The Center for a Healthy Mind and Wellbeing

I was laughed at by Dr. De Carvalho. I was not being listened to by him, not taken seriously either. Takes things personally. I'm at a different Dr now and I am much happier. Receptionists are nice here, though. Unfortunately not a good enough reason to stick around if the owner/provider is an arrogant jerk, however. Oh, the front desk doesn't return your calls or listen to your voicemails. Despite their voicemail thing saying to not call back multiple times or their response will be delayed, I called from a different phone number and was answered immediately. Curious.

Main problem is the office staff (in both locations). They have a terrible attitude toward patients. I’ve put up with the front staff for years, because I liked the nurse practitioner who saw me...but really, it’s not worth the aggravation. Instead of feeling a healthy mind, you just get stressed out. This week, I had a couple of issues and I’ve been waiting for a call back for a long time. I went in person and said that my call wasn’t returned. Instead of taking responsibility for the inaction, the lady at the front desk was very defensive and in an overtly rude manner told me that they ALWAYS return calls. OBVIOUSLY, as you can read in other reviews, they either not answer the phone (I also called several times) and/or they DON’T ALWAYS return the calls. The problem I had was not fixed and there was no will to help. That was my last time there.

Dr. DeCarvahlo is always running behind schedule a minimum of 30 minutes but more frequently more than an hour. I understand that psychiatrists have emergencies which arise but the frequency of these occurrences lead me to believe the underlying issue is a lack of time management which could be avoided by having the foresight to reserve 30 minutes each morning and 30 minutes each afternoon specifically for emergencies thus minimizing the wait time for other patients. The office staff has never informed me that the doctor is running behind upon arrival. Had that information been provided, would have retrieved my laptop from my vehicle worked while waiting. The first time I was forced to wait for 90 minutes, the doctor had the audacity to tell me that if this was something I was not prepared to deal with, that maybe I should find someone else for treatment but then informed me that this area of Florida has a shortage of psychiatric professionals and that very few were accepting new patients. I felt trapped in an unhappy situation. In one case, I showed up for an appointment and was told that the doctor had called in sick and that they were just trying to call me (interesting since they only have my cell phone number). In another case, I was called an hour before an afternoon appointment and informed that the doctor was not longer accepting afternoon appointments and that I would need to reschedule. When I asked why I wasn't informed earlier, I was told that the decision to cancel afternoon appointments was made that day. They then had the audacity to charge me a late cancellation fee when I cancelled 7 hours before an appointment due to having the flu. When I complained not only did the doctor refuse to discuss the topic, he proceeded to tell me that he didn't want to hear that I had tried to be patient, that he had been at the hospital at 6am before coming to the office to see patients, he had patients in crisis that took precedence, etc. From reading the other reviews, to me it appears the doctor is more interested in making money than properly serving patients.

I don’t typically leave reviews because I generally don’t feel the need to despite many negative and/or positive experiences I’ve had regardless of the product or service—however, I can’t let this one go simply because mental health is very clearly NOT taken seriously whatsoever at this place. I don’t have insurance currently, so this was the only local psychiatrist I could barely afford out of pocket. I don’t necessarily have an issue with the doctors and therapists themselves, because I understand working in the medical field is extremely time consuming, and I don’t expect to have constant communication at the drop of a hat nor do I hold any unrealistic expectations of the practitioners over their heads. With that being said, I can honestly, without a doubt or an ounce of guilt, share my displeasure with my course of treatment at this facility (both locations). I will call and leave voicemails to make appointments, request medication refills, and sometimes ask general questions, as any established patient would—but regardless of how many times I call, how many voicemails I leave, how many attempts I make to reach someone at either office I am 9 times out of 10 ignored. I almost never get a call back, my medication refills are always late and not only that, I have also been called by a blocked number and quite literally been cussed out by one of the female office staff whose name was not shared with me prior to my being promptly hung up on. I suffer from SEVERAL severe diagnoses. I am prescribed large doses of medications that cannot be stopped cold turkey without risking fatal withdrawal and side effects. It’s been made very clear to me by numerous doctors that the meds I am prescribed would require hospitalization and closely observed weening in order for me to, without risking potentially fatal outcomes, be taken off of them. Almost every month if not every other month I will run out of my medication, after requesting a refill a week ahead or more at a time to ensure I do not miss a dose... and yet I somehow still end up going a week to sometimes 2 weeks without despite my numerous attempts in reaching out to communicate refill requests. I have been told, when I’ve been able to get a hold of someone in the office, “you’ll get your refill when you get your refill, and calling us multiple times will not refill your meds any faster.” I know for a fact that they screen my calls, because if I call from the phone number they have on file for me, I’m always sent straight to voicemail—but if I use another phone with a number they don’t recognize, they pick up. The girls at the front desk will smile and act sweet and professional in person, but God forbid you get a hold of one of them on the phone... then it’s a totally different story. The inexplicable unprofessional and “Mean Girls” level attitudes I’ve been subject to is absolutely unbelievable. Doctor De Carvalho is definitely a great doctor, but he’s also fast to prescribe medication as a quick fix before shooing you out of his office after a maximum of a 5 minute “session” with him. He’s never been rude to me, but he doesn’t seem to take an interest in me as a patient—his bedside manner definitely needs some work, especially when I have personally expressed my concerns to him regarding his staff and felt by far disregarded in response. I honestly don’t know how this so-called “Center for a Healthy Mind and Well-being” has been able to remain in business with how his staff treats the patients. Each and every one of the negative reviews on here are spoken truths to no exaggeration. I can almost promise you that the most recent reviews that specifically named the girls who work in these offices, shouting praise over their “professionalism” and “compassion” are more than likely friends or family trying to drown out the bad reviews—I should know, because I am a professional woman myself and I can tell you firsthand that it’s an overused tactic to redeem their rapport. Somebody needs to take action, because the way this place is run will ultimately result in a lawsuit.