Mental Health Clinic - Alberta Health Services

When you are on a fixed income and this is the only place you can access, it is disheartening. In 8 months I was bounced around. One therapist shared my file with a 3rd party not even related medically with me and said I was drug seeking because I told him I wasn't able to get my regular meds filld, because my doctor was unavailable and I was upset by that. The other was excellent, but she left after 2 months so I was placed with another, who started the session with ..I need to know if I can close your file if you are not interested, because we are so short staffed. Now as a person who has suffered horrible trauma, having to start the stories again over and over was more traumatizing than nesassary.

Genuinely appalled after hearing what my boyfriend had to go through during a Therapist appointment today. The gaslighting, invalidation, invasion of privacy and misdiagnosing made me feel physically sick. What makes me the most upset is that after he told the therapist he had self harm scars he asked to see them for no apparent reason at all. The therapist was condescending, belittling, and felt the need to invalidate anything he said. It is also completely unprofessional to bring up other patients and compare them. The therapist would try to minimize what my partner was going through by bringing up more extreme examples of patients. I do not have the slightest clue how this person can continue to practice, judging from my partners experience and others that have shared theirs; they are doing more harm then good. Stay away, this place screams red flags.

the worst mental health experience i have ever had. disgusted and appalled by the way that the receptionists, assistants, and doctors all treat the people that are utilizing their services. i have arrived to appointments and been told that i do not have one when i have a card with that date and time. i have been ignored when expressing a possible misdiagnosis. i have been told that my medications do not cause the symptoms i’m having, which led me to print off peer-reviewed scholarly articles stating the connection between the medication i was on and the symptoms i was experiencing. doctors do not care about their patients and they definitely don’t care about staying up to date on research in their field. i received a voicemail one week before my second appointment with a new doctor (as my first one was dismissive, rude and perpetually double booked or didn’t book my appointments) 3 months ago stating that i was no longer a patient of the new psychiatrist and said they would contact me soon with a new doctors information. i waited weeks and received no contact from them. so i started calling and called multiple times, always getting voicemail, i left multiple messages to no response and finally decided to go into the office to ask what was happening. i was told they had received no voicemails from me, which was interesting, and they told me that they would call me soon. no one ever did. i finally called today and was met with a rude assistant that told me i hadn’t been there in a long time, yes, correct, you guys never called, is that my fault? she told me the soonest they could get me in was october, which is ridiculous. do not go here. if you are referred here, go back to whoever referred you and ask them to send you ANYWHERE ELSE. this place deals with mental illness through the lens of seeing them as problems in society, they are quick to lash out and even quicker to completely disregard you and what you say. avoid at all costs.

I find the people there to be nice, except a certain receptionist who is always grumpy to me. But I don't seem to be getting the help I need, I had one councillor that was starting to get somewhere, but that person moved to another position. I suffer from severe anxiety, pretty much every type, and people like Dr. Saparah get mad when I can only do phone appointments, well I don't go out in the world at the best of times, it took great effort to go to the ones that I did. I also sure as hell am not taking public transit during a pandemic, especially when I have a lot of health issues. There was a doctor that replaced Saparah, who really messed EVERYTHING up for me, based on a 5 minute appointment of getting to know me, and change my recent meds, that were causing all sorts of issues. Although, now I wonder if it wasn't the meds, and was in fact Covid. Who knows, but I have had a ton of trauma in my life, a lot is blocked, but from 2016 till now it is awful, and I tend to focus on it, cannot let it go. Well of course I remember something that is constantly on my mind, even if I do not remember anything much from 4 minutes ago. She didn't know me, and likely told the whole health system I was faking, and I remember this, because she traumatized me more, not help at all. And screw the premier, so what if I look ok, doesn't mean that people with illnesses have to look pathetic or something. Geez. Rant over

My therapist recommended this place as I recently moved and nowhere would help me. I had to have a breakdown on the phone in order to get an appointment. Once I did get an appointment they did an hour long intake and scheduled a “medication review”. The doctor I saw for that review asked me the same questions I was asked in the intake then the bpd checklist. At the end of the appointment I was told that dbt therapy was the only thing that would help. When I told them I’ve had over 300 hours of treatment in dbt I was told “well you actually have to use the skills for them to be effective “. I then asked if he was recommending I go off my adhd and bipolar meds if all I suffer from is bpd, he said no. I then asked if I could get a prescription for adhd medication as I was unhappy being on stimulants. At the MEDICATION REVIEW I was told that he was not touching my meds and that this clinic did not treat adhd. He offered me a page of clinics that did treat adhd all of which required a referral from a family doctor, which I did not have. When I found a family doctor they referred me to a psychiatrist that operated out of the same building, when I showed up I thought it was the same clinic and my heart sank in my chest. When I approached the front desk they told me I did not have an appointment and that I must be at the wrong place. Hours later I get a call from the clinic I was supposed to go to- it was in the same building. Apparently the front desk staff have REPEATEDLY been asked to tell clients to check the other clinic and they simply ignore them. Overall this location has delayed my ability to get any treatment for my mental illness for over two months. Please avoid this clinic

What a joke. My therapist told me to call them to get a referral for a psychiatrist for antidepressants.The woman at ahs said that usually I can go to my family doctor for that. I told her my appointment isn’t for awhile and that I have been having suicidal thought and I’m postpartum and have a family history of mental illness. Then she asked me if I have an intent to kill myself or if I’ve thought of how and I said yes and she said how would you and I told her then she asked what’s stopping me and I told her what’s stopping me. Then she suggested breathing apps and I asked so you won’t refer me to a psychiatrist and she said no but to call back if those thoughts get worse.What the hell kind of service is this. Garbage. Too bad mental health isn’t a priority to this province.

Have had to use their service for the last several years due to financial burdens and a need for care. I was likely better off with my own devices as it only lead me to check myself into an inpatient hospital program where I actually got diagnosed correctly and medicated properly. But now when I need refills on the meds they prescribed I often find it a cat and mouse game. Where I am left scrambling to pick up the pieces and try to make appointments that they book months in advance at times due to volume. I blame our government and the lack of patient flow here or empathy from receptionists to help.

So I've had Dr.white for a few years, he used to be helpful but has stopped caring all together pretty much, won't refer me to someone new won't refer me to therapy that's not group therapy. Won't help with meds my GP had to put me on mental health meds I've tried everything I'm like done with this guy hasn't called or checked in in months knows about my mental health problems like doesnt remember anything and doesnt bother to check my file to remember. Won't release me as a patient. I'm done mentally, emotionally and physically I would never recommend this place again. Considering taking legal action.

Very nice staff, relaxed and friendly. I've rarely had to wait more than 10 minutes and have a very attentive, competent doctor. I ususally have to force myself to go see a doctor but I look forward to my appointments at this clinic!

I’ve used the public mental health care system for most of my adult life, and this building has been where I’ve received most of my individual therapy.Everyone I’ve personally dealt with has been kind, compassionate, and working to the best of their abilities. I always leave my appointments feeling like personal progress has been made, even if that progress is sometimes challenging and/or painful.I give my wholehearted recommendation to everyone who keeps the building running.