I've never left a review for a doctor or psychologist before, but my recent negative experience with Dr. Rothenberg left me no choice but to warn others to stay away. Dr. Rothenberg was referred by our pediatrician at PAMF. My husband and I did a half-hour initial phone consult with her. The call was unpleasant - she kept interrupting and talking over us, with a combative and pushy attitude. Nevertheless, she had impressive credentials and we needed someone to help us, so we scheduled an in-person session with her the following week. Then, at the end of the call, Dr. Rothenberg informed us that she has an "old" car, so for home and school visits, we would have to pick her up from the Redwood City suburbs and drive her there ourselves! WTF!? Not only was that too far a distance for us, but we couldn't believe any doctor would make such an unprofessional demand of a patient. When we suggested more reasonable options, like taking Uber/Lyft or renting a car, she became VERY argumentative, insisting that we chauffeur her all over the Bay Area, or else she would not work with us. Stunned, we canceled the appointment and are now in the process of finding another child psychologist. In addition to posting this review, I have also reported Dr. Rothenberg's inappropriate demand to my pediatrician, and I've asked PAMF to not refer Dr. Rothenberg to parents in the future! What a nut! read more

Breach of confidentiality. She called me 15 times on a Tuesday afternoon - between the times of 3 -7 pm. And then the next am at 730 am including calling my sons school and another location of my sons school looking for me to CONFIRM an appointment ! It's so unprofessional and a breach of confidentiality and I was so embarrassed that the admins of these two schools had to locate me to let me know she was looking for me! I cancelled all my appts with her. It was a horrific experience! I would never recommend her to anyone! The session was about home situations not school life! She had NOooooo right to reach out to my sons school or a different location of my sons school! read more

Our experience with Dr. Rothenburg was extremely disappointing. While our initial consultation with her was positive; the two visits that followed were negative and inappropriate on so many levels. Her true colors emerged. She was very inpatient, pushy for money, and at our last visit, demanded, "Just write the check now", ignoring my husband's request for clarification about her session fee. I agree with many of the previous reviews. Please, please save your money and time. She was combative, rude, and referred to my family as a "shit family" after I asked for a itemized statement to give to our insurance company for reimbursement. Her goal seems to be solely focused on getting that check from you, and not so much to help your family. Clearly she shouldn't be working with families; she shouldn't be around people. We only had three visits with her, and that was enough. read more

I agree with all the negative reviews. Our experience was years ago when we were new parents, but I still feel the negative effects of our 2 visits with this psychologist. She insulted us instead of supporting us in a vulnerable moment; she didn't take the time to really get to know our daughter; her strategies seemed very generic (not unique to our situation); she pushed her books & publications and seemed most concerned about making money; and her overall approach felt very dated, impersonal and uncaring. We have since found much better resources for our children and know what professional, thoughtful & supportive child psychology looks like. This doctor is not that! read more

I am mystified by the positive reviews of Annye. She is very opinionated and judgmental and does not listen. She is the smartest person in the room and your job is to blindly follow her. When challenged she becomes rude and very unprofessional. She actually told my middle school son "I feel sorry for you, you have to live with her", meaning me. And yet PAMF recommended her. Be very careful with your money! read more

Dr. Rothenberg came to observe a child at the summer camp I manage and was rude to everyone she interacted with. Maybe she's kind and helpful to the families of the patients that she works with but she was extremely rude, impatient and disrespectful to me and my staff. I have never been so disrespected in my life. We have protocols with setting up observations, and she refused to follow our protocols or be patient for 5 minutes while I got authorization. She kept interrupting me and was so patronizing and rude. read more

Like the other negative reviews here, we also received an incorrect "diagnosis" for our son which led to a long, painful summer of misery for our whole family. Dr. Rothenberg's standard "diagnosis" seems to be that children are "difficult" and need to be yelled at. This destructive approach provided no help for our son who was seen by another practice and diagnosed correctly with ASD. Stay far away from this expensive "doctor." read more

Unfortunately, our experience was the same as the 2 reviews written here. Our son, who has autism, was diagnosed with not being disciplined correctly, not PDD, not autism, and the preschools she suggested simply were not at all a match to his needs. He needed help immediately and we didn't end up gaining advice that we could use to head in the right direction from seeing her. The 2 reviews I see listed here are correct, unfortunately. She seems like a very nice and well educated, smart woman. Perhaps just not right for autism in the time frame we needed help, which was in the early 2000s. read more

