Dr Meyerovich was very familiar with my bipolar diagnosis and treatment really kept me steady for quite a few years. Really knows his meds. read more

AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS. I wish there was an option to give 0 stars. I scheduled an appointment in November 2020 for a telemedicine visit with Dr. Encarnacion. Prior to the appointment, I called the office 3 times and have voicemails from them confirming that they took my insurance and that my copay would be $10. Dr. Encarnacion was very nice and listened to my concerns. The visit did feel a bit rushed and was only ~10 minutes long, but I understand that she is busy and has other patients. I followed up with her 2 weeks later for another 10 minute visit. Flash forward to mid-December and I receive a message from the office stating that insurance didn't cover my visits. I called back and was prepared to pay maybe $150-$200. NOPE-I owe $758 for two 10 minute telemedicine visits!!!! That charge apparently includes the cash patient discount. They charge $550 for each telemedicine visit. I understand that it is my responsibility to know my insurance plan, but I am no expert. That's why I called multiple times before my visits to ensure that it was covered. I'm sure I signed a form stating that I would be responsible for any balance that remained after insurance, but all of my forms were deleted off of my patient portal. I can't access them. My true issue with this practice is not the doctor, but the staff. I asked them multiple times to tell the doctor about my situation to see if she can do anything about my bill. They informed me that the doctor does not handle billing. I'm aware that the doctor does not directly handle billing, but I work for a practice in which the doctors have a say in how much they charge their patients. When I asked if the doctor was aware of how much patients were being charged, the staff said "they were not at liberty to tell me that information." The doctor clearly has no idea how much her patients owe. I mailed a letter addressed to the doctor to the office and explained my situation. The billing office opened my letter and said that they could pass the letter along to the doctor, but it couldn't include the specific amounts that I owed. This completely defeated the purpose of the letter. I mailed another letter and wrote that it was confidential and for the doctor only, and the billing office opened the letter again. Same response. I know that I am SOL, but I absolutely cannot justify paying $758 for two video visits. Only Beyoncé is worth that kind of money. The doctor has no idea how much her patients owe. Again, Dr. Encarnacion was great, but I will never schedule with this office again due to the ridiculous rates and poor treatment of patients. read more

Dr. Sofia Encarnacion is the WORST mental health provider I have ever been to. She is rude, judgmental, and useless. She just sat there glaring at me while I talked about my experience with assault and then cut the appointment short in the middle and told me she couldn't take me as a patient because I have a pending lawsuit. She insisted on her right to get paid despite the fact that she said almost nothing to me the entire time other than that she wouldn't see me - what a rip off. I waited three months for this appointment, and she told me to call intake to get established with another doctor, but she is the only one accepting new patients. She is absolute trash and should have her license revoked. read more

This review is long overdue, but I saw this psychiatrist when I was a naive 19 year old in 2014. This man was not only cruel, he threw medications at me without testing. He provided me Xanax for anxiety and panic, But also "thought" I had ADHD (gave me NO testing) and insisted I accept an Adderall prescription. I was hesitant bc I knew how intense adderall was and didn't think I had ADHD. He then gave me Ritalin because I declined Adderall and again, without any kind of testing I began taking Ritalin. It essentially acted as Speed on me. I felt terrible and when he eventually answered my call about the negative effects, he was freaking out (liability) and told me to take a Xanax (downer) to even it out. He also told me to bring the leftover pills back to him at my next appointment. I did, and then he looked at me like I was stupid and said "you couldn't have just flushed them down the toilet, could you?" As if that would've been a reasonable thing to do. He then suggested (again, no testing) I was bipolar and wanted me to try anti psychotic medications. I declined and he released me as a patient and said I needed therapy. I underwent professional psychological testing which I'm not sure Dr Bell provides, and turned out I had/have NONE of these conditions he so carelessly assigned to me. This was a very negative experience I still haven't forgotten 8 yrs later. I hope he has changed his ways since, it wouldn't surprise me if he were the type to accept kickbacks for overprescribing since he did so in such a careless manner. read more

