Dr. Allan Stanley Melmed, MD

He's only in it for the money. I do not recommend him to anyone.

He is nice and smart but better in a crisis and not a lot of feedback or helpful support and very expensive. I ended up back where I started but he is smart which is good.

It is so interesting that I had some what of a different experience than the last reviewer. Yes, Dr. Melmed does yawn a lot, and he does watch the clock and that freaks me out. But I find him very empathic. He listens to everything I say and has incredible recall. I feel like he gets me and that is tremendously healing. I have called him during a crisis and he has returned my calls promptly and helped me regain stability. He is great with meds, but his notes seem disorganized and he confuses when and what was last prescribed. Despite any shortfalls he may have, I am grateful for his help. I have made progress and go as far as to say that he saved my life.

I saw Allan Melmed for about a year a few years back. At the time I did not know what a good therapist was and I wasted a lot of money working with Mr. Melmed. Luckily, I have had wonderful experiences since; however, if I had known what I know now I would not have wasted a dime on this guy. He constantly yawned through all of our sessions, all the while his eyes darted back and forth between me and the clock (which incidentally was positioned on a table literally right next to where he has you sit). He usually did not speak, offer any kind of acknowledgement that he had listened to anything I said, and just...stared at me in a really uncomfortable manner. There were times when it was obvious that he had not been listening to anything I said. The times he actually would comment on something I said, the comments at times were not even relevant - He clearly had zoned out. He also charged $275/per 50 minute session at the time, though I wouldn't be surprised if this fee has now… increased. He of course does not work with insurance and that money will come out of your pocket. After a while, I had nothing to say to him because he made no effort to pay attention and just stared at me and yawned, and I decided to come bi-weekly because I could not afford the exorbitant fees. So naturally he told me that perhaps I did not have much to talk about because I wasn't coming to see him weekly. He was absolute scum, and I am ashamed and embarrassed that I saw him for as long as I did. The bottom line is if you want medication, work on finding a psychiatrist who listens to you, but do not make the same mistake I did and see a psychiatrist (especially an old one who does not keep up with current research literature on how to counsel people, and most certainly has no affinity for Carl Rogers, i.e. empathy). Find yourself a good counselor, clinical social worker, or psychologist who has been trained to counsel people. I myself am now in a counseling psychology program and I can say that this man - Mr. Melmed - absolutely violated almost all of the obvious DO-NOT's of providing psychotherapy 101. Empathy is essential in psychotherapy, and those who have compassion fatigue or just simply do not care should not be in this business. If you want to make a lot of money, go do something else. Don't take advantage of people that truly need your help.

I found Dr. Melmed to lacking in empathy and quick to form judgements. His attitude often comes across as dismissive. He is difficult to connect and form a relationship with.

Very expensive, conservative and unhelpful. Very, very hard to talm to. Seems to believe first of all in CYA.

Dr. Melmed is very good with sorting out medication issues and returning phone calls, but I found him to be very difficult to talk with and not at all flexible about working with me to find medication solutions I am comfortable with-- he makes medication decisions without really listening to my concerns. I also concer with previous posters that he seems disorganized in keeping track of my medications, and would probably work best with wealthy, conservative older white men.

Dr Melmed is excellent. He has helped me tremendously. I definitely recommend him.

He is a clockwatcher who charges an incredible amount of money, and does not file insurance. For an exorbitant fee, you get to watch him flip through your totally disorganized file and try to figure out what medications he put you on, and then watch him write your prescriptions, which are often for the incorrect dose or medication. He is very cold, and does not communicate well. He also is very rigid, and unwilling to talk with a patient about his treatment options or preferences-- maybe because he is watching the clock so that he can hustle you out, or maybe because he is about 75, and from an era when doctors didn't consult with patients. Avoid like the plague-- I really regret getting mixed up with this guy.

Session were uncomfortable at times and he would ask a question and stare at you leaving long gaps of silence. There seemed to be a lack of warmth and his style is very business-like. I would recommend him for wealthy conservative men.