Columbia Counseling offers a broad range of services from adolescent, to eating disorders, to…read morepre-marital, and relationship counseling, to personal counseling needs. I have used them to develop strategies to help deal with several scenarios, and have always felt that the counselors there (I've seen three) try their best to understand the situation, and work through several possible goals and paths until you find the one that best suits your needs. With so many professionals on staff, there is a very good chance that you'll find one that "clicks" for you. Don't be afraid to keep trying new ones until you find the right one. They are not one-size-fits-all. Columbia Counseling Center also participates in several insurance providers.

My experience with Alisha Shim at Columbia Counseling was extremely disappointing…read more I felt significant pressure to discontinue controlled medications, and the tapers that were recommended for me did not feel medically safe. During one taper, I was unable to sleep for nearly a week. I emailed the office early in the week asking for help, but I did not receive a response until after 6:30 p.m. on Friday. When Alisha finally replied, I was essentially told I had run out of options. I had requested a non-controlled medication to help with the insomnia, but that request was denied. My primary care physician later prescribed the same type of non-controlled medication I had requested without hesitation, and it worked. On multiple occasions, the taper instructions were written in such unusual doses that my pharmacy was unable to fill them without clarification. As a result, I went several days without my medication while waiting for the prescription issues to be resolved. During a separate taper, I developed significant withdrawal symptoms, including "brain zaps." At my final appointment, I told Alisha I was at my wits' end and explained what I was experiencing. Rather than addressing those withdrawal symptoms, the recommendation was to further reduce my anxiety medication. That was the point at which I lost confidence in my care and decided to leave the practice. I was also told that she could not legally prescribe certain medications. That explanation was confusing to me because I had previously been prescribed one of those same medications in the past. Whether the issue was practice policy rather than a legal restriction was never clearly explained. In my experience, my concerns were not adequately addressed, and I felt there was greater emphasis on reducing or discontinuing controlled medications than on safely managing my symptoms and withdrawal. My experience at Columbia Counseling changed noticeably after Carroll Health took over, and I no longer felt I was receiving the same level of patient-centered care. Based on my personal experience, I cannot recommend Alisha Shim or this practice. I wish I could give a -star rating. I was a patient for over 15 years

The person who answered the phone was wonderful. Did her best to find help for me. Things became…read morewildly derailed when I consented to having a "Crisis Management Team" dispatched to my home. I did not know that meant FIVE POLICE OFFICERS would also show up. My neighbors now know I had a crisis, thanks Grassroots. I also was told, repeatedly, that if I did what the team wanted me to do - go to Sheppard Pratt for an evaluation - I'd not be charged more than $25. I signed a release at the facility agreeing to pay about that amount. In tiny print above the signature line it says provider charges will be billed seperately. No money. That was what I told these people over and over, I have no money to get therapy or any other kind of help. Now, I have over $200 in bills to pay. If I ever feel like I need help again, I'll just disappear into the woods and let Nature run it's course. What a joke of an operation and I think it's paid for with our tax dollars.

The mobile crisis team shows up to your house with Police. Absolutely unacceptable. Police is never…read morethe answer when no crime has been commited. Train your staff to handle people who seek help without scaring them with the police. Shame on you!