This is going to sound like I'm exaggerating but I promise that's unfortunately not the case. I wish it was because this is by far the most incompetent healthcare provider I have ever encountered in my life and that is coming from someone who has worked in healthcare for years, has had to care for multiple family members with health problems, and has had quite the health history herself. If you want to know how bad they are: The CenCal representatives I've spoken to said they've had a history of problems with this company and my therapist, PCP, and old psychiatrist *that used to work there* all said that their employees clearly don't know what they're doing and that every patient of theirs who has been seen there has complained about their rudeness and lack of knowledge. Ironic considering this establishment is supposed to help people suffering from mental health problems. Throughout the 4 years I have been a patient there (there were no other psychiatrists taking CenCal for awhile), practically each one of their employees says different things about their own policies and about my CenCal insurance. If you want more specifics: One particular thing that I've repeatedly had to deal with for over a year is their misunderstanding about their own no-show policy and about their contract with CenCal. They kept telling me that their contract with CenCal specifically states that they will no longer provide coverage after 2 no shows (mind you I told Lifestance that one of those times, I was actually in the emergency room without access to my phone for days and they did not care, including Dr. Sophia Encarnacion). They specifically said a number of times that it was NOT Lifestance's policy, it was not coming from LifeStance's end, and as long as I get a new referral back to them then they'll continue to see me. I had to wait months to see my PCP so she could write me a new referral to Lifestance, waited months for my appointment with them, and today they call me saying that they cancelled my appointment because of my no show history due to their contract with CenCal. This employee said that whoever told me that CenCal would provide coverage as long as I had a new referral to LifeStance was wrong per the contract with CenCal. Clearly upset, I call CenCal and the agent said that was false, CenCal does not have a no show policy at all and their contract with LifeStance does not say that they do. I call LifeStance back to report this to them and the employee got increasingly aggressive with me (which has happened several times in the past) saying that this whoever I spoke to at CenCal was wrong, this has been their contract with CenCal for years, and if something has changed on CenCal's end, LifeStance was never notified. So I call CenCal back and get a different agent who again says LifeStance is wrong but this time, calls LifeStance with me on the line. Apparently we couldn't speak to the manager because she was "in a meeting" but who knows if that's true so we had to speak to someone named Karina. Karina was the FIRST employee to say that it was LIFESTANCE'S policy to not see a patient after 2 no shows (which is pretty stupid when you think about it because these are mentally ill patients, of course they're going to miss appointments BECAUSE of their mental illness, especially if they're struggling with finding the right medication and dosage. I completely understand if it were another specialty) and tried to gaslight me into saying I must have misunderstood. I told her that no, I made SURE to ask MULTIPLE LifeStance employees if it was THEIR office's policy (again, I'm a healthcare worker and been to many healthcare offices so I am more than aware that this is common) and they ALL said "no, it was coming from CenCal's end." She became increasingly aggressive during the call, even interrupting me once to, in a very rude voice, ask the CenCal employee if what I was saying was actually true, which of course it was. Karina clearly became lost during the conversation because she kept going back to say that she's been trying to tell me that was their policy and I finally had to tell her that I have no idea why she keeps saying that because I believed her to begin with and I suspected that was the case but the issue is that's not what several of her coworkers told me on several different occasions. Supposedly she's going to pass it onto her manager. What a TERRIBLE establishment, wow. I'm shocked. For Christ's sake, if you don't like your job, if you're bad at your job, if you can't uphold your company's values, and ESPECIALLY if you're working in a profession where people's lives are literally in your hands, GET ANOTHER JOB. You are harming people that don't deserve it and need help. Thank God there are more options now. There is no amount you could pay me to keep going there. I'm finally going to man up and see what entities I can complain to about them because this shouldn't be happening to anyone. read more

This is now called "LifeStance." I WOULD GIVE ZERO STARS IF POSSIBLE! I need a new psychiatrist to prescribe the same meds I've been taking for 7 years. The first doctor I was supposed to see (after waiting 1 1/2 months) was Dr. Barry Mills. They cancelled my appointment 20 min before my scheduled time and then couldn't give me a new one for another month! HOWEVER, IF YOU CANCEL AN APPOINTMENT LESS THAN 48 HOURS BEFORE IT'S SCHEDULED, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THE WHOLE THING! So I was forced to meet with DR. SOPHIA ENCARNACION! Her reviews are just terrible but I couldn't find anyone else in time. She did a telemedicine visit for 2 minutes, asked me what she could do for me then informed me she would not prescribe my ADHD meds because I don't have an important enough job to warrant them and I am on other meds. None of which conflict with my ADHD meds. SHE IS JUST TERRIBLE! Abrupt, uncaring, unkind, unprofessional, didn't even look me in the eye - THE WORST DOCTOR I HAVE EVER BEEN IN CONTACT WITH! PLEASE SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE AND DON'T GO HERE - ESPECIALLY TO SEE THIS TERRIBLE DOCTOR! After reading other reviews (almost all 1 star on every platform because you cannot give zero stars) I see Dr. ENCARNACION doesn't treat people with disabilities! This "doctor" should lose her license - she should not be practicing medicine! read more

