Dr. Joseph Amato, PHD

I could not create a fictional character that would represent my appointments with Dr. Amato and remain believable to the audience. At one point he told me, “you don’t need talk therapy, you need to get your life in order.” Seriously? He spent much of the first appointment regaling his credentials as a former Catholic priest (and denigrating his former employer) and counselor to 911 responders. His office goes overboard to make sure they get paid ahead of time also. I got the sense that he viewed issues like being unemployed or having marital problems as secondary to the “big league” issues of mental health, ones that he had left behind in New York. I’m not new to this, having seen therapists with excellent credentials and outcomes in the past. Never have I experienced such a lack of patient orientation. Dr. Amato does not get a recommendation from me.

First appointment was a pleasant surprise! I felt heard, and was instilled with confidence that I can manage my condition, even if the road ahead is challenging. As a sufferer of Bipolar 2 who's just coming to grips with treatment, I know that I'm in good hands with Dr. Amato and his associates at the Center for Revitalizing Psychiatry.