Dr. Kenneth Neal Sonnenschein, MD

A horrible experience. My 15 yo daughter was the patient. He rarely spoke to her. Said it didn’t matter that she wasn’t comfortable talking to him. Said he could treat her based on my observations. When he did talk to her, he asked very aggressive questions full of pre-judgement. He always made her cry - not good therapeutic crying but because he made her feel bad or embarrassed. Extremely condescending. Rude. Accused me of lying that Walgreens’s was trying to reach him about a refill or that my daughter’s therapist had tried to call him to discuss things. Since there was no phone message on the chart, then there was no way it happened. No possible way that his office staff wasn’t relaying the messages. Really weird stuff.

I don't need to write another review as there's another one in this thread that expresses the same treatment we received so I'll just copy their review here: " 1.) Lack of interactive communication - he would be a better psychiatrist if he spent time listening, asking questions, and giving his patients a chance to speak. In contrast, he seems to like to hear himself speak in a grandiose way. In addition, by his own words, he is not there for my therapy/counseling. 2.) Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde - His mood is unstable and inconsistent. As a patient, it was unnerving for me to not know which of the different versions of Dr. Sonnenschien would show up to my appointment. 3.) Uncompassionate, uncaring, condescending, blaming, trivializing, and even just mean. This is all the same experience we have had with him. He treats parents and kids like he's the smartest guy in the room and there's nothing you can say that he doesn't mansplain or talk down to you about. This isn't uncommon when you don't… get feedback and everyone you talk to is needing help from you but he definitely needs a wider audience outside of his practice to help with some humility.

Dr. Sonnesnschein has been very good for our son. He is very kind and supportive of his activities

Terrible bedside manner. If parents are not living together the communication is absent...even if you send an email with concerns.

I found this KC Psych after I was a patient at a different office, but they couldn't get me in for months after my first appointment. I was also pretty disappointed with the psychiatrist because he wasn't personal at all & just acted completely apathetic. That's when I called around & found this practice. After talking to several rude receptionists, & being very upset, the first NICE lady I spoke with was at KC Psych. Although I was very upset & crying on the phone, she understood the urgency of the situation, and did her best to calm me down & called around to make sure my insurance would cover the first visit (which it did). I was amazed at the amount of patient service, because letâ??s be honest, a lot of times receptionists & office staff are just downright rude. The fact that the lady I spoke with went out of her way to help me out, even though I was basically freaking out and bawling my eyes out over the phone says a lot! I was told by another practice that I would have to quit… taking the medication that saved my life because they didnâ??t have any appointment available soon. I think anyone would be upset, but KC Psych truly cares about their patients & they proved that with the first phone call. They also got me in for my first visit within a week, which is really unheard of. Dr. Sonnenschein spent quite a bit of time with me on my first visit & I was able to tell him everything that was going on in my life. He listened & he made a point to explain to me why my mood swings were the way they were. I was diagnosed as Bipolar ten years ago, but I've really never had anyone explain to me the scientific reasoning of why things happened the way that they did in my life, and it really helped me with being able to deal with my disorder more efficiently. Rather than trying to put me on new medications, he listened to the problems that were going on & things I was worried about and I was able to be upfront and honest with him about everything that I had been through in my life & how my disorder has affected me negatively. I am honestly appalled that he has negative reviews, because I think that he is a great psychiatrist. I will probably continue to see him forever, as long as heâ??s still practicing medicine. He's very knowledgeable, compassionate, precise & you can tell he truly cares about his patients and the outcome of treatment. I'm doing the best I've ever been in my life & even if I'm having a depressed day, I am learning how to deal with it effectively. I've been able to keep a job, stay in school, maintain healthy relationships with family and friends, and I actually have goals that I'm trying to reach! For anyone considering going to this practice, it's definitely worth a shot because everyone in the office is friendly & helpful, and will go out of their way to be accomodating. I was even behind on my payment by a couple months & they allowed me to call and make random payments. If only all doctor's offices were this easy to deal with, but unfortunately they're not! This one is a diamond in the rough. Iâ??ve never waited more than five minutes for my appointment, and all of the office staff are extremely friendly. Keep doing what you guys are doing because you rock!!

Dr. Sonnenchein provides clear insight based on the information I am able to provide. He monitors my medication and seeks feedback from me about how things are working. His focus is on my safety and wellness. He is not always right the first time; but, makes adjustments as needed with my medication/treatment plan. He encourages me to leave messages for him if I have questions or concerns. He always returns my calls on the same day. He asks pertinent questions and provides me with a chart to track how I am doing. The chart can be personalized based on my issues, my medication, and my sleep patterns. While he comes across very analytical, he takes time to pay attention to details and and also shows concern and encouragement. He uses analogies to clarify things that are confusing to me. I served as an advocate in the mental health field many years. I can honestly say there is not another psychiatrist I respect more. I have referred adults to him who are equally pleased with him as a… provider of service.