I had an exceptionally unprofessional experience. I scheduled a new patient appointment 3 months in advance and received a phone call 24 hours before my appointment stating the doctor was ill and I would need to reschedule. When I called to reschedule I was told that the doctor was no longer accepting appointments and that it would be another 3 month wait before I could be seen by someone else. This is an unacceptable way to conduct business. read more

Have been a patient for over 7 years, the staff is very kind, patient and attentive! Definitely recommend!

In addition to that horrible visit where Dr. Encarnacion denied me, they charged me for that six minute visit. F--k this place.

The front office stated my paperwork was received and in working order. The doctor stated she did Not have it. Dr Encarnacion was useless. She asked inane questions and quoted platitudes. She had no insight and did not engage. I got Nothing out of the teleconference, except frustrated. If this was a business, I would ask for a refund. Really disappointed with her, and the whole experience. Had hoped for help, Nope. read more

This is just a quick review to talk about the excellent help I got from one Ericka Hoover over the phone. She was fast, polite, and extremely professional while also relaying all of the important information in an easy to understand voice. Thank you very much Ericka! read more

There are positives to SB Behavioral Health such as the administrative staff's professionalism, appointment reminders, and overall helpfulness. However, the positive of the administrative staff can never heal the negative effect caused by Dr. Richard Bell's superficiality toward my care. When my employer filed for bankruptcy and could no longer offer health insurance Dr. Bell threw me to the curb. After seeing Dr. Bell once a week for five years he wouldn't even grant me an exit interview to procure the medications he had me taking over those five years. When I spoke to Dr. Bell about my concern of not having enough medications left to hold me over until I figured out what to do, he responded, "I can schedule an appointment, but you'll have to pay the $200.00 required fee". Stunned, I asked why he couldn't spare ten minutes to write prescriptions? Dr. Bell replied, I don't work alone, this is a network of Doctors. I never heard from Dr. Bell again. The hurt from Dr. Richard Bell's abandonment left me in tears, questioning if any therapist or psychiatrist I'd seen in the past really cared? The answer came a few weeks afterward, when I thought life couldn't be crueler, I received a phone call from the therapist, Karen Cowdrey who I was also seeing once a week at SB Behavioral Health. Karen and Dr. Bell worked in tandem with my care. Karen wanted to make sure I was doing okay. I can't remember her exact words, but I remember hanging up the phone with tears in my eyes; she cared about me. This experience is now seven years passed and though I have often thought of Karen wanting her to know how much her phone call meant to me personally, I could not remember Dr. Bell's name or this facility. That changed last week, allowing me to write this review and make that phone call to Karen with gratitude for her kindness and concern in my heart. read more

This place is horrible. Believe the poor reviews. Doctor called in 25 minutes late to a 45 minute appointment (but I still got charged the up to $475 initial consultation fee for the whole time, despite him only asking questions that were on the intake form and throwing in a few belittling comments). I was so disappointed with the doctor that I tried to ask if I could see another psychiatrist in their group, but can't do that without paying full price (another $475) for an initial consultation with the new psychiatrist. I do not have a single good thing to say about this place, besides to give a nod to the staff member who shared so politely they would "cancel my next appointment free of charge." Garbage. Avoid this place. read more

Saw Dr Malady. I waited over 20 min in the waiting room. He saw me for about 15 min. He was condescending and lacked any compassion. Prescribed me a bunch of med and sent me out the door. I felt totally blown off. I do not recommend this place if you need help read more

I needed an evaluation prior to insurance. She was given a long list of questions. She spent 13 minutes and some seconds and had made up her mind that I shouldn't get this surgery until I "fix these things". These things could be fixed with this surgery, but she wouldn't take the time to listen to and when I brought up relevant information she would interrupt me and say "we don't have time today for that, you'll need to make another appointment." I heard that probably half a dozen times in the less than 15 minutes she spoke to me. When she started winding down I asked "I paid for only 15 minutes?" She said "you paid for 30 minutes but I write the report in the other 15." I have never heard of a psychiatrist using the time you spend to talk to them to write their report, and not talking to you. She comes off as someone who is only interested in money and the true feelings of a patient. read more

