Ellie Mental Health

“Our counselor Lily Spinelli has helped us through the hardest of times after the death of a dear family member. We are extremely fortunate to have found her, and she has changed our lives. She listens and offers and advice for us to overcome life’s obstacles. We are very grateful and I highly recommend our counselor and this practice!”

“I needed to interview a counselor for a project I was working on and Lily Spinelli was courteous, professional, and expressed a true care and dedication for the work she does. The staff were also very helpful when I initially called--overall I was immensely impressed.”

“I met with Lisa a few times over the past few weeks, and it was overall an unpleasant experience. She hardly asked me about the two main things I started therapy for (grieving a death in the family & relationships/arguments) and I didn’t learn anything new about myself at all over the course of our meetings. I had a couple pretty major concerns about her almost immediately: one was that she asked me questions that were already asked many times in the very repetitive forms they have you fill out before your first appointment. I don’t really see the point in having patients fill out those forms, with the same questions repeating over and over again, to then just ask those same questions in the appointment. It makes me feel as though they don’t care enough about us as patients to review our paperwork. The second concern I noticed pretty quickly off the bat is that I stated that I’m sure I have ADHD, and Lisa said that I don’t strike her as someone who has ADHD. Making that comment within 15 min of talking to someone over a computer screen is odd, especially when it comes to something like ADHD, which involves a thorough and extensive testing process to be officially diagnosed. Needless to say, I didn’t like that she made that comment, especially when ADHD is something that I severely struggle with. I know people that have been diagnosed with it, and they have told me that I have even worse symptoms than they do. It’s disappointing that a mental healthcare professional would say something like this. Another thing that I was disappointed with was some advice Lisa gave me. I told her about a friendship I was having difficulty with, and I had decided to distance myself from. She suggested I reach out to this person and apologize, not for anything in particular, but instead to get that person to warm up to me and apologize back. This is manipulative advice and it’s concerning that a therapist of all people is giving this type of guidance. If there was something specific that I should apologize for, it’s a therapist’s job to be honest with their client/patient and hold them accountable, but Lisa didn’t have anything to say about specific things I should apologize for… simply that I should apologize to get my friend to apologize back to me. There has also been misunderstanding regarding scheduling, so I recommend being very clear about when your appointments are to avoid confusion and frustration.”

“To have a session with Alanisha Allen means to feel not only seen, but understood. Her questions make you truly think and reevaluate your life, which can be difficult to take an objective look at. She also helped me to see my life challenges and success from perspectives that I naturally didn’t consider. I know reaching out for mental/emotional health help can be hard to do, but you won’t regret a session with Alanisha. I can promise you that.”