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Review of PondWorks

I read all of the negative reviews, but I still wa...

I read all of the negative reviews, but I still wanted to give this place a shot. Unfortunately, it was wrong of me to do so. To save anyone the spiel below: don't come here if you need a comfortable environment to discuss your situation/feelings. That should be what any mental health institution strives to accomplish, but this place seems to want to achieve the exact opposite.

I came to my appointment 10 minutes early, but unfortunately unprepared as I forgot there was paperwork to be done. The woman at the front desk was - as most of these reviews suggest - unnecessarily rude about it. Does she really think that people who may have anxiety are not aware when they are late (for being early) or that they don't already feel pretty bad when they forget something at a new appointment? It wasn't an encouraging first impression that I wanted for a place I came to for help that I really need.

Knowing from the comments that she would have been rude, I set that expectation aside and was ready to be helped by Dr. Tracy Figlan. Unfortunately again, she too was entirely unhelpful. I felt like I was being grilled and interrogated rather than being put at ease in any way. I would absolutely not recommend this place to anyone who needs a more sensitive environment because I felt incredibly uncomfortable in this appointment. I wanted to cut my session early and leave. The room was weird too because there were shadows cast on the doctor so I could hardly even see her. I felt so uncomfortable that I just kept saying the wrong things and I felt way too nervous to seriously answer her questions with the depth needed. Instead I just felt like I was on trial and I didn't want to open up to that kind of person about the extent of my trauma. Because of that she brushed me off and then made a snide remark about me. She recommended me to a different therapist at this practice but I would never give my money to this place after that.

I hope this place changes from making people think they're going to jail to being the kind of place you actually want to discuss your real situation in. Until then, I'm taking my money elsewhere.