In my first telehealth appointment the Dr. barely made eye contact, was more interested in payment and what I wanted prescribed, and there was no follow-up support. Felt reckless and irresponsible. BTW- they could/should have also referred to Santa Barbara Mental Wellness Center. A better place to start as they care about the the people, not the revenue. read more

Dr. Coulter shouldn't be helping people. I'm a first time single mom with a 20 month old baby. I've been getting depressed and having severe panic attacks. He told me to put my baby up for adoption and that my life sucks. read more

Dr. Bolton was my psychiatrist and he prescribed me adderall for anxiety. I don't have any trouble focusing but my anxiety and depression is linked to school and academics so he thought that I had concentration issues. I also told him I was studying for the LSAT and he told me that anxiety just means that I'm not studying hard enough and that I just need to study correctly. I got a second opinion and my new psychiatrist actually listened to me and what I was feeling instead of dismissing me and projecting onto me. Don't come here. read more

Michael Bolton is excellent, I've seen him for about 6 months now and he's been extremely helpful.

I set up an appointment here to get a full Psychiatric Evaluation done, They seemed very nice and even accepted the type of insurance I had so I was very excited to finally get a proper diagnosis. I let the receptionist know I was getting a new plan beginning Sept 1. before scheduling my appointment. I specifically asked if it made a difference when I made the appt. for my insurance to be billed. They said that as long as I brought my new insurance there shouldn't be a problem. Its now September & received their bill of $150. My main issue is that I DID NOT get any type of diagnosis and the doctor only spent 15 minutes on the call to prescribe me a medication. Now I have a huge bill that my insurance won't cover and I'm back at square one , not knowing what to do about my mental health. It has cause more anxiety for me than help. I personally do not recommend this place, feels like they were just trying to take my money. read more

I've had a very distinctly different experience here than the previous reviewers. When I originally called to schedule an appointment, they were very courteous and managed to fit us in without a long delay. Scheduling follow-up appointments and handling payments has been a breeze - never a single problem. When I called in once for an emergency appointment, the provider stayed late specifically to see us. That was greatly appreciated as he could have headed home for dinner and tried to work us in the next day. All aspects of my involvement with the staff and providers here has been good and I recommend SBBH with no reservations. read more

This is possibly the worst experience with a doctor I've ever heard of. My girlfriend went to visit Dr. Mikhail Meyerovich after she got diagnosed with ADD to determine how much medicine she would need. Dr. Meyerovich then proceeded to accuse her of faking it and just trying to get the medicine and share it with her friends. He then proceeded to give her the kid's version of the medicine, which obviously didn't work. After a few weeks of struggles, he finally gave her the regular medicine. And even after the follow up appointment, he scheduled her for an appt without talking to her about it, didn't remind her, and then when she didn't show up charged her a no show fee! What might be even worse, is that it seems he doesn't believe depression is a real thing! Even as a psychiatrist! My girlfriend is diagnosed with depression, and he seemed to brush it off and not believe her when she said she had it. He also didn't mention that the medicine he prescribed brought on depressive episodes. I don't know how this person became a psychiatrist while exhibiting this behavior. He should be stripped of his medical license, or forced to learn what mental illness is before he prescribes medicine for it. Please if someone reads this from SBBH, reprimand him, he put my girlfriend through a lot of pain and trouble. read more

Front desk is terribly unhelpful. Both doctors that I have seen are decent, but the company as a whole should be avoided. I only go to them because they accept my insurance. One would think that a mental health institution would have patients and understanding for their clients, but that is not the case. I would give 0 stars if I could. read more

The staff are very kind and attentive to the needs of patients. They use an online and text reminder system for appointment reminders. I have only seen one doctor for three years and he has been great, no complaints. People always feel intimidated when going to physiatrist, as they go into deep personal examinations, but people have to understand these doctors are prescribing serious medications to try and help. As they are a medical office, they do demand payment or insurance before or after a visit. Physiatrist aren't free or easy to find with the new health care plan in the US. Missing appointments is the same with any other office, they will drop you as a patient. read more

