Dr. Vincenzo I Piccirillo, PhD

First, i like the fact that he takes my insurance. I like his office, very new, plenty of parking and close to the historic area of Pasadena. I like that he answers his phone when called to schedule my appointment! I am also feeling better and while I cry a lot in his office I always leave feeling better, even after a very long day.

I have worked with Vinny for about 1 year and I have seen changes in my life that I would have never thought to be possible. Best part? He accepts my insurance! Yeah! Go Obama!

I started my therapy here about 4 years ago. I first met with a very young therapist (a student) then I asked to see a different therapist for scheduling problems ;) Two days later I got a call from my new therapist, Dr Vinny and I met with him for a consultation. Wow! never felt so connected with a man in my life! As a person who has suffered a lot for being married to the wrong husband I had very low expectations when i learned that the new therapist was a man ( I asked to see only female therapists). I am glad he could see me that week. I worked with him for about 2 years and my life went from "I think I am worthless" to graduating from college last Wednesday (from Pasadena City College!!!! Yeah!!!) While I was working with him I felt he knew me, it's strange that when i told him about my husband I did not feel ashamed or afraid of telling him how much I suffered. I think he was also a philosopher or knew a lot of philosophy.

I was refereed to Vinny by a friend who works with me. Since I started working with him my depression has gone down and I am more aware of my anger. When my father died I had nobody to talk to, because I was the oldest I had to keeping moving on, so i never had a chance to "cry" for my father. Now i can.

I started therapy with Dr Vinny after having been for 4 years in therapy with another person. My old therapist was good enough but i think that her specialty (marriage therapist) was not a good match for me. Also, i could only see her 2 times per month. I needed someone who could engage me and not make feel alone in the room. Anyway, after a long time with Shila I decided I wanted to try a different therapist. My physician gave me Dr Vinny's number and one night, while i was drunk and desperate i called his office. The following day he called me back and I scheduled an appointment with him. First, let me tell you that i have never heard in my life a voice sweeter then his voice! Just by talking to him over the phone a felt a sense of comfort, of hope and peace; it was as if he had always known me! I asked if I could see him that same day, unfortunately I had to wait 2 days, but it was totally worthy. I now see him twice a week and could't be happier. My depression is at the… lowest ever and my anger is gone (I was very very angry at life!). Also, my marriage is no longer a problem.

When i first started therapy with him I had already seen 3 other therapists (one at Keiser, and 2 interns at USC) and I was taking Xanax. None of my previous therapists understood anything about my problems. The third therapist that i visited Dr Nunes told me that I had to be hospitalized because I was at risk, but i refused. I called a friend who few years ago had the same problems (panic attacks) and she gave me Dr Vinny's number. I want to mention that Dr Nunes had told me that I had to start to accept that my illness was not going to go away and that I should have considered a managed plan rather than a solution. Seriously? This is why I am paying you??? Anyway, I met with Dr Vinny and I was skeptical of him being a male therapist (my previous therapists were all female). What a difference! I want to mention that when I met with the first therapist (Shila R. ) I told her that on the internet many people were suggesting me to see a psychoanalyst but she told me that seeing… a psychoanalyst was a waste of time (and yet my friend Justin was cured from a severe depression!). At the beginning it was weird that he was interested in my childhood, but it become nice to tell him the things that had happened to me (which not even my mam ever knew of). To make it short, after 7 months my anxiety and panic attacks are totally gone! I am feeling normal again!!! Yeah!

I was referred to Rose City Center by my psychiatrist because i could not afford her fees, and I met with a blonde therapist, who did not understand much of what I told her. I asked her how long she had been practicing and she said "more than 20 years" of experience and that she was an intern. Seriously? 20 years? and still a student? I decided to give it a try. After 3 sessions I told myself "I am wasting my time here". So I called back this place and asked to see a different therapist. I got a call the same days (never happened in my life that a therapist calls me back in less then 3 days!) and I schedule an appointment with him the following day. I expected another student therapist, maybe another "20 years of experience": how wrong I was!!!! For the first time in my life I felt understood and I was not afraid of telling a stranger how much I hated people ( I was molested when i was a child). I was diagnosed with schizophrenia since I was 22 and every therapy office I… have visited (now I am 43) I felt that my hallucinations were an heavy baggage I had to carry with me for the rest of my life. However, with Dr Vinny something incredible happened: for the first time in my life I felt I was not crazy. My hallucinations were not "things of my illness" like another therapist told me but "an opportunity to walk together in the journey of life" (this were his exact worlds!). I remember I started to cry and thanked him for not trying to make feel better at any cost. I finally found a place where I could cry, and it was ok. After three years of therapy with dr vinny I am in a relationship (which it is amazing that i have been able to maintain it for over a year!!!).