Always get a second opinion. This woman mis-diagnosed our son, telling us we just did not discipline him correctly. We later discovered that he is ADHD and is on the Autism Spectrum--which led to depression and High Anxiety--the poor kid was not being treated for his real issues. ALWAYS get a second, and/or third opinion. Just because someone is a licensed professional does not mean they are always right. read more

It was a big mistake to work with her. We were concern about our son. Instead of adjusting our expectations and using common sense, she tagged our son with so many things to be wrong. And over time we realized how wrong she was. I am so glad we stopped it after the second session. She was all about money and trying her best to give you a horrified image of how many things are wrong with your family and kids. Don't waste your time and money. Please do your research and use online resources. There are also better places to help you. read more

Dr. Annye Rothenberg is an outstanding family counseling/parenting/educational consultant. She was referred to us by Dr. Amy Heneghan, our Pediatrician at PAMF, who has referred her to many families, all of whom have improved their family's well being as a result of working with her. My husband and I have five year old twins, and in addition to being CEO of a 20-year old consulting firm, I am President of the Mid Peninsula Parents of Multiples, a 550-family organization that hosts parenting classes on a regular basis. I am an experienced buyer of these kinds of services, having gone through extensive Love & Logic parental training, attended over a dozen parenting classes through MPPOM, and having advanced degrees in Marriage Family Child Couseling and Career Development. We have worked with Dr. Rothenberg for over six months and have had approximately 12 visits. Our issues that led us to seek expertise included being dissatisfied with the Love & Logic training we had taken, and feeling that L&L was too focused on penalizing kids, but that on our own we were too permissive. We had issues around getting the twins to sleep in a timely manner, and to stay in bed, bad behavior (nothing terrible, but not what you want pre-K'ers to do), uncertainty around kindergarten preparedness, and questions around developing the most high functioning parenting philosophy and style that we could. As parents, of course we agreed in some areas and disagreed in others. Dr. Rothenberg has been superb. She is an older lady, a grandmother, extremely smart and wise, and does not put up with nonsense from anyone. That in itself is a great role model. She is highly attuned to the special needs of each of her client families, and has taken the time to truly understand us and to develop a counseling style that is successful beyond anything I could have imagined. Yes, she is a bit old fashioned in that she communicates by phone, actually answers her phone when she is able, checks her messages frequently, and responds to clients within 24 hours and expects the same from her clients, and accepts checks for payment. Most of the best therapists around use these methods. They are not like massage therapists or food delivery people who use text messaging and Square. Dr. Rothenberg has successfully gotten to know my husband and me and our family, evaluated and reported to us on our parenting styles, strengths and weaknesses, made suggestions, conducted both school visits to the twins' preschool and conducted home visits, and has built a relationship with us where we trust and respect her and feel safe and validated enough to take risks, look inside, and improve our parenting skills. For me, I like a theoretical model that I can then take practical. My husband is more no nonsense. We've both been able to bond with Dr. Rothenberg and learn from her, and she has even been gracious enough to have a couple of mini-sessions with our au pair from Colombia. Dr. Rothenberg has also helped me figure out the right amount of after-school activities, recommended the best summer day camp for us, and helped us decide if we wanted to do a bilingual kindergarten. Seriously, I have been 100% delighted with Dr. Rothenberg and would be glad to serve as a reference for any families considering utilizing her services. read more

I am mystified with the negative reviews of Dr Rothenberg here. Dr Rothenberg has decades of experience and has literally "written the book" when it comes to childhood behavior issues. We felt very fortunate to be able to avail of her services and had an excellent experience with her. We had a number of sessions with Dr Rothenbery while working through some issues with one of our children and found her to be exceptionally thorough, helpful and easy to deal with. She spoke to us (in detail) to understand our concerns, spoke to our child's teacher, and observed our child both in the classroom and at home (without our child being aware that they were being observed). She then came back with concrete, practical recommendations which we implemented, and which worked. We felt that Dr Rothenberg was available and supportive throughout the whole process. I'm very grateful for the positive impact that Dr Rothenberg has had on our family and would not hesitate to recommend her. read more

I have know Annye Rothenburg for many years. I trust her years of experience and have seen first hand the positive transformation in children and families that she has worked with. She is an advocate for young children and understands their potential to be successful at school and home. I appreciate her honesty and use many tools she has shared over the years. The feedback from families she has recommended has been positive. read more

