Dr. Cynthia Ann Pristach, MD

Working with this doctor changed my life. I followed her course of action and I’m feeling great.

I wasn’t a patient of Dr. Pristach’s, but I had about a 20 minute interaction with her where she invalidated my depressive symptoms. She said the sentence, “You don’t seem like a depressed person,” to which I confusedly responded, “Thank you?” and she said, “It wasn’t a compliment.” She didn’t even think to consider that I might have a background in psychology, and she instead spent time explaining terms that I already knew in a manner that felt very much like I was being antagonized and talked down to. I felt angry, invalidated, and insulted. Her bedside manner is very cold, and it provokes people who are already amidst a crisis. She should know what it’s like to talk to her for 20 minutes so she may consider amending her practices. She was devoid of empathy, and she left me in tears. If you are looking for a psychiatric professional who is warm and accepting, please avoid Dr. Pristach. She would have turned me off the entire therapeutic sector at ECMC had she been the first doctor… I interacted with.

She is not a competent or well-equipped psychiatrist.