Dr. Melissa Lee Warner, MD

Dr. Warner (now at The Farley Center, where I spent 4 days and $4K for an evaluation) basically is a recluse in her office, interacting minimally if at all with clients. She will ignore 4 days of intensive and extensive evaluations and negative lab testing...and craft a summary to fit her preconceived narrative.

Dr Warner, I met at BBL last year. And I never met someone so condescending in my life. Looks down her nose at you big time. And her decisions are like Judge, Jury, Executioner. Her administrative decisions were abysmal. She trys to make people follow on her patch. But that's the LAST path, people want to take. Her bedside manner is like getting hit in the head by a brick. Its non existent and likes to guilt trip people. I talked to other patients and they all thought the same thing. I would never want to see her on the outside as a doctor, because, she is surely lacking.

Because many patients are in rehabilitation families due to legal and/or professional requirements, the staff has immense power. To handle that responsibly would require exceptional moral balance, which Dr. Warner didn't strike me as possessing. She seemed capricious, intolerant of any questioning of her decisions, and at times gratuitously cruel. I feel my recovery was more in spite of her than because of her.

While her knowledge of addiction medicine is vast, Dr Warner was extremely off-putting clinically. She was beyond condescending, and even laughed while talking to me about my diagnosis and prognosis. She was disrespectful frequently. She was moody and unpredictable. She was very haughty and unlikable. She seemed also unable to interpret visual cues. Having had a personal history battling addictions, Dr Warner seemed to be on a personally driven mission to make all patients fit her criteria and plan rather than following the DSM. I tried to heed the advice given to me about her by previous patients- say as little as possible to her, agree as much as possible, and don't ask questions. She is not someone I would ever choose in the future. Unfortunately, her words ruin a lot of promising careers, not for the protection of the the patient or society, but what often seems like a tribute to her own ego. If I wasn't forced by the hand of insurance to be at that facility, I would have… quickly exited to any other facility focused on professionals.

My experience with Dr. Warner was negative. She was cold, distant and made the diagnosis and treatment plan without all the facts which lead to an inappropriate treatment plan.

Takes a superficial history, and then makes assumptions not based in fact. Her assessment and plan are reflexive and not well thought out.

My son was a dually diagnosed patient at the facility where Dr. Warner is medical director. There was absolutely no effort on the part of the facility to provide continuity of patient care and my son's medical records were not even requested. He was taken off his psych meds and totally destabilized. We almost went bankrupt due to the gross medical negligence of this facility.

I found Dr. Warner to be very skilled and insightful. She communicated warmth and compassion and was an important part of my recovery from addiction to drugs and alcohol. She is extensively trained in addiction medicine and I consider myself very fortunate to have been under her care during this critical period of my life.