We had a completely opposite experience with Dr. Annye than the other three reviewers. We were referred to Dr. Annye by a friend, who was also referred to her from another friend. Dr. Annye was amazing, and truly helped our family. For context, my husband & I have four children, two girls and then two boys (less than 5.5 years between the oldest & youngest child). Our challenge was with our 2nd daughter. At the time we sought Dr. Annye's help, our 2nd daughter was 4 years old and VERY challenging at home and at preschool - defiant, lack of empathy, highly disrespectful, selfish, no impulse control. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, and didn't care about anyone else in the process. I will also add that our daughter is quite bright - she's never been tested, but she earns starlight A's at her private school and her teachers continually tell us that "she processes at a higher level" (she is now 10 in the 4th grade). When our daughter was on the verge of getting kicked out of preschool - the top, "best-of", home-based, academic&play-based preschool in our area - my husband & I decided to seek help. We first talked with Dr. Annye over the phone for about 15 minutes (at no charge) to determine if there was a good fit between our needs and Dr. Annye's services. After agreeing it was, my husband and I met with Dr. Annye at her home for about an hour where we went more in depth into the issues. Following that, Dr. Annye observed our daughter at her preschool and at our home to see how she interacted with others. (Prior to observing at the preschool, Dr. Annye talked with the preschool Director and primary teacher over the phone for about 30 minutes. She also spoke with them afterward, over the phone, to discuss her findings. The preschool Director said that what she heard from Dr. Annye was not only good practices for my daughter, but also all of the children at the school). After her observations, my husband & I met with her again for close to two hours. That session was recorded and we took the CD's with us so we could listen to them over and over as needed - much preferred over written reports. It was hard implementing Dr. Annye's guidance, but it was worth every minute and tear shed. It was also worth every penny we paid. Years late, our daughter is a highly adjusted 10 year old - she is an honest, respectful, straight-A student, and an award-winning athlete in two sports who demonstrates care & empathy for others. It is not 100% of the time - she approaching puberty, after all, and she still makes us mad by some of her decisions - but it is no where near the level of frustration that ruled our home at the time we first met Dr. Annye. (And what is probably obvious by now, our daughter is not on the autism spectrum or have other behavioral diagnoses, which other reviewers' children exhibited - and yes, always get a 2nd opinion if you are not satisfied with the first.) I will also say this...while we met with Dr. Annye in hopes of her "fixing" our daughter, what we actually learned was how to fix our parenting of our daughter. What worked well for our older daughter and two sons wasn't what our 2nd daughter needed from us, and Dr. Annye helped us see the gaps in our parenting and how to be the parents our daughter needs us to be. Dr. Annye didn't speak in generalities either, but gave us specifics from what she observed of our daughter and said, "when (your daughter) does (this behavior) then you need to say (these words)". And it was very specific to various behaviors. Over the course of the next year, we saw a massive change in our daughter's behavior and attitude, and the level of stress and frustration in our home greatly reduced. Six years later, we still use the techniques Dr. Annye taught us from time to time as needed. It was invaluable, and there is nothing we regret. P.S. In regards to insurance, while Dr. Annye did not accept insurance, she did provide us with an invoice with dates & medical codes so that we could submit it to our insurance for out-of-network reimbursement (which we did receive). read more

If you're looking for a professional who can help you sort through family dynamics and guide you with your child rearing issues then look no further. You will find Dr. Rothenberg to be warm, compassionate and equipped with many ideas for you to apply to any situation. She's there to get you through any challenges you may be facing, and help you see that there are better, happier days ahead. Your time with Dr. Rothenberg will be well-spent for each session is constructive and comforting. She listens to your concerns and issues carefully, and demonstrates empathy as she works through each concern you may be facing. She is insightful, and always has positive ideas to suggest to help you move forward as you try to deal with everyday child rearing issues. Her years of experience in working with families should give you confidence that you are in excellent hands. read more

Our family has benefitted immensely from Dr. Annye's deep experience, keen insights and collaborative style. She has been an extraordinary resource and helpful adjunct to our family. read more

Dr. Rothenberg is knowledgeable as a child psychologist. However, she is surprisingly rude. At the end of the session, her feedback was overwhelmed by her condescending tone about our parenting, and questioning. She also does not nor will not write any written reports, and she doesn't use email. Every session she records on CD's which is helpful for the family to review, but not helpful when reports need to be sent to doctors or teachers. read more

We can't say enough positive things about Dr. Rothenberg and the support she has provided to our family. She is incredibly insightful, supportive and intelligent and we have the highest degree of trust in her judgment. Dr. Rothenberg helped successfully guided us through some complex behavioral issues with our 5 year old at a time when we thought we had tried everything. Almost immediately after we began working with her, we started to see immediate positive results. More importantly, we suddenly had confidence as parents that we could provide the necessary support that our child needed, and for that we will be eternally grateful. read more