In short, while the program is a great idea and most of the staff seem really great, Dr. Silver,…read morethe founder and sole decision-maker, is also one of the facilitators, and he is pompous and sexist and thus a really terrible example for vulnerable young men. Read the online reviews before you send them a cent! If you want more details, here's more of our story: On paper this program sounds fabulous. There were some minor issues from the start: the staff were often not all on the same page (especially Dr. Silver -- perhaps they just try not to loop him in whenever possible), and scheduling was incredibly challenging. More concerning was that my son, who went to the farm for a day to try out the program, reported that the participants all expressed hatred toward Dr. Silver. My son's concerns were allayed by another member of the staff, though, and we were preparing to start him in the program, when we were fortunate to get rejected before we got too deep, in time or money, all because I asked a question when Dr. Silver was not ready for one. (My first "offensive" question: If we have questions about some of what you just mentioned, should we bring them up now, or should we wait to discuss them later?) The doctor makes a lot of assumptions and doesn't take kindly to being asked to actually listen to people, which is not a great way to behave in this line of work. This included interrupting and not listening to my son when he was trying to explain how he felt about something. Dr. Silver thought he knew what my son was going to say, but he was wrong. He did the same to me, repeatedly, and also criticized everything I said. He would not answer my questions without first complaining about how I said them. Like an abuser, he blamed me for his own bad behavior throughout that meeting, and he couldn't stop himself from lashing out at me. I think he may have felt that because I had been a single mom for most of my son's childhood and had struggled accordingly, I was the cause of all my son's problems and deserved only disdain. (That's not how ADHD works, by the way.) The only person whom he didn't interrupt and to whom he listened patiently and respectfully was my husband. After the meeting, we looked through the schedule and realized that it wouldn't be possible for my son to entirely avoid the doctor. I was concerned that he might say something against me that would alienate my son. My son suggested that, due to the doctor's performance in that meeting, it was apparent that my husband should be the one to bring up such a concern. That got us booted from the program just days before my son was due to start -- with a full refund, fortunately. The doctor refused to communicate with me in any way at that point even though my husband is actually my son's stepdad, not his father (as the doctor insisted on calling him all the same). He also promised us something in his final e-mail that his staff later indicated that they couldn't deliver on. It was a wild ride! Please don't continue to facilitate this man with $$.

I was temporarily without my phone where I have the Thrive number stored, so went to google to look…read moreup the number and was super surprised to find the low rating - I've been coming here for years and have found the staff - both clinical and administrative - to be caring, attentive, kind, resourceful, and other words that I would use if I'd had an entire cup of coffee. The front desk staff greets me super kindly when I come in. I've had 3 different prescribers in my time here and they have all taken the time to get to know me and to find out if everything is working for me well, and to request updates. And greatest of all I've developed the kind of relationship with my therapist that I've always dreamed of having and never before found quite so solidly. If it were possible to award more stars I would do so. I understand that everyone has different experiences, and mine in no way diminish any disappointment that others had, and I'm sorry that they didn't find what they were looking for, but I'm glad to be able to offer a different perspective and hope the positive experience is one that others are able to get here.

Dr. Fuertes has been seeing my child for almost 3 years and we think she is wonderful! She takes…read morethe time to talk to you and then listens to what you have to say, which is appreciated as it happens so infrequently with doctors. We can't recommend her enough!

Professionally, I have worked with many child psychiatrists over the years, so the bar was set…read morepretty high when seeking one for my own children. Dr. Fuertes is one the most kindest, compassionate, and supportive doctors I've ever met. She asks all the right questions and actually listens and reflects on not only what the parents have to say but especially what the child has to say. It is a hard decision to medicate a child, and Dr. Fuertes takes parents' concerns very seriously. But the reality is a low dose of a medication can go a long way in helping alleviate the symptoms of a child and greatly improve their lives and those around them. I would follow Dr. Fuertes to the ends of the earth to treat my children, and I recommend her to everyone I know.

Fantastic experience so far, I've been working with a Dr virtually for over a year now. The app…read moreworks well, no issues ever contacting my doctor and payment via the app is easy to use as well. My Rx gets sent to CVS immediately after we meet each month. My Dr spends the full 1/2 hour with me and I'm doing really well these days. :-) Please don't let location be your barrier to exploring mental health care. Virtual care can work just as well!

