Cheeky Chops
July 21st, 2024
One of the administrative assistants, Penny Zapata, is horrible. I have been a patient at Serene Minds for several years and have dealt with her at least a few times every year. I always get a nasty email from her regarding unpaid bills from two or three years ago (for example, it’s 2024 and she would ask for money for charges from 2021 or 2022) that I was never aware of until the receipt of her email and then have the nerve to tell me if I didn’t pay they would cancel my appointment. First of all, that’s not my issue that you clearly can’t get your billing department together because I have never seen a medical office of any kind not make you aware of a bill you supposedly owe from two or three years ago. Second of all, you can’t just up and cancel someone’s appointment that they need in order to get their medication. That’s not good medical care. Every interaction I have ever had with her has been very anxiety inducing and just stressful. She is rude and unprofessional. Proofreading the nasty emails before she sends them wouldn’t hurt either. She can’t string a sentence with a professional tone together to save her life half of the time. I have contemplated finding another provider for a while now, not because I have an issue with my actual provider ,but because this administrative assistant is horrible and I am tired of dealing with her.
Kenny Balestra
February 11th, 2025
After being a patient for 18 months,
I had the unfortunate experience of being a patient at Serene Minds office, and I must say, it was one of the most disappointing healthcare experiences I’ve ever had.
After canceling one appointment due to work obligations and another because i had Covid, I was fired as a patient. Yes, you read that right—fired! It was incredibly unprofessional and heartless. Life happens, and I expected a degree of understanding and flexibility, especially from a healthcare provider.
Communication was lacking, and I felt more like a nuisance than a valued patient. Instead of compassion, I received a cold, dismissive letter. It’s astonishing that a doctor would prioritize rigid scheduling over patient care.
If you’re looking for a doctor who treats patients like human beings and not just numbers on a schedule, I suggest looking elsewhere. Save yourself the trouble and find someone who actually values your health and time
I’m happy with my doctor. My only complaint is that is very rare that anyone at the front desk answers the phone and there have been a number of occasions when no one calls back when a message is left. This was not an issue a few years ago.
christy ferguson
September 6th, 2024
Dr. Vyroja has always been on time for our appointment, even though I'm usually late or forget for our virtual meeting, he always reaches out knowing my ADHD to make sure I'm ok. He's compassionate and kind, helped me get through erratic emotions during time of losing my husband. He answers all my messages within 24 hours and goes above and beyond to work with me on the proper treatment, when I started taking another medication for my autoimmune diseases, I explained how weak and tired I was and he immediately found the issue and explained to me what was happening, very important in selecting Physician. I've been a patient for roughly 6 years now and my mental health has never been so even keel. I highly recommend serene minds and Dr. Vyroja , not easy finding a psychiatrist with such a great personality who cares genuinely about your well being as well as work hard to stabilize moods without extreme reactions, always subtle shifts. Thank you Dr. Vyroja for helping me get through these life changing events. I had to do my part for complete care, trauma therapy and other assistance . Medication is only part of treatment , real work comes from willingness to do therapy and actually heal. Penny went out of her way to fix insurance issues and I've never had an unkind word from her or any office staff, Penny knew my insurance wasn't processing properly and she worked diligently to help me get things covered. Regardless of negative reviews , I generally make my own decision, especially when they're reviews for psychiatrist, many things get exaggerated. Speaking only for myself everyone in this clinic are amazing, always met with a smile, and I'm treated as an equal by my psychiatrist , that's important as well as being heard , he's truly incredible.
Laura Green
March 11th, 2024
AVOID AT ALL COSTS IF YOU VALUE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH!
If I could give negative stars I would.
In a conversation with my (now ex) psychiatrist, Dr. Chahal, (she so kindly called me back after a week of trying to get in touch and in which I had been without my anitdepresseant for FOUR DAYS.) Then, instead of talking to me about doing a partial refill until my next visit (insurance issues), she accused me of abusing my medicine (something I would never do as I lost someone close to me to prescription overdose) because she couldn't comprehend that I had prescriptions from my previous doctor that I had to finish before I was allowed to fill hers. She didn't understand why she was putting in refills for all my prescriptions on one day and not picking them all up on the same day. She expected me to pick them all up at once, but I couldn't fill a couple scripts right away because I still had meds left over from the previous doctor and I legally could not pick up HER scripts until I finished the ones I already had.
I was getting emotional on the phone so I took a deep breath and said "Sorry, this is getting really overwhelming for me." Dr. Chahal responds to that with, "You have one psychiatrist, I have 200 patients, who do you think is more overwhelmed?"
Excuse me? I didn't realize my mental health was a pissing contest between me and the doctor. How do you respond to that? She obviously has no personal experience with mental illness or she could understand how EXACTLY I could be so overwhelmed. It feels like she doesn't understand the illnesses she's treating.
This was far from the first time she had said something rude, belittling and condescending to me.
Also, I was with her over a year and a half, taking quite a large does of lithium. Not ONCE in my entire patient relationship had she done a blood test for lithium levels or kidney and liver function.
She is impersonal and cold and every session I felt heavily judged by her and I left never wanting to come back.
That comment about 200 patients showed me I was just a number to her, a paycheck and not a patient.
I left the practice and found a new psychiatrist.
