Pine Rest Campus Clinic

“I have been a patient here for years, and unfortunately truly compassionate staff members have been few and far between. That is especially discouraging considering Pine Rest is one of the only mental health options available for many people. Right now, my doctor is out, so I reached out to staff regarding ongoing symptoms and concerns. Staff then contacted the fill-in provider covering for my doctor, and I was told the provider’s recommendation was that “if things get bad enough,” I could go to urgent care there. That response honestly left me confused and discouraged. I genuinely do not understand the purpose of a fill-in provider if patients cannot actually be seen by them during their doctor’s absence. At most other medical offices, if your doctor is unavailable, you are scheduled with the covering provider. I do not understand why mental health patients here are instead redirected elsewhere unless things become severe enough for urgent care. The scheduling staff for my provider has also been incredibly difficult to deal with. Communication has become anxiety-inducing instead of supportive, which is the last thing mental health patients need. Early on in my care, I reported one scheduler for their behavior, yet nothing appeared to be addressed and no apology was ever made. I have not had a solid night of sleep in about a month and they are aware of multiple ongoing symptoms that still are not being properly treated. Back in September, after switching providers within Pine Rest, I specifically asked to begin the process of finding medications that could actually help manage my symptoms. We are now in May, and after a few different medications with moderate side effects, I am still in the exact same position. One previous provider I saw before transferring to my current doctor told me medication management is “like throwing darts at a dartboard and hoping one sticks.” While I understand finding the right medication can take time, hearing that as a struggling patient did not feel reassuring or compassionate. Oh, and if you’re someone who is hyper aware of yourself. Be prepared to hear, “you’re so self aware” each visit. Which is their way of saying, you’ve got this. Because every single time I hear that, it’s always followed by a dismissal or minimizing of my feelings and symptoms. At this point, after years of care here and multiple providers, I feel more dismissed than supported. Patients seeking mental health treatment are already vulnerable. They should not have to fight this hard just to feel heard.”

“A provider my child connected well with started working for pine rest. For right now we're on Medicaid until I return to work. I was told that they are not scheduling patients with Medicaid at this time. I offer to just pay for it myself because it was worth it they still turned me away because apparently they were told to not accept patients even if they are self-pay who are on Medicaid. For an organization that's supposed to care so much about mental health services and the community I don't see it. Then they rushed me off the phone so here we are a provider that is accepting new patients who previously worked with my 10-year-old daughter and they turned us away.”

“I've been a patient at Pine Rest for outpatient therapy for several years. I wanted to work on grief counseling for the loss of my mother. About 4 months ago My husband was killed in a tragic accident. My existing therapist was good about getting me in but unfortunately went on Maternity leave the day before his service. The therapist they transition me to was not a good fit for several reasons. When they called to schedule me, they told me the first opening was almost two weeks away. At this time I was being seen twice a week. So I took that appointment and made it work. I eventually didn't feel my needs were being met as they were consistently telling me I would need to wait more then a week to be seen and they were WELL AWARE I was in crisis. I decided to find an alternative therapist who I loved to help with the transition until my original therapist came back. Die to the tragic circumstances of my husband's passing I also started EMDR therapy and have been going once or twice a week for about 2 months. This has been wonderful and this review is in no way reflecting on that providers services. Once my provider returned I tried to make an appointment with my talk therapist for next month. I received a phone call saying that there is a Pine Rest policy that stated you cannot see two therapists at the same time. I explained that I'm seeing two therapists because each therapist offers different services and I'm needing them both currently as a part of my treatment plan. He fought on the phone with me and eventually said he would look into it. I asked him to send me the policy that stated this and he never did. I sent an email also to my talk therapist explaining the situation and that I feel if there is a policy in place, they should be able to work something out. I received an email back with them doubling down. Staring they would not allow me to see two therapists at once as it can conflict with the therapies I'm receiving. The fact that Pine Rest is taking this stance when I have documented visits indicating this is what I'm needing, is sickening. It's apparent they do not care about my mental health or about my needs as a patient. They were willing to put me back into crisis for a "policy" that I've been told doesn't exist. I haven't received anything from Pine Rest. And I don't think I will. I will be continuing EMDR with that provider but I have cancelled my upcoming appointments as Pine Rest will not be receiving any more of my money. They already made me feel like my needs were not being accommodated when it was clear I was in crisis and needing to be seen after my husband's funeral and now again when I have a DOCUMENTED treatment plan indicating I need both talk and EMDR therapy to continue for my to return to my job. Please seek other providers outside of Pine Rest if you are needing someone to help with your mental health.”

“WARNING: Do not trust Pine Rest, they will give you all sorts of diagnoses and get you on their medication plans only to take you off them, the moment you are late on a payment. I was in there for OCD and depression and after a missed payment they completely cut me off from my medications, they do not treat this like a mental health facility, it is treated like a business, a business they want to extort you out of.”