If I could rate this place a zero I would. I contacted them on the recommendation of my Johns…read moreHopkins Sleep disease specialist. I have Willis-Ekbom disease. It a neurological disease where when at rest my legs and something other parts of my body experience pain, and the pain can only be relieved by moving my legs or those other body parts, like arms/torso, etc. The pain is severe once it starts and the only relief is movement, and a human body cannot sleep while moving their legs or arms etc. As a result, a person who has the severe form of this disease, like I have, does not get any sleep. On top of this disease, I have severe chronic fatigue. I am being prescribe methadone for the pain and my Sleep Specialist said for me to seek Psychiatric help to see about being prescribe an amphetamine for the Chronic fatigue. The chronic fatigue is so bad it effects every in my life. I can't even drive to work it's so bad. I called Columbia Mental Health Services and they assigned me to a nurse practitioner named Phanedra. I worked with her for 7 mons, providing her with my full medical history getting all the tests done that she required. After all that she tells me because she is leaving the practice and because my father died of a heart attack at age 67 and my mother, who is 90 years old and going strong, has a pace maker, she cannot prescribe the amphetamine. WTH!!!!! I wasted 7 mos of my life and wasted hundreds of dollars only for the nurse practitioner to leave and drop the ball. She could have past my case onto a colleague who could have reviewed it and prescribed the medication but no!....she just wasn't comfortable with prescribing the medication snice she was leaving the practice. This place was HORRIBLE!!!! After finding out about my severe and serious sleep and neurologist disease and the severe chronic fatigue, the nurse practitioner should have transferred my case to an actual doctor who wasn't going to leave in 6 mos Dont trust this place to help you! Find some place better!!!! signed "Disillusioned"

I have trusted Dr. Milan Joshi for over 25 years, he has helped me navigate my mental difficulties,…read moreI will miss him if he retires or dies. The only thing I regret is him passing me to a younger associate with limited experience, but how would you get that without the doing. When needed he has referred my family to professionals in his practice in areas like relationships, personal crisis, or life's travails. No one is perfect when it comes to dealing with the human psyche but as I said it takes time to build experience. Personally I have never experienced any real negative attributes when it comes to his staff, so yes, I recommend he and his staff.

I have been going to Joshi & Merchant for many years and I have always felt welcomed and grateful…read morefor their care. They have an outstanding team and I have never had a reason to go elsewhere. I began my work with Dr. Joshi who was always sensitive and kind, truly cared about his patients. I have been working with Praveena for the last few years and she is phenomenal - kind, caring, a calming presence. And she knows her stuff. I was surprised to see the negative reviews, but all practices go through growing pains. I'm sorry some folks got caught up in it. Thankfully, all of those reviews are years old and I hope current patients feel otherwise.

Went here for a period of time a few years back when I was still in highschool. At the time, I was…read morejust finding out about my obsessive compulsive disorder, and had taken time off from school (I was a sophomore at the time) because of how much anxiety I was feeling. After one failed experience with an ocd specialist, I started coming here. Greg is a great counselor, and even though he isnt an ocd expert, he really helped me through a tough time and offered great advice about managing stress and anxiety. He also always took notes on our sessions and would give me a copy afterwards. Overall, a great experience that might have saved my life. Thank you Greg

So my relative has been using a counselor here for about two years that she liked but was not doing…read moreher any good. So I requested that she be moved to another counselor via phone and spoke to a Jennifer who explained that she needed to talk it over with the present counselor and speak to the one they had in mind to see if it was a good fit. This was over two weeks ago and I've called and left messages for Jennifer twice and a voicemail with no response back. Horrible customer service for prople who they know needs therapy and to not return phone calls is not only unprofessional but irresponsible.

The front desk and billing staff is among the most courteous and efficient I have worked with! The…read morecounselor I am working with is caring and professional. The practice does offer both in-person and telehealth options across quite a few locations. I highly recommend this practice to anyone who is seeking care!

So where do I start. The desk staff are polite. They are one of the few offices that took my…read moreinsurance, so I had little choice. The professional staff could use better bedside manner. They seem to grow more frustrated as time goes on. The staff prescribing medicine could be clearer; their verbal instructions didn't always align with what was on the bottle. Their billing system could be better, but that is minor. I feel they are genuinely good people but they fail in a few key areas of service.

She did a super quick phone evaluation. Rude, interrupted me over and over, and then said "I gotta…read morego, bye." Said she can't take on a client once a week due to health issues, which sounds like a lie.

I would recommend Dr. Cole's practice enthusiastically. I had regular appointments, for a finite…read moreperiod of time, about a specific problem (BFRB). Each session, I learned something new. Each session, I took away practical ideas for making progress in between appointments. Dr. Cole's wealth of experience, depth of understanding, wide range of skills and tools, as well as her natural personality make her a perfect fit for those, like me, who want to connect quickly and dig deeply. I'm healthier today than I was before. Getting treatment from Dr. Cole's practice was the best decision I could have made.