Dr. Benjamin Bukholts, MD

Overbearing, doesn't listen. I found his eagerness to write prescriptions worrying. His negligence when it came to attending side effects of medication as well as feedback from me was appalling. He also was negligent when it came to follow ups. As someone who is responsible for making sure patients are staying on track with medication-he was quite happy to not give a crap about what I did as long as I paid the co-pay. He did not follow up with my therapist-he didn't even bother keeping abreast of any new developments with me. I find this lack of care and attention extremely concerning-especially since patients like me, relied on him for guidance and support. Instead of being a care-giver he seemed to act like it was his job to dispense medication and then you're on your own as far as side effects and management of symptoms. Doesn't ask the right questions-was often distracted.

Dr. Bukholts is condescending, unorganized, has a terrible bedside manner, and I worry for his patients that are in worse mental states than I am. His mistreatment, which included more-than doubling my dosage of anxiety meds in a matter of weeks, sent me into a spiral of symptoms, and required the careful treatment and several additional meds from a renowned, responsible psychiatrist. I had to take time off of work and take other medications to wean of off the destructive dose he put me on. To start, the office insists you pay in cash (their credit card minimum was a convenient $10 above my copay, and I witnessed the receptionist refuse another patient who met the minimum). He made mistakes with my prescriptions, read off of another patient's chart in front of me (HIPAA violations abound), often insisted that I tell him what I WANTED rather than making an informed medical decision about how to best help me, laughed at me when I cried in reaction to his insensitivity in his office. I… told him that I didn’t know, I wanted his professional opinion. I also said that ultimately, I wanted to be off of medication, but after several years on an very low dose of anxiety meds, I was feeling increased anxiety and something needed to change. He proceeded to increase my dosage exponentially over a couple of months. He had me coming to appointments every two weeks for quite some time. He’d ask me if I felt better, and when I said no or complained of symptoms, he’d up my dose. He laughed as I complained about the effects of the increase (brain zaps, nausea, and eventually increased heartbeat and anxiety attacks). Upon one of the last increases, I said to him, “Doesn’t it take longer for this stuff to kick in, shouldn’t we wait?” and he said “Oh, I suppose!.” Over the next week I was experiencing frequent anxiety attacks, and ended up in an urgent care with heart palpitations. At this point, I had decided to look for another doctor who was better reviewed, but kept my next appointment until I found a new doctor, just in case. When I did, I called and canceled my appointment (with one-week’s notice). Two days before my previously scheduled appointment, I received a call from the receptionist asking where I was. I told her I had no appointment that day (I kept appointment cards and a meticulous calendar). She put Dr. Bukholts on the phone, who snapped at me as if I were a child, wondering where I was and telling me I had to reschedule earlier than this time. I said “I’m sorry, but I think you’re being a bit unprofessional.” He proceeded to scream nonsense at me, and the last thing I made out was “You need to find another provider GOODBYE!” Now, I’m sure psychiatrists deal with plenty of people who act strange and destructive, but, aside from crying when he laughed at me, I was never anything but polite and professional to Dr. Bukoltz and his receptionist. I am a busy, high-level professional. Maintaining my mental health is important to me. He didn’t seem to like that I asked a lot of questions, but I was merely asking for help and information. He took advantage of my mental state and money. I can’t risk injuring my career by peeling away to the bathroom 8 times a day to cry and let heart palpitations subside. My work was suffering, and I was terrified. He only exacerbated the situation. My new psychiatrist, who is lovely, compassionate, and answers questions, was alarmed by the medication increases and helped me wean off. In general, he seems to expect self-diagnosis (frightening!), but then insults or ignores the opinions or self-advocacy of the patient. Incredibly insensitive. Clearly out for financial gain by exploiting frequent appointments and defends his shoddy professionalism. If you want a doctor to assess your situation and make a qualified, medical decision about how to best help you, steer clear.

Brilliant

I would recommend this doctor to my friends

Dr. Bukholts is a wonderful doctor. I have been seeing him for over a decade and he has helped me in many ways. When my condition should change the doctor has diagnosed the problem and made tne necessary adjustments to help me through my problem. Thanks for being a caring doctor.

I've had a great experience with Dr. Bukholts, who is a caring man. The office runs efficiently, and they are very accommodating about appointments. I likewise recommend him as an excellent mental health specialist.

My experience with this practice has been nothing but dreadful. The last thing I or anybody else needs when going through something that means you need to visit this place is the rudeness of this place. It's disgusting and I will be going elsewhere. Their incompetence has meant they have not submitted invoices to my insurance and now they seem to think it's acceptable to hold my medical records ransom! I am shocked and dismayed and the lack of courtesy and professionalism experienced here.

Dr. Bukholts is an excellent psychiatrist. He is wonderful, thoughtful, caring - absolutely fabulous. I recommend him wholeheartedly to anyone who wants to get excellent mental health treatement.