Dr. Alejandra Elizabeth Arroyave Ryan, MD

I received treatment from Dr. Arroyave in Manchester Memorial Hospital's after school intensive-outpatient (IOP) program. Shortly into the intake session, she pulled out a copy of DSM-V to begin her diagnostic process: She explained that she would read symptoms one-by-one, without explanation, while I count up on my fingers for each "yes" that I had. Using this method, she incorrectly diagnosed the problem, and prescribed medications with greatly adverse effects. Other patients in the IOP program said they also experienced the same diagnostic process from her; having patients count their symptoms from DSM with little interview and confirming her diagnosis by observing response to medication was common practice. Unfortunately, she's awful at confirming diagnoses as well! Her response to my lack of positive response was to increase dosage repeatedly despite the increase in negative effects and worsening of initial symptoms. A second medication was prescribed to help reduce negative… effects of the initial medication. It had the opposite effect, leading to hospitalization. More worryingly, other patients reported being diagnosed with the same misdiagnosis that she gave me. Her go-to disorder to first screen for is 'Borderline Personality Disorder', which leads to a comically disproportionate amount of patients who receive the BPD diagnosis on arrival. Leaving her care and getting correctly diagnosed/ treated was the best decision I've made for my mental health. If you want you or your children to have proper care, avoid "Dr." Arroyave at all costs.