Dr. Joseph Richard Calabrese, MD

After years of working with prominent Psychiatrists who were just billing machines my former husband got in to see Dr. Calabrese. This was after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. He listened, asked really good questions and made a diagnosis quickly and confidently. In 25 years this was the first medical professional that had the patient and a close relationship for the first diagnosis meeting. When asked why after years of asking who others had dismissed a Bi Polar diagnosis he said it was a matter of not asking the right questions. He went on to explain that Bi Polar disorder is hard to diagnose. It is also a disease like diabetes or cancer. You can live with it but it is a managed condition with no cure. He also explained that all the medications that had been prescribed had not eased the anxiety or depression because they did not impact the area of the brain impacted by Bi Polar. They can make the condition worse and being told by the last prominent physician that my former husband… was not trying to get well was in fact not only discouraging buy deadly. This is not an easy diagnosis but we were treated with care and empathy. A diagnosis of hypothyroid was added to the list and is at the root of many depression symptoms. Another family friend had been diagnosed with depression and when Robin Williams committed suicide they realized (by doing research on their own) they had Parkinsons Disease. Again they lost 10 years in treatment for depression. These are all difficult diseases to treat and diagnose but we need to have greater scrutiny of our Psychiatrists and more open dialog around helping family and friends if the care and treatment is to get better.

Dr. Calabrese is very experienced and made significant contributions to the wellness of his patients. Yes, it is difficult at first to work with him. However, his advice and recommendations have remarkable value.