Dr. Ralph Lawrence Chester, MD

Great, thorough psychiatrist . Very helpful.

I am writing this commentary solely because of the preceding negative reviews I read and the fact that I probably can give potential patience better context to them. I was referred to Dr. Chester 7 years ago when I was in high school for "anger management" after I was in a fight. Like the person said before me we briefly talked about the fight but quickly moved on to my entire psychological history. This seemed inappropriate given the reason I was there and Dr. Chester did ask me things that some may feel uncomfortable with such as if I was sexually active, but you must understand that this is his job, the information is certainly relevant to one's life, and it was done in a professional, completely unsexual way. At the end of the appointment he diagnosed me with ADHD and suggested a medication. My parents and I had much the same reaction of the previous reviewer, which was completely negative and believing that he was completely incompetent. We did not bother to even look up the… symptoms until I nearly failed out of college 4 years later after losing a full scholarship and having an IQ which has been measured in the 99th percentile on multiple tests (for whatever thats worth). After reviewing the symptoms and seeing multiple other psychiatrists, because Dr. Chester had moved by this time, all of them concurred with the diagnosis that he made after only reviewing my educational file (which contained exemplary grades and test scores at the time) and seeing me for one visit. He diagnosed me with a learning disability which had gone unnoticed due to compensation from an above average general intelligence. I personally called to thank him after I finally took the medication that he had suggested years ago and it drastically turned around not only my school performance, but motivation and life experience in general. Thank you, Dr. Chester

He doesn't listen and especially he doesn't understand at all.

This doctor was one of the worst I have been to. He was not adressing my issues of my illesses well, and suggested medications I did not need at the time. He was also very... Inappropriate. The questions he would ask me would not have anything to do with my illness, and teetered on the edge of sexual harassment. Very improper, somewhat of a demeaning tone sometimes. As an older patient, I am not sure if anyone else has had similar experiences, but I thought I should put this out there. I have since switched doctors and had no issues.