Ballston Mental Health Clinic - SOL Mental Health

“I chose SOL Mental Health after receiving a referral from my endocrinologist, who recommended them when I was looking for a new therapist and psychiatric provider. The initial experience was promising. Their website made it easy to review provider biographies, compare therapists and psychiatric providers, choose between telehealth and in-person appointments, and select a location in either DC or Ballston neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia. The scheduling process seemed straightforward. I completed the appointment request, selected a time, and received a confirmation text with the provider's information, appointment details, and a separate link to submit insurance information. Because I did not have my insurance card available at that moment, I selected "will provide at appointment." Unfortunately, that is where the process broke down. When I later returned to update my insurance information, the system indicated that the task was completed. I searched my email, Google Calendar, text messages, and voicemail for additional appointment information but found nothing. As my appointment date approached, I became concerned and contacted the office. Phone calls were routed to an answering service, so I used the text feature instead. Only then did I learn that my appointment had never actually been confirmed because my insurance information had not been entered. More concerning was that I had never received any notification, follow-up text, email, or phone call informing me that there was an issue. The text system apparently indicated that someone would follow up, but that never happened. I am grateful that I had scheduled a telehealth appointment rather than driving to an office location and discovering the problem upon arrival. I want to be clear that this review is not about any specific therapist, nurse practitioner, psychologist or psychiatrist. My concern is with the scheduling and communication process. As someone who works in customer facing job and who previously worked as a mental health professional, I find it unacceptable that a prospective patient could fall through the cracks without any follow-up. When individuals are seeking mental health care, timely communication is especially important. The providers may be excellent, but the intake and scheduling system needs significant improvement to ensure patients receive clear confirmation and follow-up when there are outstanding requirements. Time is money and I won't be giving this provider a second opportunity. Instead, I will go to an independent provider that is not linked to a corporate health company. I will also share with my doctor who referred me as her reputation is on the line when she refers patients to this therapy practice.”

“Canceled my appointment with no word I’m a new patient. I was basically in crisis mode and there’s literally no one to call or talk to. They outsource everything to a Third World country so if you need to talk to them, it’s impossible. This is a therapy center. What if this were a more serious thing I’m a new patient and you just blew me off. Do you know how much courage it took me to even reach out for therapy just to be blown off and have my Appointment canceled with no word no reason no rational no nothing. How can you call yourself a therapy office?”

“If you want any semblance of consistency find somewhere else. My clinician has now canceled three with the second and third time being only 15 minutes before our scheduled time and I keep being told they don’t know when my initial provider is coming back. Then the second provider canceled due to a meeting. I’ve been without medication for two weeks as a result. They also won’t refund my copay or credit it to an appointment with a new clinician since I made a new appointment for within 5 days.”

“It is not a real business but an online service provider aggregating a few providers. There are no medical records kept anywhere - and if you request medical records to take with you to your next provider - there is no one to produce them. Instead, they outsource the exercise of producing medical records for patients to a third party. Now these are suppose to be medical records that they are suppose to keep safe. But this is what you get with Corporate America providing healthcare.”