Dr. Adeel Rabbani, MD

I was a patient of Dr. Rabbani’s for 3 years. He blamed me for my medical condition and dismissed concerns I had over a prescription side effect of weight gain. I gained 45 lbs over those three years. I have since switched psychiatrists and they worked with me to find another medication that worked for me; I have since lost the 45 lbs within a year. He was manipulative. Every appointment I felt defeated and guilty for even asking for his help in my treatment. Do not choose this doctor for your care. Unfortunately, I’m seeing several other reviews of patients that had similar experiences.

He is a great doctor. He will listen to your concerns & very caring. I have been his patient four years.

Bad Dream

No empathy and rude.

II started treatment with his wife, who is also a psychiatrist, after a two-week partial hospitalization program designed for more intensive help and observation, a major part of which is figuring out a good medication regimen. She had to go on medical leave and referred me to Dr. Rabbani for a single visit. I expressed my concern that he might take it upon himself to change my treatment and medications, but she assured me it would be fine. When I saw him, he did exactly what I feared. Instead of following the treatment set down by his colleagues, including his wife, he refused to prescribe one of my medications, added a new one, and changed the dosage of another. When I protested, he actually stood up and pointed to his diploma and credentials on the wall and said he knew what he was talking about (as opposed to his wife and my former psychiatrist apparently). He wouldn't listen to anything I said and wasted both our time arguing my terminology instead of hearing what I was trying to… tell him. I was experiencing lapses of memory; I even woke up on the bathroom floor not knowing how I got there–his response was, "We always know what we're doing." He was very odd, at times giving non sequiturs that didn't make sense. When I became frustrated (not angry or belligerent, simply frustrated), he threatened to throw me out of his office. Each time I displayed normal emotion--fear, concern--he would again threaten to throw me out. Taking away that medication was a huge blow. It had improved my life exponentially, a fact he treated as negligible. This is the worst healthcare professional I've ever had the misfortune to see. He is tremendously arrogant, disrespecting his colleagues, overturning his own wife's treatment, disrespecting me, and showing no regard for all the time that was put into an effective treatment plan. I suffer from depression, chronic fatigue and suicidal ideation (and quite likely adult ADHD), and the medication he removed greatly buffeted my ability to deal with these disorders, enabling greater functionality, focus, and the motivation to be more engaged and pursue positive activity—a snowball effect, one thing leading to improvement in another and so on. But I saw no understanding, or effort to understand, the life and death impact his decisions could have, caring little about the quality of my life, which has continued to deteriorate since he messed with my medications. People like him shouldn't have the power that they do over another person's life. The fact that he would change two previous psychiatrists' treatment after talking to me for 15 minutes says volumes about the kind of doctor, and person, he is. Doctors like him already have two strikes. They act as if they're infallible, superior not only to their suffering patients, whose infinitely unique and precious lives they don't understand or respect, but also regard themselves as superior to others in their field. The third strike comes swiftly when, in one session, their decisions reverse-snowball into a loss of functionality and, ultimately, hope. Moreover, his report is now part of my file and reflects his personal prejudices against certain medications and diagnoses (he made his assumptions clear, that due to one of my diagnoses I was naturally manipulative, but I wasn't asking for anything other than to continue the effective treatment of my previous doctors, or at the very least, have an intelligent, comprehensive dialogue!). He painted me in a bad light during the session. For all I know, his report could have long-lasting repercussions for future treatment. It seems others had good experiences. If you require basic treatment, he may be qualified. But if it's serious or complex, requiring time and understanding, avoid this man. He cares more about his opinions than he does your life. If they match, he's great; you're agreeing with him, and a narcissist loves nothing more. Disagree and he literally can't hear you.