Lifestance Health

I am writing this review to share my deeply disappointing experience with Dr. Maria Plata, MD, in the hope of helping others avoid the same situation. I sought psychiatric treatment for ADHD, Binge Eating Disorder, Major Depression, and Anxiety with panic attacks. I came into treatment with a clear history of success in managing these conditions under a previous provider who approached my care with empathy, skill, and a comprehensive understanding of how these conditions interact. Unfortunately, Dr. Plata demonstrated none of those qualities.What stood out immediately and consistently was her cold, emotionally distant demeanor. She lacks the warmth, compassion, and empathy a health provider should possess. Her demeanor and approach are not only incompatible with the expectations of a psychiatrist, but they also risk worsening the very symptoms patients come to her hoping to treat.

No issues with providers. Clinic is classic corporate greed. Long wait times, which I haven’t complained about until I charged $75 - if patient more than 10 minutes late. However, they have no interest in giving me a $75 credit for their consistent tardiness.

I've been trying to get billing sorted for over a year now. And if you spend more than 15 min with a provider they'll charge an extra 'therapeutic techniques' billing code to your insurance so therefore the copay goes up. Be better, lifestance, be transparent and quit being shady behind the scenes.

They just want your money. They'll be friendly, at first, but then drag you a long switching between in-person and office visits. They'll schedule you for a Tuesday appointment and remind you about it on a Saturday so if you forget and need to cancel the appointment, they charge you $70. Impossible to speak to a human on the phone. Impossible to get billing to reply to emails through their own portal. They have NO BUSINESS making money off of people seeking mental health treatment. Their behavior feels scammy and rather unconscionable. Make no mistake about it--read all the google reviews that confirm this: THEY ONLY WANT YOUR MONEY. Also, it creeped me out that in the one session that I had the therapist kept referring to me as 'my friend.' Um, YOU ARE NOT MY FRIEND, I JUST MET YOU! Gross....

While I really liked Stephanie Garrison, as well as a therapist I saw who no longer works there, I am looking for a new provider. Unfortunately they do not take a holistic approach to women's health (NO actual gynecological services - wouldn't it be nice to have mental and physical health related?), and definitely have a used car salesman vibe, always trying to upsell, and I was overcharged for about 3 out of 4 appointments.