I saw Carol only twice, after that she did not seem to want to schedule additional appointments (she said she did not have availability for weeks, then didn't respond to my texts). I've been told this is an ethical issue. I wish I would have read these other reviews, as I also found some of what she said to be judgmental and condescending. read more

One of the worst experiences I've ever had with a clinician. She seemed somewhat knowledgeable about the condition for which I was seeking help. However, she was extremely condescending, unhelpful and unempathetic. While I was explaining the chronic issues that led me to therapy she rolled her eyes at me and criticized me. Had this been my first experience with a therapist I might have quit therapy altogether. read more

Carol Santucci is a straight-shooter with New York City communication style. Depending on your personality you may find this to be aloof and unfriendly. But if you're a good fit with Carol you will find talking to her to be bracing, refreshing and inspiring. Carol is intensely loyal; once she establishes a bond with you she will have your back every step of the way. She has a lot of good insight into people and social dynamics and although her style isn't for everyone she can change your life. read more

Carol Santucci is more than a therapist. She will transform your life if you let her. I have to say, I'm surprised by the two negative reviews on here--but it makes sense that neither of them actually stuck with her for more than a visit or two. When I began with her, about a year and a half ago, I was trapped by a rather self-defeating mindset. Even though deep down I knew I had a lot to offer the world (professionally, relationally, and creatively), I couldn't help but feel like the good things in life were completely out of reach. She challenged this self-defeating attitude from day one and drilled down to the core of what was holding me back. My mindset since has completely turned around, and people have noticed. At work I'm getting new praise all the time. When I meet up with old friends, they are amazed at the difference they see. And my long-term relationship is happier and more mutually supportive than ever. She goes beyond listening and helping her clients reflect. She coaches. She makes you laugh. She will challenge your B.S.; in fact, over time you will recognize your B.S. too and not even bother bringing it to her (or convincing yourself of any such nonsense, for that matter)! She did all of this for me, and now I recognize the good in myself and the possibilities in front of me--and best of all, I have the confidence to jump in and benefit from them. I cannot recommend her highly enough. read more

I just don't understand the negative posts I read about this therapist. I found her to be the best therapist I have ever been to...and I've been to many. She understood me right from the start, encouraged me and allowed me to grow to become the person I am today. Yes, therapy is work, but she worked with me every step of the way. If anyone out there is struggling, you need to see this therapist. I promise you won't be dissapointed. read more

I've been seeing Carol for several years. I have never found her to be combative or demeaning. I have alwasy felt safe in her care. Carol has never tried to push me into areas I felt unsafe. When I'm resistant to change she respects my fears and finds other ways to approach and deal with the issue. With her help I am a very different person from who I was a relative short time ago. My experience with Carol is excellent. I know Carol really cares and that she spends more than just the 1 hour a week I see her working on how she can help. I would not hesitate recommending her to anyone, including family or friends. read more

She deserves no stars from me. I just walked out of her office and all I can really do is laugh! And write this review. I recently made an appointment with her and this was the second visit. I read the Yelp review before seeing her, which was a little scary but since she was the only one who called back (among others I called to inquire about accepting new patients), I decided to just at least try. The first appointment went OK, although I saw that she was a bit abrasive and seemingly very impatient (she kept on interrupting), she also seemed very intelligent, so I decided to go back. So today was the second appt, and it was at noon. I work nearby and it takes about 15 mins to walk over. Near her office I saw that she had just texted saying that she's on a slow bus and will be about 10 mins late. OK. So I text her back when I am in the waiting room: "OK, I'll wait. But please give me a little more lead time if there is a next time. Thank you." She enters the office around the time she said she would, has me sit in her office while she sets up. Says she has to go to the bathroom, I say OK. By the time she sits down, it's about 15 mins after. Before I can say anything, she starts, "First we need to talk about this. This is how it's going to work. First, I am going to be late and you're going to be late. Second, I take the bus and I don't have control over traffic, and third, appointments are 45 mins long and I usually give a full hour. I didn't like your text message and we need to talk about that." Really? I respond, well I come from work, I have an hour for lunch, and it takes me about 15 mins to walk over. If i knew you were running late I can also leave work a little later. This goes on for a few mins, and I am like, "are we really talking about this for all this time?" I look at the clock and it is now 22 mins after. She says that it is a part of my counseling, and something about being in a bad mood because she was running late. I tell her that as a paying client, i think i have a right to ask her to give me a little more lead time if and when she's late. She finally says, "well, if this is the game you want to play, and this must be how you behave in the outside world, then this is not going to work." (her exact words, I kid you not) So i said, "you are right. This is not going to work and I won't be working with you any more," and walked out. HAHAHA How the heck did she get into counseling if this is the type of people skill she has? A smile and a quick apology would have been fine! Hasn't she heard that being on time is a part of being professional, and that maybe she should just start leaving her home a little earlier? Also, how the heck does she expect to help people with this kind of "all me and the world has to deal" mentality? Anyway - all this is to say, I should have listened to the previous Yelp reviewer. Reader, you think about that before you make an appointment with this person. read more

I've seen Carol for a while now and hopefully I have standing to comment on her (though it is a little odd that a client should "review" a counselor. They are supposed to challenge you, not delight you..). Either way, I started seeing Carol at a point when I didn't trust too many people and I trusted her almost instantly. About her style, I'd say she's insightful, direct and, above all, she won't let you rest in delusions for too long. Like I said, a good counselor will challenge you, and Carol always senses when you're ready to be lead out of a "stuck" idea or any other complacency like that. If you're sensing you need to change something in your life, I recommend Carol. She has edged me forward since I've been seeing her, and I'm pleased with where she has lead me. read more

