Dr. Mary Lieder Schooff, MD

we were so blessed to have Dr. Schooffq as our psychiatrist. She is smart, gave us a good overview about my illness, treatment failures and possible next steps. This was critical to our family's understanding and my improvement)

Dr. Schooff is a very good psychiatrist and would recommend her to anyone.

Dr. Schooff is an excellent, warm and caring physician and therapist. She is thoughtful and knowledgeable and has always provided outstanding care to me. She has always been timely in her appointments and her office staff has always been kind to me. She is always very conscientious about her appointment times and always calls me herself to arrange appointments. I have only heard good things about her and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a great therapist and doctor!

I had the extreme misfortune to see Dr. Mary L. Schooff from 1992 to 1993 in Michigan for treatment of severe anxiety and depression. Dr. Schooff did not inform me of my rights as a patient. She proscribed medications without telling me of potentially severe short and long term side effects. I had only agreed to take medications temporarily until I had the necessary information to make the changes in my life to help me with my condition. Dr. Schooff misdiagnosed my depression and anxiety as paranoid psychosis. A half session of therapy which was supposed to go 20 to 30 minutes never went past 15 minutes. She would tell me that to question her was proof positive of paranoid psychosis. Dr. Schooff seemed to have a absolutely perverse obsession with asking me if I heard voices during a session. It was not unusual for her to ask 3 to four times in a fifteen minute session, "Do you hear voices?. Are you sure you don't hear voices? Sometimes do you hear voices?" When I told her that I… did not hear voices during our first session, that should have been enough. I found these questions absolutely infuriating. I finally realized that she was trying to provoke me. At no time did Dr. Schooff try to provide me with any useful information to help me with my goals. All of her suggestions involved some form of humiliation and embarrassment. She even once suggested doing something that is illegal here in Michigan. During our last so called session she finally told me indirectly that she never had any intent to help me with my goal. I filed a complaint with her director who promptly wrote me that he found nothing wrong in her file concerning my treatment. When I met with him and asked the obvious question why would Dr. Schooff deliberately write self-incriminating information in my file he told me that he completely and totally agreed with her and that it was all my fault. I did not know at the time how to file a complaint at the state level back then. Dr. Schooff offered to send my file to any attorney I wanted her to, but I thought I had already received enough psychological damage and I did not want her made up diagnosis discussed in a public courtroom.What I did learn from Dr. Schooff that even though someone is educated does not mean that they cannot have their own personal prejudices that can affect their professional performance.