Dr. Laurie Harrier, PhD

This is the first negative review I have ever written: this practice threatens to call the police on autistic patients. My autistic brother was three minutes late to a social event and he was subsequently berated for it; he expressed “I am upset, I need to leave the situation right now” and attempted to leave because he was getting upset; I am so proud of him for being able to express his emotions so eloquently. However, the practice and Dr. Harrier physically blocked him from leaving, continued to escalate the situation, and essentially caused my brother to have a panic attack. Dr. Harrier subsequently threatened to call the police on a 25 year old autistic patient in distress who is weaker than his younger sister. She subsequently told my brother to never tell my mother that this happened…As a healthcare professional, I am aware that all healthcare professionals must (or at least should) go through proper de-escalation, redirection and CBI training, none of which was present here. I… would expect Dr. Laurie Harrier, a licensed psychologist, to be dedicated and passionate about therapeutically redirecting people in distress, but I do admit I am not a psychologist; I do not know what their education looks like. I am heartbroken and I just want to ask why Dr. Harrier decided to pursue psychology if her redirection strategy is to traumatize patients; it makes me very sad and worried for this vulnerable patient demographic. Absolute ignorance to the fact that numerous innocent, unarmed neurodivergent individuals are k*lled by police every year for having the police called on them during panic attacks. I am very disappointed in the unprofessionalism and abhorrent behavior of this supposed mental health practice.

Never question her or her people. She knows all and if you don't agree, she will put you in your place. Never forget that she is the expert and you, as the parent, are simply the accessory to the client. She does not listen to your concerns. She has her own agenda. My child has reported instances of her humiliating other children during meetups, being talked down to personally, and both myself and significant other have been on the receiving end of her "therapist knows best" speeches. It's too bad because there are so few programs for autism out there. I had high hopes for UTH.

Years ago when we were seeking a place for our son with autism to get social skills training and to be in groups with others his age, we found out about this entity. Dr. Harrier has very well-developed programs for individuals of all ages to learn the skills they need to move into independent living and reach their potential. We particularly liked the program where my son got to have a dinner event with others his age where they would go to nearby restaurants and be independent in ordering, paying etc, so they had to learn how to do these things, as well as how to converse with others appropriately in a public setting. There were trained counseling observers who were tehre as back up, but who let the kids do things on their own. UTH is now involved in providing transitional housing for young adults which is very exciting for us, as we hope our son will be able to take advantage of this new development. I have always found Dr. Harrier to be knowledgeable, caring and cognizant of the… needs of our son. Not sure why those who wrote the one-star reviews did so, since not putting detailed comments doesn't help anyone to make adequate decisions (maybe they had some sort of axe to grind or had a bad day?).