so many things wrong with her. She never starts sessions on time yet she chastises you for being even a tiny bit late. She's arrogant, disorganized, and condescending. She always loses the notes she takes and I had to remind her what we talked about during our last session. She is one of those doctors who doesn't trust her patients to know their own body. She thinks you know your body better than you do just because she's the one with the medical degree. When she brought up the possibility of adding another medication, I talked it over with my mom and my therapist and my GP, etc and I told her that and she got pissed off and defensive that I didn't just blindly agree with her. She did the same thing when I said I wasn't too sure about something she'd diagnosed me with and I wanted to talk about it. She's determined to put people in little tiny boxes. She also made passive aggressive comments about my weight. I know I'm overweight but that's not the point. The point is that that's an incredibly unprofessional thing to do and not how you encourage a patient to lose weight (if necessary). read more

Dr. Wachtel is a very nice and understanding person, but I do not recommend her as a psychiatrist. I only attended two appointments with her, but that was all I needed to feel like she wasn't the doctor for me. She is most preoccupied with being paid and asked me about my copay several times during both appointments (even though I had told her many times that I didn't have one through my insurance). At my second appointment she showed up 20 minutes late and never answered my phone calls as I stood outside her office building wondering where she was. She then proceeded to walk around and answer phone calls during our session!! I really felt like she wasn't even listening to me and she clearly isn't respectful of other people's time. She also loves to talk more about herself and her experiences rather than listen to you and your current situation. My best advice is to steer clear. You will only be wasting your time. read more