Dr. Patrice Deane Lockhart, MD

I as a male athlete felt out of place a lot at this program and Dr. Lockhart at times seemed to use intimidation to get answers she was looking for. For me I wanted solid data to help me figure out what to do to move forward with recovery and I was always brought back to the same answer “no that is your ed” when in reality I just wanted to know in more detail what I needed to do to help myself. She tends to call people out for essentially nothing more so things she doesn’t like I think she’s too intense to often and can come off as scary and someone you’d rather not talk to.

I as a male athlete felt out of place a lot at this program and Dr. Lockhart at times seemed to use intimidation to get answers she was looking for. For me I wanted solid data to help me figure out what to do to move forward with recovery and I was always brought back to the same answer “no that is your ed” when in reality I just wanted to know in more detail what I needed to do to help myself. She tends to call people out for essentially nothing more so things she doesn’t like I think she’s too intense to often and can come off as scary and someone you’d rather not talk to.

I as a male athlete felt out of place a lot at this program and Dr. Lockhart at times seemed to use intimidation to get answers she was looking for. For me I wanted solid data to help me figure out what to do to move forward with recovery and I was always brought back to the same answer “no that is your ed” when in reality I just wanted to know in more detail what I needed to do to help myself. She tends to call people out for essentially nothing more so things she doesn’t like I think she’s too intense to often and can come off as scary and someone you’d rather not talk to.

I as a male athlete felt out of place a lot at this program and Dr. Lockhart at times seemed to use intimidation to get answers she was looking for. For me I wanted solid data to help me figure out what to do to move forward with recovery and I was always brought back to the same answer “no that is your ed” when in reality I just wanted to know in more detail what I needed to do to help myself. She tends to call people out for essentially nothing more so things she doesn’t like I think she’s too intense to often and can come off as scary and someone you’d rather not talk to.

I had high hopes for working with this doctor as she seemed to have a good reputation and broad experience with treating eating disorders. I couldn't agree more with many of the reviews left here. Dr. Lockhart uses unorthodox techniques that have questionable therapeutic value (at best). At worst, they are punitive, unprofessional, and cross boundaries. I found the atmosphere she created to be almost cultlike, where patients, parents, and even other clinicians seem afraid to speak up or speak out against her techniques. Dr.Lockhart is severely lacking in compassion and empathy, and her confrontational style is better suited to working with criminals and addicts for whom an aggressive approach may be more warranted. Rather than getting to the root of the full range of emotional issues that led these girls into treatment, she is primarily focused on compliance and negative reinforcement.

My experience with Dr Lockhart was the worst i’ve ever had. She is very rude to not only the Patients but also their families. She openly mocks people and talks to them like they are idiots and like she is above everyone. She doesn’t listen to what people have to say or try to help them, she just gets angry if you don’t say what she wants . Don’t go to her

Unfortunately my experience has been similar to the other negative reviews. I was expecting a positive and safe therapeutic environment but I was met with a one size fits all treatment filled with constant negative reinforcement. Dr. Patrice Lockhart uses fear tactics and humiliation on her patients. In group therapy, if the conversation is not going towards the direction that she chooses, she would speak over people and shut down the patients entirely. During my time in her program she openly mocked a girl for being in a wheelchair. She uses intimidation to scare patients into saying what she wants, even if it doesn’t reflect their true feelings.

she is a terrible old lady that shames and blames if you are having a hard time with your ED

Patrice made me and my family feel uncomfortable and unsafe. She talks as though she is above all and as though your feelings and thoughts are invalid or wrong.

This review is based on my experience from the New England Eating Disorder (NEED) Program Sweetser offers. My child was brought to Sweetser's NEED program due to her poor health (which lead her to being hospitalized at Maine Medical's emergency department); whereas, she was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. I share parental rights and responsibility of my child along with her mother (with whom my child currently resides). It so happens that my child's mother (whom I shall call B.) is a very unreliable person. Even though the court ordered B. to keep me updated regarding all of our child's medical health (including doctor's appointments...), B. failed to let me know that both family and group meetings took place at NEED. Once I found out that meetings took place and attended my first group meeting, I brought up my concern to Dr. Lockhart. I asked her if I could be notified of any future appointments, as to make sure that I could be present and show my child my… suppport. Dr. Lockhart refused to keep me updated. She exclaimed that it was the program's policy to have the parents communicate between each other. I expressed that asking me to rely on an unreliable person in order to express my much needed support was counter productive to my child's progress/treatment. Dr. Lockhart would not budge, exclaiming that it was not her responsibility to come between our parenting (which I never asked her to do). I inquired as to who put B. in charge of the parents' communication; Dr. Lockhart responded: "I do not feel comfortable answering that question". As expected, B. gave me less than 24 hour warnings before meetings, scheduled meetings when she knew that I was unavailable, or failed to keep me updated about meetings whatsoever; I thus ended up missing most of my child's meetings at a time when my child needed me there most. Sweetser violated my parental rights by keeping me out of the conversation regarding my child's health, even though I had made mutiple requests to be kept in the conversation and they knew that I was one of my child's legal gardian. I will gladly testify to my experience at Sweetser, if any other parents out there experience such a treatment as I received, and want to take Sweetser/Dr. Lockhart to court.