Dr. James Adrian Vanharen, MD

Dr. Vanharen was down right emotionally abusive to me. A sleeping medication he prescribed me put me in the hospital and I said I didn’t want to take sleeping medication anymore because I was so traumatized and he kept mentioning it and prescribing the same drug. He often rolled his eyes at me when I was telling him painful/tramautizing things and was always very inconsiderate. I never felt like he listened to my painful side effects of the drugs he was prescribing, he always had me on the highest dose possible. Once I saw a new psychiatrist it was confirmed I was extremely over-medicated. Van Haren only pushed the most addictive drugs on me when he knew I had an addictive personality. Please don’t see this doctor, I hope he eventuallty loses his license as a consiquence to the patients he has abused.

Dr. Van Haren saved my life on more than one occasion. He is tough but fair. The thing I respect most is that he never tried to just 'fix' me, rather, he helped me see the pattern of my behaviors and allowed me to discover the root cause. He has seen me through suicide attempts and all.

He defined my son as 'possibly' bipolar. He took my son from avg grades to total 'E's' in HS. Three times he put him on meds that caused the constant decline in grades. Each time in between the behavor improved. My son referred to Van Haren as his 'pusher'. After years of 'treatment' my son refused to take the meds any longer, stating that he didn't like not being in control of his own mind. I now have my happy healthy son back. He NEVER was bipolar. The only 'apology' Van Haren would offer was "I sorry I couldn't help him"..... No, he did much more than that, he destroyed my son's HS education. My son now works in group homes and councils teens on drug abuse - and he knows what he's talking about thanks to Dr VAn Haren.

Dr. Van Haren saved my life. I got myself back into treatment after having turned my back on him for a few years and he accepted me back, gladly. He has been so cooperative and understanding of my needs and situation. He truly is a decent, decent man.

He's the best!!!

I have been in and out of Forest View a lot over the years due to it being one of the few hospitals in Michigan that treat eating disorders. So unfortunately I have had to work with this Doctor on multiple occasions. His treatment of the patient is rude on the best of days and emotionally abusive on his worst days. I find that the eating disorder patients tend to get treated the worst by him which is unfortunate because that is the only option for a doctor you have as an eating disorder patient. He likes to over medicate quite a bit and lies about medication side effects. The last time I was there he petitioned the court so they could place a feeding tube and then put me on bedrest for nearly a month with the tube and the only interaction I was allowed was with him and with nurses when they ran the feed and he didn't address the psychological aspect of it at all. When I got the tube out and he was going to discharge me, the day I got my discharge papers he insisted on telling me that I… am never going to be a productive member of society and will live my life in and out of hospitals or die. Then he stood up handed me my discharge papers and said "see you soon" that was the last straw for me. He treats his patients like they are worthless and acts like the moment they step into the hospital they are expected not to struggle anymore and if they do he treats it as a personal attack or that the patient never wanted to get better in the first place. So many people have written complaints about him the times I was a patient there and nothing is ever done about it. Probably because he is the only ED doctor there, but honestly firing him would be a huge improvement to Forest View hospital.

I was introduced to doctor VanHaren while inpatient at Forest View psych facility. From the moment I was introduced our relationship was bad news.I was 16 and in desperate need of psych intervention. My eating was disordered and below normal, I was severely depressed, and nearing suicide. Dr. Vanharen was rude, aloof, and inconsiderate. His diagnosis was severe, though accurate.After being lied to at intake about the length of my stay, Vanharen looked at me in the eye after I had expressed the desire to be home for a theatre production I was involved in (I was admitted eight days before opening and told I wouldn't be there more than seven) and said, "You don't really think you're going home, do you?" as I was shocked and didn't respond, he stood and immediately left the room.After returning for my final day of partial treatment after two at home, Vanharen weighed me. His response "You've gained weight since you went home, and that's not good." I was finally starting to recover from… what he diagnosed as EDNOS with bulimic tendencies.A year ago this week I was admitted under Vanharen's care. It was so psychologically difficult for me those two weeks that I no longer remember his face or voice. Recalling bus name to a full day of thinking.I will never in good consciouse recommend Vanharen. His manner could be acceptable for especially defiant and psychologically stable children and adults. He, however, was horrible in my attempts to recover and has added himself to the long lists of things I have to overcome on my way to health.

Watch NBC evening News 10/18/12 and see a report on this "Dr's" favorite drug. He destroyed my son's HS education with adderall and paxil. My son referred to Van Haren as his pusher. When my son refused to tae the meds I got my happy healthy son back. He now works in group homes and councils other on drug abuse.

this psychiatrist proved highly punitive and hardcore in his treatment approach, and was often moody and unpredictable in his sessions. Often he tended to forget that I was the patient seeking treatment and not there to impress him or meet his expectations. He made many negative remarks which certainly didn't help in my recovery. He also tended to be abrupt and rude, and showed little respect or acceptance, and it became progressively more apparent that he had no regard or consideration for me or my overall welfare. I could not and would not in good conscience EVER recommend this doctor to anyone unless you're a masochist and don't mind being treated as though you have no value. This doctor is a potential danger to his patients and seems to have forgotten his oath to do no harm!

He is a great listener and always gives me his full attention. He is courteous and considerate and makes me feel he is genuinely concerned with my care and treatment. I hope I never have to go to Forest View again, but if I do, i will definitely request Dr. Van Haren.