Communication is key in life and having some yelp clout helps too. After some issues with the office staff the Medical Director himself, a Dr. Stienberg, immediately contacted my wife and resolved all of the issues in a timely fashion. Home phone numbers and cell phones were even given out which I was very impressed with. I would give them 5 stars but the issue with staff, sympathetic as I may be, caused me quite the headache with the irritated wife on my day off. The Doctors here are level headed professionals and the standard of care is of solid quality. Medical billing will always be a touchy subject but you can trust them to take good care of you. Dr Ferguson has helped my wife thru some complex situations and has made my life thru association all the brighter. From second hand experience, it appears that the therapy they provide is highly effective just be sure to be a proactive advocate for yourself and your loved ones. read more

I have been under the care of Dr. Coulter for about a year or two now. He has always taken his time to make sure he addresses all my concerns each appt. My experiences w tele- health appts have been good. I really like that they provide that service. I like it better than in person because it has saved me the drive to the the office & I am able to see Dr. Coulter from the privacy of my own home. Today I spoke w Laura over the phone & I just was blown away with the customer service she provided. She really made me feel like better after getting off the phone. I wasn't able to make an appt as soon as I wanted but she reached out to Dr. Coulter about my concerns & within the hour she called me back & made sure all my concerns were addressed & assured me that if anything became available sooner she would call me to get me in. She was really sweet. One of the best experiences I've had with a front office staff. Thank you! read more

Mrs. encarnacion waited 2 appointments ($90) to tell me my case was too much for her and never prescribed me my regular medication. I spent 200 dollars in addition to get to her office over 4 trips. Don't trust this woman. She just wants your money. read more

Dr. Encarnacion is the worst psychiatrist I have ever seen. She only saw me for 15 minutes max, and had no interest in how I was doing. She tried to prescribe me a medication used to treat seizures in horses for my anxiety disorder...and when I brought this to the attention of my general practitioner, he went through a list of the dangers and had me throw it out. Next visit she was wildly inappropriate and told me that I was playing dr. Because I questioned an increased dosage for Zoloft. She then preceded to never send my prescription into the pharmacy. Long story short, this woman only cares about a profit and not the well being of her patients. read more

I was in need of a psychiatrist to continue my medication regimen from my previous, excellent psychiatrist in Berkeley. The only doctor in town with availability within the year was Dr. Coulter at this practice. During my initial consultation, he would ask questions, I'd answer, and I would hear a "whoosh" sound from his phone or iPad as if he had just sent a text message. Although I didn't see the screen and therefore cannot say for sure what the sounds were from, it sounded exactly like the iMessage whoosh sounds for incoming and outgoing messages... This happened multiple times throughout the appointment. He made errors on every paper prescription he wrote for me, and the office made it difficult to get corrections made. The only way I was able to get the office to listen to my inquiries regarding prescriptions was for me to type up a document describing the errors and the necessary fixes and FAXING it to them myself (using a service online called HelloFax, as I don't own a fax machine). My follow-up appointments with the doctor lasted 5-10 minutes each. I felt like Dr. Coulter was completely disinterested in me as a patient, and I suspect he is just apathetic towards his profession in general. I can't even imagine if this had been my first psychiatrist ever. A patient who gets the courage to see a physician in this field being met with such incompetence and apathy might give up on seeking help for their struggles, and that is absolutely tragic. I was on a waitlist for a highly-rated psychiatrist at another practice for 1.5 years, and I was Dr. Coulter's patient during that whole period of time. It has been years since I went to Santa Barbara Behavioral Health, and it still bothers me that a provider who appears to care so little about patient care is in this profession with such a vulnerable patient population. read more

DO NOT GO TO Dr. Meyerovich. I can only speak for him at this clinic - he does not care about your wellbeing. He will diagnose you with multiple mental health issues in a duration of a five minute conversation. I have been throwing up, I went to urgent care for dehydration the night before so I could make sure and rule out that it was not anything else going on with me but medication he has me on, that he will not explain how to get off of, nor advise any supplements to aid in this. Enough said, just do yourself a favor unless you want him to put you on medications he can not explain to you. read more

I find the staff to be very helpful but have major issues with Dr. Encarnacion. She insists on seeing me every 3 months for medications I've been on for many years, and then when I come in she barely pays attention to me. She insists this 3 month visit is protocol but I find this difficult to believe and haven't had this experience before with other doctors, so I'm convinced this is a money making gambit. I'll try another Dr. and then will not go back to SBBH after that if they do the same thing. Will review again once I go back in a few months. Just beware. If you really need to be seen every month or so, then that's appropriate; in my case it's just a waste of time and money. read more

