Still, I've received no better treatment in Austin, and recommend the doctors and staff. Management of the SMI simply needs better, more thoroughly professional upgrades and likely a better rotation of staff. I'm empathetic, but hope they can improve this aspect in time.
I will keep coming here because my care experience itself has been great (and the mental health provider shortage in Austin is absolutely terrifying), but I'm leaving this comment in hopes that management can figure out a solution to this administrative problem.
The actual care I've received from Seton Mind Institute over the years has been very good, especially where the lack thereof in Austin is concerned. Despite it's progressive reputation in many areas, Austin is sadly lacking in a better pool of qualified mental health doctors and counselors.
Sometimes I would call every thirty or forty five minutes for a day and never actually get to speak to someone. I understand the limitations of budget and residency compliance and all that jazz, but a better follow up system or staffing situation for inbound inquiries has got to happen. How does a patient leave four voicemails in a week and never get a call back? I could understand if this happened literally once, but the fact that this has happened every quarter for the last year leaves me baffled.
Since this is literally the ONLY way I get taken seriously...here it goes. First off, most of the doctors are residents which means, I get a new one every couple of years. My newest doctor has been the worst!! Let's just say I had to do this exact same thing months ago in order to get my complaints noticed. I have had the same complaints for a year starting when I developed an extreme stutter due to anxiety. My PCP prescribed me an extremely mild anxiety med which didn't work. The first time I saw my doctor, I told him that. What does he do? He gives me more!! This anxiety med is not a narcotic nor benzodiazepine. If you do a little bit of research, it is typically prescribed as an ANTIHISTAMINE. Definitely not something someone with bipolar, GAD, and ADHD would see any progress with. Every single time I went back to him, I kept telling him that it doesn't work (I could take 15 of them and it would have zero affect). He did not listen. For a year, I have bouts of insomnia (which requires multiple over the counter sedatives to fix the next day) and extreme anxiety to the point that I am honestly scared that I'm going to have a heart attack. I don't remember the last day that I didn't have a panic attack (which I could not control with the meds I was given). I have told him over and over for a year. When I ask to talk to his supervisor, my doctor always calls me NOT his superior. I have also found out that they have started to screen my calls. I haven't talked to an actual human (receptionist) in I don't know how long. I'm sick of feeling this way. I'm sick of the random stuttering, the muscle spasms, and the feeling like I'm going to die 24/7. I just want someone to actually listen to me. I have run into that problem with every aspect of seton; not just my doctors office. I'm not stupid. I have been seeing psychologists for 95% of my life. I don't like feeling this way. I want to feel better. Just freaking help me.
Don't even think about seeking help from Steon Mind Institute. The care you receive is from the young trying to make a name for themselves. They stay for a short time and go away for a paycheck. In the meantime you are convinced that you have issues that must be aggressively treated. By the time you are feeling yourself,; your doc has made out well from the drug company kick backs. Don't do it.
All that said? The only real complaint I have about SMI is that the staffing in the telephone side can be very "catch as catch can." Obviously, you want the money going into the doctors and interns themselves, and not the front desk only. But without timely interaction via the front desk for appointments, medicine refills, etc.? This can be compromised.
My resident Dr. Masuda is great - being closer in age is actually an advantage for us because it makes her more in tune with my issues as a 29 year old - a very attentive listener and positive source of care in my life, but lord have I struggled to get through on the phones. I have counted at least five or six times where I've left multiple messages to try and get an appointment rescheduled or get back into care after a continuity gap, and never heard back.
Seton Mind Institute is a US Hospital based in Austin, Texas. Seton Mind Institute is located at 1301 W 38th St Suite 700, Austin, TX 78705, USA.
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