Dr. Kayleena Kelly, PhD

This doctor was not a good fit for me, and I've been struggling with the worry that she could need a coaching/self-awareness check from a superior. I couldn't manage to vibe with her in the several sessions I had with her, and I kept going because I figured eventually we would figure out how to connect on that deep level that promotes total trust. Unfortunately, time and again, I found myself experiencing at least one negative comment from her per session--and I don't mean constructive criticism. She came across as an incredibly tense person, and she came across as someone who is possibly very judgemental. Of course, my perceiving those qualities in her made me hesitant to open up to her. She never once used language that indicated a supportive, positive attitude, but she did jump quickly to negative remarks toward me. Those remarks wouldn't be about any specific behavior of mine that I could tell, but rather sweeping judgments about me. For one of many examples: She asked… me what was something I wanted to improve in myself (*many* sessions in, fully aware of my intense depression struggle). The first thing that came to mind other than the issues I'd repeated to her every time I'd seen her, was my weight, so I said my weight. I explained I had been going to the gym regularly and was adhering quite successfully to a strict keto diet to combat my body issues. She immediately suggested I go to the gym that day, after our session. I explained that was not in the cards for me that day, not part of my plans. She pushed the instruction harder, so I explained how busy I would already be that afternoon, and I repeated that I did a good job holding myself accountable regarding my weight, that I made myself go regularly and it wasn't a problem for me at all. It had been in the past, but not for the previous several months. She pushed even harder, so I cited the terrible weather and how sore I was from a big move she knew I'd just done. She responded by saying, "You are really good at talking yourself out of things." She may have been confusing me with another patient, it was soooo far out of left field. To this day, I cannot fathom what she was referring to, and my last therapist (whom I see no longer because she moved out of state) more than once told me explicitly that I was on-point when it comes to self-awareness. I only mention this to affirm that Dr. Nelmark's comment had no basis in reality that I can think of. My honest guess is she was starting to sense how little I was getting out of our therapy (she never seemed to make a sincere attempt to get to know me that I could pick up on), and she inadvertantly pivoted to putting that lack of success on me. Anyway, this is just one example of about five of her saying something that felt to me like a genuine put-down. Hence my decision to stop seeing her, my ensuing weeks of feeling terribly and anxiously about addressing my concern with her, and now my finally giving her a review. I feel scared about writing this all out, but I hate the thought of other patients having similar experiences to mine and then no one taking any kind of action to address those experiences. Hopefully others will start to put out lots of positive reviews for her, whether that's because I'm just way off base about her, or because she was able to recognize some ways she could improve her work and implement changes.