Dr. Meyerovich pretty much saved my life! I drive from Ventura to see him and it is worth it. read more

Dr. Encarnacion...Worst Dr I've ever met in my life. Tried telling me I had strong depression and anxiety? I don't have these issues and came for my ADD problem. She didn't listen to anything I said and after less than 10 minutes of me talking when I disagreed with her about me having Anxiety she rudely told me,"Get out of my office!" She should not be licensed to care for patients! She does not listen to patients needs, fails to care and treat patients and has no right 2be a Dr! Sad because the staff is so nice! read more

I don't even know where to begin with my experience with SBBH. I do want to preface that this is the first negative review I have ever posted about any business that I recall. I also want to say that there are several doctors there that are quite possibly great, but my review is specifically about Dr. Bell and the reception staff. When I arrived at SBBH everything was fine until I waited almost an hour to see the doctor without anyone updating me on why I was waiting so long. I finally asked if I was going to be seen soon, and the receptionist looked at me as if I asked for her first born child and told me it would just be another minute. Once I did get called back into Dr. Bell's office is when things went downhill rapidly.He began giving me a brief explanation of his previous patient, which immediately floored me as I would be upset if he shared any of my information no matter how vague. He then continued on to ask me if my mom was single, and purely for the reason that he wanted to know how she met guys because he was having a hard time meeting women. He again continued on to say how he has a hard time finding women because he wants a young good looking woman, in other words that I don't recall specifically. The conversation reverted back to me for a short period of time until I told him that I worked at a nightclub, and he again asked me if he thought he could meet a woman at my work. Somehow it came up that I was going on a cruise, and AGAIN he started asking me if I was going with my boyfriend and if I thought he could meet someone on a cruise or if it was all couples. The entire conversation was extremely uncomfortable, and unprofessional. I did not report Dr. Bell at this time because in all honesty I felt a little bad for him, and he seemed harmless at least. Not to mention, like I said, I'm not the type of person to go around reporting people or posting negative remarks. Anyway, I was prescribed the Adderall that I came in for, and made a follow up appointment that he requested for one month out. I went through a very long and drawn out process in order to get my prescription filled because my insurance would not cover it. initially Finally my insurance agreed to cover it, but CVS had to order it which was now going on two weeks of me dealing with this. I then left out of the country on a cruise, which was the entire 10 days before my scheduled appointment.. Mind you I was without a phone or email. I arrived back in Santa Barbara at 3am the day prior to my appointment and saw that I received an email reminding me of the appointment but I still did not even have my prescription, so I had no reason to go. I called a few hours later at 11am (the day before the scheduled appointment), no one answered, and I left a message detailing the situation that I did not have a phone for 10 days and that I did not need the appointment. I did not realize that the office was actually not open that day because of President's Day. I called AGAIN that next morning to make sure that they did receive message. The receptionist Elizabeth informed me that they DID get my message, & the appt. was cancelled.. I VERIFIED that I would not be charged then and she CONFIRMED YES I would NOT be charged. Lo and behold, two weeks later I received a late cancellation fee notice. I called immediately. The girl was extremely rude, and told me I need to fill out a request for my fee to be waived. I sent in my request immediately after, and I included my phone bill showing that I did in fact call more than 24 hours before my scheduled appointment. I explained that I didn't call before then when they were open but that I did NOT have any access to do so for almost two weeks before when I didn't even know I was going to need to cancel. Anyway, they proceeded to tell me my request was DENIED. Again she was entirely rude, I don't remember this girl's name though. Dr. Bell called me two days later, mind you after business hours, and was the MOST RUDE out of anyone I spoke to. He was condescending, and to no surprise, unprofessional. I apologized that it was my mistake if he could let it go this time... He basically told me it's either out of his pocket or mine, and that he wasn't paying. I expressed that I felt he should be more accommodating for a brand new patient not to mention understanding & caring for being a PSYCHIATRIST. I told him VERY CALMLY that I would take this to small claims purely based on principle, & he hung up on me. I realistically have no time for that, so I decided to just pay the fee and be done with this. To sum it up - I felt the most uncomfortable I think I ever have in my life. More importantly, I felt like he completely took advantage of the fact that I had no choice but to pay this fee to avoid it going to collections. Mind you he charged me $75, when my co-pay is only $25 too. Anyway I just want people to know my experience so no one has to go through what I went through. I'm sorry it came to this read more

Was a regular patient for over 2 years, with 2 different doctors. Dr. Ferguson in particular was an excellent doctor, who went above and beyond to understand my complex situation, before iteratively tailoring a solution. He worked in how to accommodate my limited financial resources. He was the best mental health professional I've worked with over the years. The staff have also always been friendly and quick to follow through on requests. The only downside is like many other practitioners, he had rather limited availability. read more

I see Mikhail Meyerovich, MD. Hes great about not giving up until you feel right. I highly recommend him.

