Dr. Alla Barsky, MD

This doctor was responsible for the care of my family member & she blatantly ignored my family member's pleas for help which led to her breakdown. She was also disrespectful & unprofessional to a representative who came to investigate on my family member's behalf. This doctor has many complaints against regarding the care she provides & should be held responsible for her actions AND inaction.

This woman is RUDE and unprofessional. She disregards anything you have to say and pushes pills down your throat.

I saw Dr. Barsky regularly for a few years for med management and therapy. I was having issues with concentration at work and she was not helpful other than to tell me that I have poor time management skills. In other areas of my life where I was struggling she brushed it off and was very abrasive. I stopped seeing her, found someone else, and was diagnosed with with ADD on my first visit with new doc. I'm doing much better, but lost literally years of productivity at work and relationship satisfaction because of her terrible "treatment" plan.

Well meaning, but a bit stiff, abrasive, and officious. This could be a cultural thing. Ultimately her good intentions show through. Adequate for med management in NYC.

Saw her for anxiety and depression, she was very helpful in prescribing medications and discussing problems with me.

Dr. Barsky was incredibly unprofessional, condescending, and unhelpful. I was shocked that a psychiatrist could be so rude and uncaring! She also kept me waiting for a very long time when I saw her, but then on a follow up I was 5 minutes late due to the subway and she was very nasty about it when I arrived. When I told her about side effects I was having to the medications she prescribed she did not believe me and acted as though I were a huge bother to her by having such complaints. I was truly shocked to be treated this way by a doctor and I will never go back to her practice.

Making an appointment is fairly easy, I have seen many other Psychiatrists where this has been a huge undertaking just to verify insurance and get an appointment. Dr. Barsky usually responds herself and is prompt. As far as staff, I really never see any, I think the therapists here pretty much run their own practice, but is seems efficient and I never have run into issues because of it (thus 2 stars). I always get my full session, and she is better at most about telling me her thoughts and diagnosis, and I appreciate that. I supose I am the kind of person that needs more direction and less introspection, Im not good with making changes without a clear idea how to do so, and Dr. Barski is getting better at this with me. If you spend enough time going to therapy with her, she starts to understand you better and thus the sessions are more helpful. With that said, of all the people I have seen in my lifetime, she is in the top 25%, good, but not exceptional. Exceptional… therapists/psychiatrists that take crap insurance and have available appointments are as rare in NYC as finding a rent controoled manhattan apartment. On a side note, I have had exceptional therapy from the majority of certified clinical social workers I have seen, and if you dont need medication, I would recommend going that route first as they seen to be beter with talk therapy vs. Psychopharmacology.

Dr. Barsky often seems preoccupied and busy with administrative issues during office visits. She usually has her laptop open and on her lap and is flipping through my file while I'm talking with her. On occasion she has started typing or texting or even taken a phone call during my appointment. I find this quite rude and have told her so. She's better as a psychiatrist than a therapist.