I appreciate the time that I spend with Dr. Sonnenschein. He seems to have a much more scientific approach to psychiatric medicine than do other practitioners I've seen. Highly recommended.

Dr. Sonnenschien is a problem doctor. I believe he would benefit from getting help for his own issues. I would often leave appointments in a worse condition than when I entered. Some of the problems I experienced with Dr. Sonnenschien include: 1.) Lack of interactive communication - he would be a better psychiatrist if he spent time listening, asking questions, and giving his patients a chance to speak. In contrast, he seems to like to hear himself speak in a grandiose way. In addition, by his own words, he is not there for my therapy/counseling. 2.) Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde - His mood is unstable and inconsistent. As a patient, it was unnerving for me to not know which of the different versions of Dr. Sonnenschien would show up to my appointment. 3.) Uncompassionate, uncaring, condescending, blaming, trivializing, and even just mean - On several occasions, I would go to the appointment with severe depression and/or anxiety understandably caused by serious life circumstances.… After meeting with Dr. Sonnenschien, I would leave the appointments even more depressed and anxious, and with no solutions or plans to improve my condition considered or discussed. He spoke about how he had no problem "firing" clients without warning, like he could care less, and would just send them a termination letter. 4.) Hostile towards other doctors - If I went to another doctor, even for non-psychiatric issues, he would become upset. He would speak disrespectfully about them and resist their attempts to communicate and coordinate with him. He would also seem upset at me for involving any other doctors. 5.) Inconsistent - One appointment, he would advocate or condone action "X." The next appointment he would admonish or condemn action "X." I tried hard to follow his instructions and rules, but it was difficult because they were inconsistent or sometimes never stated. 6.) Forgetful/Absent-minded - Dr. Sonnenschien would forget which medications I was taking (that he had prescribed me) and at which doses. I even provided daily logs of my medications taken. I would also inform him if I had changed psychologists, but it never seemed to register with him. I was seeing Psychologist #3, and he would think I was seeing Psychologist #1. I think a good psychiatrist should be coordinating, to some extent, with a patient's psychologist, particularly when the psychiatrist and psychologist work in the same office. 7.) Inadequate time - My appointments were usually rushed. Sometimes, I honestly thought he was trying to use my appointment as an opportunity to make up time because he was running behind from previous appointments. On one or two occasions, he surprisingly spent more time than usual with me, but these were isolated occurrences. Dr. Sonnenschien is not the type of genuinely caring doctor who makes time for his patients when necessary, nor is he the type of doctor who follows up with his patients in serious situations or shows a genuine interest in his patient's well-being. 8.) Trust in his decisions - It was depressing and frustrating being a patient of Dr. Sonnenschien. Given a lack of interactive communication with me, Dr. Sonnenschien would make (or not make) decisions based on little to no information or understanding of my symptoms and circumstances. Generally, he would try to just re-write the previous prescriptions (with reminders from me) and send me on my way. I would literally sometimes be trying to squeeze a word in as he handed me my papers on my way out the door, ending my 3-5 minute appointment. Most people who have searched for a new (and good) psychiatrist probably realize it can be a difficult process. If a prospective new psychiatrist replies to you, the best-case scenario is usually a long wait (often 2-3+ months) before you can schedule an initial evaluation appointment. The worst-case scenario is that the psychiatrist is not seeing new patients and dismisses your request. Despite this known risk, I decided that I needed to move on from Dr. Sonnenschien for my own health and well-being.

This doctor was rude, condescending and disrespectful to my son (age 14) and to me. I took my son in to discuss his anxiety, and the doctor created an intimidating and hostile environment. He should not be working with kids, and probably not with adults either.

We started out with Dr. Huk and liked him just fine. But when he retired, Dr. Sonnenschein took over some of his patients. The first visit or two, we thought he was going to be good. He actually spoke to our son. But, over time, it deteriorated. He would spend most of the time talking to and lecturing my son, who was not capable of presenting a clear picture of what was going on or comprehending what was being said. When he finally got to us, he was condescending and offered no practical help, though we were at the end of our rope and in dire need of help--on the verge of emergency. He just kept adding more and more meds. He gave us vocabulary lessons. 30 minutes after we left his office and listened to him lecture our son one more time on being safe, we had to pick him up from school because he had injured a teacher. He made a diagnosis on the first visit and when I found some of the things he said to be questionable after doing some research, I scheduled some evaluations. … He was incredulous that I would need them since he'd already made a diagnosis. I'd had to reschedule an appointment because I had surgery. I called to get a written prescription of a control-2 substance, which I have had to do before. Suddenly, the office staff wanted to charge me $50 just to write the prescription! I said no thank you and went to our primary care physician and am now searching for another psychiatrist.