BestSelf Behavioral Health, Buffalo NY

The new patient intake process really upset me and I decided not to become a patient.

If you’d like the details…New patients are put on the schedule months in advance, but when you arrive at your appointment time, you are told that it’s actually a walk-in appointment and you should have arrived an hour earlier. It is explained in great detail that the other patients in the waiting room are both new also and you have all been competing for time slots. The other patients arrived before you and have taken the earlier appointment times…. Long story short all three patients had been misled and this leads to a very strange dynamic in the waiting room where one patient asks another patient personal details before and after their intake appointment. I was so uncomfortable that I didn’t go forward with paperwork. No one should be put in that situation.

Also the waiting room got very busy for the amount of people that were waiting and since it was very small, people started chatting even more, which I find very uncomfortable in health care waiting room.

From what I gathered from the receptionist, many people walk out and don’t come back. Instead of improving, they just book more people for these intake appointments, knowing many of them will not go there. I’m not sure who’s running these clinics, but they have much to improve on. I think it’s harmful because you think you’re all set with an appointment but you’re not…. And you’ve been waiting for months to be seen.

I am very upset with with the counselor that my daughter is seeing this counselor gave my daughter advice that maybe she shouldn't talk to me and maybe turn her back on me.iv been the best mom That I could be helping my daughter since her accident in 2001 because im her mom and that's what moms do it nessassary and this situation was nessassary, Well I made a decision that I got pulled into by my daughter's friend and she told her counselor, well if you don't know both sides of the story don't give advice like that because now my daughter isn't coming around she don't talk to me or shows she even cares for me and it's literally killing me. She turned her back on her family also. I can't sleep because a part of me is torn Its the worst feeling that a mom can ever go threw.

Horrible service every single time. I was being treated for anxiety and depression and every time I saw my counselor she would listen and say “mhm” the entire time.never any feedback on what I should do or how to help me cope? I requested to see a DOCTOR not NP for my medication refills yet they gave me an NP. I had an appointment scheduled with my NP for my prescription refill, SHE cancelled then said I was the one who didn’t show for the appointment and took me off all my meds the same day which should be ILLEGAL! Now I have left this office and moved to a new pysch but they won’t send over my records I’ve been requesting for 3 months! They are horrible, they never answered the phone either. Still don’t answer the phone and treat patients horribly.do NOT go there!

I have not been a patient for over 6 months now, but my bad experience with the sweet home location is still effecting my mental health to this day.i was a patient of Natalie Chiodo for 3 years.i had a very good opinion of best self until last december, when she cancelled on me WEEKLY, until MARCH.i would get rescheduled for the next week, just to get a call the morning of cancelling on me.when i tried to contact Natalie she dodged my emails.i had to wait 3 months to hear from her, and that was through me reporting her and this behavior to her supervisor.she showed little to no remorse, did not apologize once, and when i tried to discuss this over zoom (once i got an appointment) she hardly responded.the supervisor of this location was dismissive as well, promising there would be ‘extra counselors ready when she cancels next’. I ended up leaving best self during that final video call with her, and she said nothing as i cried and expressed how hurt i was.there was no explanation given.i was dismissed.it has caused me to have a very distinct trust issue with medical staff.i went to best self to work on myself and get better.i trusted this establishment for years until true colors were shown when i started asking questions.if you are looking to see someone here, do not work with the sweet home location, and especially not with Natalie Chiodo.this experience has damaged my perception of mental health assistance and i am posting this because this bad experience hasn’t sat right with me and still continues to effect my everyday stability, and i never want anyone else to experience what i have.they do not have trustworthy, consistent therapists nor psychiatry - i saw someone here who also cancelled on me frequently.i only met with the psychiatrist twice over a span of a year and a half - my medication was refilled regularly without any check ins on how it may be going.

Warning: This place is a joke, I called and made an appointment for August 23rd at 12pm. I showed up and was told I could wait until 3pm and it's more of a walk in situation and could wait until 3pm to have my assessment, mean while my mother and kids were in the car, do not waste your time on this place if you have a life and a schedule to keep. So aggravating and disappointing.

My "therapist", Jonathan, literally tried gaslighting me. This place should be shut down. They have no business treating anybody for mental health and may actually worsen your mental health. This is a serious warning. Stay as far away as possible. If you want real therapists I highly recommend Shurmatz Counseling.

Edit: Is it normal for a therapist to tell their spouse they're in an abusive relationship when they only have one side of the story? That's a dangerous thing to do.

I was referred here once BryLin's outpatient center closed as a last minute option for mental health services. The counselor (note: MHC-P) I was seeing seemed to enjoy talking about herself and her experiences over my own, but she no longer works there, so that's not my concern.