Bad operations, one that makes you liable even when the STAFF DROPS THE BALL. A mistake by Trish, the office manager cost me $200 dollars after she fail to check my insurance coverage at the time I made an appointment. Being proactive I emailed Trish my insurance card, she said she would check my insurance and get back to me that afternoon. She failed. The day of my appointment I show up, she admits that she had not checked my insurance and states to see the Dr. first. When I walk out I visit her window and she hits me with, " Sorry we don't take your insurance, you are now a CASH PATIENT". I ask what that would cost me, and she states, "$200 for the visit" . I make payment not knowing what to do, think about it, and go back to talk to her. She dismisses me by telling me she'll call me in the afternoon with a resolution. She calls at 4:59 pm as they are about to close and say's, "We are closing, but you can call me tomorrow" I speak with her the following day and she proceeds to stay that I got a discount of $150 for the visit. So in turn I HAVE TO PAY FOR HER MISTAKE. How horrible is that. After visiting that office for many years I've never experience such BAD SERVICE. GOING TO BBB to fill a complaint. STAY AWAY AND DO NOT HIRE TRISH OR VISIT SANTA BARBARA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH. read more

I wish I had looked up SBBH's reviews before going to their office because I am not at all surprised by their negative reputation. I have gone to a total of 2 appointments. The first with doctor Bell, whom I don't even care to talk about because he is so unprofessional and the experience was awful. The second time was with a new doctor, the office charged me $75 dollars after (even though my insurance covers all costs) for the doctor to see me for 4 minutes total and hand over a prescription without even looking up from his computer screen. I called back to get another prescription and be reimbursed for the $75 they wrongfully charged, but instead the girl sat and argued with me! With my past doctors, they would write a 3 month long prescription, and I would either come in every couple months or quickly chat over the phone with the doctor to make sure everything's good. SBBH refused this option, saying I have to come in every single time and pay full price even if its for less than 5 minutes. There is no way I am paying 75 dollars each appointment to just be written a new prescription, not to mention I shouldn't even have to pay according to my insurance! Totally ridiculous. Both my insurance company and other patients I have spoke with have mentioned that SBBH's staff has a long history and reputation for this type of misconduct. I cant believe this place hasn't been shut down yet. The doctors are creepy and unprofessional, and the receptionists have bad attitudes & purposefully charges patients the wrong amount. BEWAREE!! I'm going to make sure I get refunded and then take my business somewhere else. read more

Do yourself a favor and do not come to this practice. I was not a patient of Santa Barbara Behavioral Health myself, but my husband is and I am writing this review in his behalf. He has been a patient of Dr. Meyerovich for one year. Mikhail Meyerovich is nothing but a drug pusher. My husband has been his patient for one year and he has prescribed him multiple heavy narcotics without ever talking to him for more than five minutes. He was put on Suboxone for an off label use. My husband was not aware of how heavily addictive it was and was not warned by his doctor. He has been attempting to get off his medication for about six months and every month the doctor has attempted to keep him on it. Today, at his monthly appointment, he was going through extremely painful withdraw and the doctor attempted to prescribe him different narcotics, a very strong benzodiazepine, in order to ease his pain. This doctor does not care about his patients and only cares about the bottom line. If you actually want psychological help, please seek for another doctor and STAY AWAY FROM DOCTOR MEYEROVICH. read more

This is the worst psychiatric office I have ever been to. They scheduled my appointment at the wrong time and day, and never gave me my reminder call... even though it was written down that they had called me. Never got a call or message. Now they want to charge me for a no-show fee for a situation that is entirely their fault. Not only this disrespect to patients, my pysciatrist Dr Fergusson prescribed me a medication Vyvance that led me to suicidal thoughts, anger, mood swings, and severe depression. He also wanted me to try Wellbutrin that causes the same side-affects. These people are no where near professional, and have no idea what they're doing. read more