She is prompt with email & setting up visits, & policies are clearly explained. However, I cannot recommend this provider. On the Psychology Today profile, she claims to "provide a safe, supportive, and confidential environment to encourage self exploration, personal development, and growth." This was absolutely not my experience. In response to my answers to her questions about my family background, she called me "weak", told me that I have "no personality" of my own, and insinuated that I am "disgusting" and "a b***h." She states that she is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, but these statements are examples of thought errors (name calling and black and white thinking). She was actually quite combative on many visits, but this, my seventh and final visit was the worst. Upon my payment and telling her that I would not be returning, she called me "a quitter." If ceasing to visit a therapist who behaves this way is quitting, so be it. I cannot recommend for anyone suffering from depression or with suicidal thoughts. read more

If you want your therapist to judge, insult and undermine your experiences, while bragging how amazing she is at everything, Carol is the right person to go to. Needless to say this wasn't the right fit for me. Our last appointment was especially horrific, I was called crazy and inappropriate in the way I approach other people. It was hostile and stressful experience that I don't need to be paying for! read more

Dr. Carol Santucci is candid, assertive, demanding of clients, creative, innovative and caring. Patients naturally reticent to capitulate the fun from being dysfunctional require a gentle nudge, and Santucci knows how to calibrate based on each client's needs accordingly. Now, the more calcified the client, the more pressure the doc applies. Like the basics of any cooperative effort to enact positive change and measurable results achieved therefrom, dig in your heels and this doc will not spare dislodging every clogged cog trapping you in your comfort zone of misery and self-pity. It's too much for the less robust, it would seem, who prefer to whine and stay stuck in the old baggage that comforts them like a blanket with its familiar futility. "Poor you," you think, and want to hear a professional therapist corroborate your distorted self-assessment? Not with this pint-sized percolator of pragmatic problem-pattern-painting-protagonista. Gutsy Gothamite, emphatic explainer of sardonic truths exploding the caterwauling of compulsive complainer, Santucci is the best doc for those ready to have an ally who is the toughest coach-drill instructor for the mind who does with expletives a sailor wouldn't say enact a swift kick in the behind. Want to stay stuck forever, and get a doc to tell you the world is conspiring to focus on your personal misery 24/7? Find another -- any other, almost -- and have a nice strife. Want this sassy, brassy ball of fire to be the progenitor of the biggest breakthroughs in personal growth and positive change in your life? Then get on her calendar. And get ready to have her read you like a laundry list of predictably picayune pity partiers. She will see through you like you are veiled in sheer gossamer garments with your privates showing. And she will make you wish it was only as embarassing as being nekkid when she bares your private parts inside your head. That's the trade-off: to move ahead, you must face the uncomfortable behavior patterns keeping you gridlocked in despair. It can be scary and no fun to get a full-brainpan scan that leaves you with nowhere to hide yourself in your own hide, where those dark places of the irrational side reside. And Santucci will know it all to effectively treat the ancient causes of your pall. But if you've got the moxie to face your demons and let Gen. Santucci lead you into battle to slay them, I would choose her as the only one who will enable you with tools and techniques to dispatch them all. Prepare to face the worst, share the thoughts you can barely acknowledge reside in your skull with this doc and don't look so shocked at her gall to say it all. It takes guts to tear down those walls, and it takes not just a pair of those, big fella, but a willingness to have the Santucci method applied to your big pair -- and the kick hurts like the worst one you can imagine. But if you can take it from the little dynamo doc, and remember carol cares enough to cause you unprecedented pain, your full zest for life awaits as your gain. Thanks, doc, for the epiphany, and for helping me see the biggest obstacle to overcome was standing in my way each day because it was me. You are a magician, and I am indebted to you for your assistance -- and your persistance. Thanks for hanging in there against such reflexive resistance. How dare you, where do you get the nerve, the chutzpah? The insolence! Finally, someone with the gumption to show the way to overcome the failure of acting on erroneous assumptions. Santucci, you've got the answers to the questions I didn't know I should have been asking myself. See ya next time. read more

I was a client of Carol's for over a year and can't think of a single bad thing to say about her. She was always professional, respectful and insightful. She helped me through a very difficult time of my life with the utmost compassion. She helped me find strength within myself. She, not only helped me to understand myself better, but she helped me to take back my life and move forward. She challenged me and made me face some harsh truths. And she irrevocably changed my life for the better. I wouldn't be who I am today without Carol Santucci. I'm not sure why other people had issues with her. Nor why they thought that it would be appropriate to post scathing reviews of a therapist after an extremely short period of exposure. I hope those people find what they are looking for in another therapist. Because that is what you do. If you don't have a good experience with one therapist, you go and find a different therapist that you have a better connection with. Just because YOU didn't find what you were looking for (or one of you was having a bad day or had a disagreement or you didn't like her style), that doesn't mean that she can't/doesn't have an extremely positive effect on other people's lives. This is the very first time I have ever posted a review. I felt compelled to do so because I couldn't stand by and let some very hurt and upset people destroy the reputation of someone who is very, very good at her job of helping other people. Don't let someone else's problems prevent you from getting the help that you are seeking. read more