My main issue with BestSelf is the fact that while the counselor warned me that she was leaving, I was scheduled for a final appointment with her and no backup person. I waited for 15 minutes to video chat without connecting with a counselor and gave up for that session, deciding to call and reschedule.

They have not answered their phone since I started going. If they call you and you don't pick up do not expect to make contact with anyone.the phone had rang, alluded to being a queue, yet dropped after a certain amount of time. I'm not sure what was going on there.

I had another appointment, a "psych evaluation", so I decided I would wait until then to inquire about what happened. I found out that the counselor had left prior to the original date she told me, and nobody contacted me about the canceled appointment.

The psych evaluation resulted in a prescription, but I still had no way to contact the prescriber (did not get a direct phone number at the very least) and ended up struggling with the prescribed medications on my own. I attempted to cancel and reschedule an appointment but couldn't get ahold of anyone. No phone calls were answered and the only way I would have been able to talk to someone would have been to walk in, but I did not know if that would have guaranteed any results since they are quite busy and the clinic is not close for it to be a convenient errand, hence teletherapy and phone calls.

I still tried to call every so often, but similar to another review here I ended up receiving a letter in the mail where they said my services with them were terminated. Not sure what is going on here, but that was the worst experience I had with any services in the area. Never have I had a place ghost me and mail me a break up letter. It was almost comical.

Absolute atrocious, if not border line abusive “care”. Too many people have experienced significantly worsened symptoms if not NEW CONDITIONS under their “treatment” - be it inappropriate medication regimens that have lead to (staff aware and neglected) overdoses and/or staff encouraging suicidal ideations in bipolar or BPD patients. After further research with a professional medical credentialing specialist it seems there are a number of active malpractice claims for this practice as well as its it’s various providers. Please, if you care for yourself or your loved one DO NOT TRUST THEM. Please take care. The world is better than this.

I give people chances because we are all human. I will say that the first initial process of getting in for a first appointment can be time consuming, a tad bit unorganized and may take some patience. Once I met my counselor/therapist I felt VERY comfortable, at home and like I was talking to a friend. I just had my second appointment today and I’m really impressed with the outcome so far. My therapist makes me feel like I matter, she listens, she is attentive, she broke things down for me that I didn’t understand. With America having the worst mental health than any other country and offices being overworked, overwhelmed and pushed to the edge, I would have to say this office has been the best I’ve been to so far and everyone has been very nice. I will keep returning for now and hopefully for future years to come. I’m very excited to feel better, see the light and feel happiness again. Thank you Best Self Sweet Home location!

At one point, their receptionists were some of the most unprofessional human beings i've had the misfortune of interacting with. However they seemed to have cleaned house on that front. I love the current team now. The help they provide is amazing and always has been for me, but im so happy that they have new receptionists now

This place really let me down. When I first joined best self almost a year and a half ago. I met with a counselor a few times and it went well. When I switched to remote it’s like everything went down hill. Constant times where no one would answer the zoom meeting, then I would call the office and no answer. Half of the time they never called me back. They kept rescheduling my appointments and the same thing happened for MONTHS. Mind you they are also handling my medication. After 2-3 months of this game, they sent me a letter in the mail telling me they were dropping me as a patient because I haven’t reported to my appointments. And because of that I am now on my own and without my medication with some serious problems. Please save your energy and go anywhere else but here. Honestly messed with my mental health more than my own personal problems.

If I could negative stars I absolutely would! I was scheduled for an intake appointment. Was told that it was first come first serve even with an appointment which should have been red flag. In any event the woman who actually was very nice on the phone said to show up half hour before my "Scheduled" intake time to ensure I would be good. Even coming hour early didn't matter as it was told to me upon arrival that it didn't matter and I would have to wait another 3 hours to get into the intake process. At first I was like ok, I can run other errands and the woman right away said you have to wait on premises or you will be wiped out of the list. I am absolutely blown away at their unprofessional behaviors. Treating me like I was at a methadone clinic or something. I have lived in Amherst my whole life and this place belongs in the city. Absolute bunch of rude stuck up bullies. I would never recommend this place for anyone at all. I suffer from horrible depression along with other major mental issues and to be treated like a deli customer is not a good thing when having these issues. Overall, they are a bunch of rude unprofessional ignorant and should not be in the business of mental health services. What a JOKE you should ALL be ASHAMED

I waited 3 hours for the first apt. I was told to come early 1/2hr before the opening.to get in line for first come first serve.

The 2nd visit I arrived at the appointed time, checked in, was told to go sit down in the waiting room. I waited. 2 hrs later I went up to the reception desk and asked about the apt.to be told that the person I was suppose to see was out for the day. I drove 45 min to get there on time, checked in. No one called to tell me the person I was suppose to see wasn't in and they didn't cancel it.
There comment was sorry, That does not cut it.
My time my gas and my confidence in this provider is gone.