Dr. Lisa Leah Madsen, MD

I saw Dr. Madsen for several years. At first I tried to do it "my way", meaning I was determined to not take any medicine and only talk to her once a month. When that didn't work, I told her I was ready to listen to her expertise and try whatever she said. We began meeting weekly, and she started me on some medicine. That was over 5 years ago, and today my life is so much better. By seeing her more frequently, I was able to get into a much faster state of trust and deal with some issues I knew were there but I thought didn't really matter. Dr. Madsen helped me confront my issues and my happiness is far better today.

Dr. Lisa Madsen is knowledgable, experienced, and well-respected in the psychiatric community. I was a patient of hers for the past 1.5 years and during that time was prescribed one anti-depressant and one anxiety medication, and gained 70 pounds. I am still currently struggling with my depression, but have been making significant progress with another psychiatrist. My experience: During my last session with Dr. Madsen, she told me that there was nothing else medication could do for me, that I had maxed out my dosages. She recommended that I seek intensive therapy, preferably that I attend a 12-15 hour per week outpatient therapy facility. Sitting there, still depressed and anxious, I agreed with her. I thought that this was true because I had gained so much weight in the past year, and according to her expertise, this wasn't due to my medication, but rather to a deeper psychological issue. In my previous session, I had confronted Dr. Madsen about how I felt as her patient… for the past year and a half. I had told her that I felt like a number, a blank number without a face, without emotions, without an identity. Granted, we only saw each other once every couple of months for 25 minutes and so establishing a more intimate relationship would, of course, be difficult. But she had advertised that she works closely with her patients' therapists to provide them the best treatment possible. This was the main reason I chose her. But she only connected with my therapist twice. The last time they connected was more than a year ago. Dr. Madsen took my feedback really well and promised that she would think this over, deeply, and would try to help alleviate that feeling. I was truly appreciative and relieved by her response and was hopeful for a better relationship. But in my last session, Dr. Madsen took my hope away. Leaving her office, I felt empty. Honestly, I can't describe it any other way. She made me feel like a basket case who needed years of intensive therapy in order to get my life back, or to even shower more than twice a month. And as a result, I sunk into a deeper depression that lasted more than a month, until I found another psychiatrist who shows genuine sympathy towards me and my situation. So, my conclusion is this: 1. Dr. Madsen provided me with the most bare minimum treatment possible and as a result, I feel like a lost a year and a half of my life. 2. If you use or have used substances to cope with your depression but don't want to feel judged for doing so, then do not see Dr. Madsen. Instead, find a psychiatrist who sees your pain and struggle and expresses genuine sympathy for it rather than judgement; someone who sees you as an actual human being and not a number. 3. Dr. Madsen blamed me for my side effects. During her care, I gained 70 pounds and was told that this wasn't caused by my medication. Instead, she sat in her chair and quoted me an article from the American Heart Association: "Walking 30 minutes, 4 days a week is the equivalent of running." (Before I started seeing her, I had maintained the same weight for the past 6 years. So, that begs the question: Why didn't she identify my weight gain as either a side effect of the medication, or a sign that the medication wasn't working?) 4. If your psychiatrist gives up on you, don't give up, even though you desperately want to. Depression sucks, but you're not alone, you're never alone. Cling to the people closest to you and try to let them in, even though it's easier to hold it in.