Dr. Natalie Gugino, MD

I saw Dr. Gugino for medication management for about 2 years. She is one of the best physicians I've had overall. She is warm, thorough, and non-judgemental. She was happy to go at my speed and make changes when i felt ready and comfortable- never being pushy in the process. She is extremely knowledgeable in medicine beyond psychiatry as well. When I experienced a rare side effect of a medication, she advocated on my behalf to the doctors who treated me to ensure they took the issue seriously and provided adequate care. I have great respect and trust in Dr. Gugino and highly recommend her.

Dr. Gugino was my psychiatrist for a short time with Fairfax INOVA Behavioral Health. She appeared to be an empathetic listener in my treatment unlike previous providers assigned to me by that clinic. My previous provider was Dr. Andres who misdiagnosed me and would dismiss my workplace harassment experiences as "delusions", but Dr. Gugino did not. She also helped me with getting disability accommodations with my employer. I was sad to hear that Dr. Gugino left INOVA Fairfax but would recommend highly recommend her.

I've had nothing but great thinks to say about Dr. Gugino. She is kind, caring, a good listener and really follow-ups on any issues that we have discussed. She listens without judgement and really offers helpful advice. She was able to tweak my medication and I have finally found a combination of medicine that works best for me. Scheduling can be at times difficult but that is a problem with iNova's scheduling system, not by any fault of the doctor.

Very unprofessional. Dishonest (lies about HIPPA, policies, etc). Non-communicative, ignoring important e-mails (about Rx, side effects, declining mental health, etc), then acting like you did something wrong for even trying to contact her. A poor listener. A poor psychiatrist. Disrespectful, condescending, and combative. And when problems arise that are without question her own fault due to all of the above, she will blame you the patient and write things about you in your chart that will follow you forever and be seen by any other doctor you visit, negatively impacting your ability to get the care you need long after you've stopped seeing her. Definitely avoid seeing this doctor. Agree with other negative reviews here that she does more harm than good. I've seen many psychiatrists who were not great for one reason or another but none like Natalie that actively did harm.

Dr. Gugino is a competent psychiatarist and has been very open to listen to my needs as a patient, and with her as my doctor, I am now on the best medication combination in terms of symptoms and side effects that I have ever been on. She knows I am very responsible about listening to others and paying attention to my symptoms and that I am compliant with my medicine and do not want my symptoms to get worse, so for me, medication switches are an option. She is among the best psychiatrists for me that I have had, and I have had about 2 that were not good for me, who treated me unfairly and misunderstood me, and who I had to leave. I have been seeing psychiatrists for about 25 years and I would estimate I have had about 10 psychiatrists total. My mental illness is schizo-affective disorder with bipolar component.

Dr. Gugino operates with reckless disregard for the overall mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of her patients. I understand that she is coming from a good place in her practices but she has caused me undue personal and profession related stresses. I personally believe that Dr. Gugino does more harm than good.

Doctor sent my prescription to the wrong pharmacy (in the wrong city) multiple times. Doctor was unavailable for over a week during one of these times when I needed this medication. I am switching to a new doctor because of the service I received.