Dr. Helen Eve Duncan, MD

Easily the most empathetic & determined physician I've been to . . . and I've been to a bunch because I've got some serious health issues. She could tell that I'd been seriously researching my symptoms & conditions and she was absolutely willing to listen & work together on solving my puzzle. Zero condescension! Which, sadly, seems to be the norm with most MDs when anyone who isn't a "medical professional" tries to discuss technical or complicated scientific concepts. She treated me like a colleague and as if my thoughts & ideas were as relevant as her own. The two times I saw her were prior to receiving a definitive diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease - which, turns out to be the devil in charge of my list of maladies & ailments. And she was the ONLY physician I went to (that wasn't a Lyme specialist) that said point blank "you need to explore the Lyme possibility seriously & get on antibiotics ASAP if you are indeed positive." Turns out, she was 100% right. All other roads were… complete dead ends. And 95% of the medical community here in CA is uninformed, misinformed &/or completely out of their element in terms of dealing with chronic Lyme disease. Once my infectious microbial situation is under better control, I'll absolutely be counting on her for my mental health & cognitive concerns. She's the real deal!

Have already recommended her to a friend. So very knowledgeable and intuitive. Made me feel valued.

She is the best I have come across- If you are someone who has been at it a long time. This woman will bring it home. Her assistant is a doll.

I have been Dr. Duncan's patient for several years, and I have found her to be exceptionally caring and professional. Sessions with her are detailed and straight to the point. She encourages patients to email or call between sessions if they need to, or to follow up on medicine she has prescribed to see how it's working. Wait times are brief, usually five or ten minutes. Addressing comments from several years ago: Dr. Duncan used to be in a bank building with a group of other psychiatrists. They had a receptionist or two who were rude and wait times were sometimes over an hour. Then Dr. Duncan moved into her own practice, now on Huntington, and voila! Wait times practically disappeared. She also has a very sweet and thoughtful receptionist/office manager, and wonderfully pleasing office space. It turns out that the previous group was screwing up her schedule constantly. Anyway, problem solved. One other note, Dr. Duncan is a psychiatrist and as such, is an MD. A psychiatrist is… not the same as a therapist or psychologist or family couselor. You don't lie on the couch for an hour while she takes notes and says, "Hmmm." The office visits are straightforward, similar to other types of doctor office visits, but she is dealing with brain chemistry instead of, say, cardiology. Yet, she does take a whole-body approach and uses chart info from my other doctors to be sure prescriptions don't conflict with other meds. She asks lots of questions and listens carefully. And this generally wraps up my follow-up visits in ten to twenty minutes. I'm exrtemely happy with Dr. Duncan. She is excellent.

Dr. Duncan is compassionate, and caring, she's just the best! I have to drive a long distance to her office, but is so worth it!

First time ever in my life receiving ANY kind of mental health services. I went out feeling twice as bad as when I went in. She was very critical of me and appeared to be very impatient with every aspect of my story. I also felt she was very judgmental. First time ever for me and no understanding or compassion as to what I was going thru - the session felt very rushed, like I was wasting her time. I understand that psychiatrists can prescribe meds. Fine... I get that... but the first thing out of her mouth when we began was "what made you see a pshychiatrist, because I prescribe medicine?" Are you kidding me?!! No getting to know me or my story and work on the culprit, let's just put a bandaid on it??? Ugh! Office gal was very nice and I only waited 5 minutes to be seen, but it was the end of the day and Dr. Duncan appeared quite tired, maybe I caught her on a bad day. Either way, I won't be going to her again. Sigh.

Extremely moody and temperamental. Watch out if she’s having a bad day.

She saved my life literally.I was being put through stress and seeing unethical unfair lending at my job.Was referred by my zip code by ins co. She has compassion ,honest and brings you back from the stress you may be put under by other or employer.She is a God send.I am very thankful for her being my Dr.I recommend her to anyone.

The front-desk staff is not as friendly as you would expect for an office that treats those with mental/emotional illnesses; however, they aren't overtly rude. It's more like they are reserved and stoic in their mannerisms and ways of speaking. This didn't bother me too much. I was told that Dr. Duncan usually runs 30 minutes late. I waited for approximately 45 minutes to see her and although I dislike waiting, I truly believe she was worth it. While Dr. Duncan is direct in speech and will cut you off to ask questions, I find her direct approach intelligent and inquisitive. She made real efforts to get to know me and my history, to understand what I struggle with and what brought me to her, and most importantly, how she could help me, if at all. She spent approximately 45 minutes with me during my initial visit, which I thought was rare as my previous psychiatrists spent no more than 15 minutes with me the first time I saw them. She communicated openly with me about her… deductions and diagnoses, and educated me on the symptoms associated with those diagnoses and why she felt they applied to me. She also explained why she believed the supplements and medications she was prescribing would help me. She was so open, she even told me my GAF score. Overall, I was incredibly impressed by her attentive nature, her intelligence, her openness, and her compassion, which I feel many physicians lack. She treated me with respect and truly listened to the information I shared; she then prescribed a treatment regimen that was tailored specifically for me and my needs, strengths, and weaknesses. I highly recommend Dr. Duncan and am so very glad she had time to take me in as a new patient.

Good Doctor, horrible appointment setting and wait times are inexcusable. I have been a patient for some years now, and EVERY TIME I've come in for my appointment, the Doctor is ALWAYS running late.. This last time, I was seeing her a a CASH patient, as I lost my job and insurance, thus the $100 visit charge...I waited over 20 minutes AGAIN, but I walked out, because MY time is valuable also...I'm not paying a stinking copay, I'm a full cash only patient. I can understand the occasional running behind, just due to the nature of the job...But unfortunately, with this Doctor, it's CHRONIC. I will ween myself off the BENZOS, one pill, for a week, 1/2 pill for a week, and so on and so forth...I can always get my anziolytics from my PCP anyway, without the outrageous waiting times. But I prefer to just ween off, and that's one less Rx I'll have to pay for. Watch your copays though...their front office ladies have been known to not get the correct benefits for mental health, and they bill… a psych visit as a 'specialist', and it's not, if you have a carve out mental health benefit, as 'parity' may apply, so you have unlimited visits, and the same office visit copay as if you were seeing your PCP, with unlimited visits....I'll be finding myself a much better physician in the meantime.. Sorry Dr. Duncan.. You're great, but you've over extended yourself. Patients have become very annoyed, and are seeking help elsewhere.