Dr. Dianne Dekeyser, MD

From my experience of being one of Dr. DeKeyser’s patients at Serenity Mental Health I felt that all of my feelings and experiences were invalidated. I’ve been dealing with mental illness from a young age but due to cultural reasons and the lack of resources I was never able to seek help until college. With the opportunity finally to advocate for myself and get the help I’ve been desperately needing, I was more than happy to finally talk to a doctor. However, when I shared my experiences and problems to Dr. DeKeyser, she entirely shut me down and said that every one goes through what I am going through and that I simply just want to try drugs. I don’t know how I didn’t cry upon hearing that accusation. Dr. DeKeyser instead suggests I try ketamine and prescribes me with anti depressant medications. My original purpose for seeking help was never taken seriously until many appointments later when she finally thought to listen to my concerns. But even so, she still continues to belittle… my experiences. I understand the challenges of validating a late diagnosis, but considering I’ve never had the opportunity to seek help when I was younger doesn’t seem fair. My concerns should be taken seriously regardless of my age. At this point, my appointments with her just consist of me waiting 45 minutes in the lobby just to only talk to her about how my college semester is going for 5 mins.

I saw Dr. DeKeyser almost a year ago now and finally decided I would share my experience. I needed a last minute appointment as I was not in a good place. I spoke to someone before I saw her how long Dr. Dekeyser would be able to speak to me, and I was told she was very nice and she would spend as long as needed. When I sat down she would barely listen to me. I told her what I was going through and that I thought I had OCD. She wouldn't let me give her details or tell her anything about my recent experience. She told me we only had 10 minutes and proceeded to tell me how she is forced to rush and all about how overworked she is. She kept going on about this in the same amount of time it would have taken for her to LISTEN to me. Shen went on about how she has no time to pee and that if she wants to eat all she has time for is a bag of chips. I became so frustrated, crying, telling her I needed help and that I don't need to hear that right now. Why would someone in this field think that… increasing a patients stress in a crisis state would be okay? She gave me a questionnaire to prove to me that I did not have to talk about my experience and she made me add up my own score on the test with my phones calculator while I was crying and she did something else. She proceeded to try to convince me to make an appointment for a ketamine treatment- and wasted more time showing me a youtube video of a woman post- ketamine treatment and how much "better" she was after. At this point I had only tried a very low dose of one SSRI, and was by NO means considered treatment resistant yet. I later saw another psychiatrist who was appalled by seeing that ketamine was pushed on me in my medical record. I am not typically someone to write negatively of others but this was a traumatizing experience and very problematic. This cannot be blamed on her just having a bad day. I am in a much better place thanks to decent doctors.

i came to serenity for more options than medication as i've tried and failed so many. i was surprised to be offered TMS (and ketamine) at the get go, which was fine, because i was interested in trying a new way to manage my depression. i came in with concerns about adhd and was told to wait until after TMS to reevaluate. i was also heavily questioned about SI, which seemed like it was to make sure i wasn't a liability. i was told they didn't have the resources to fully evaluate suicide risk and i would need to be sent to banner for inpatient otherwise. luckily, i was managing these symptoms well with therapy, but that is a red flag as someone with a lot of experience with mental health professionals. how do you expect your patients to be honest? i recently followed up with Dr. DeKeyser and was pretty happy with my treatment. before you see the doctor, you meet with a tech to explain "why you're in today". i told the tech i was overall happy, and he asked if i had any concerns, to which… i said "not really", and he questioned if that was true (as if it was a waste of time i was there). i brought up that my adhd symptoms were still there, which was fine, i was learning how to work with it, and my anxiety was improving, and some reprocessing of trauma seemed to be coming up, and was manageable, but was interested in the correlation of TMS and trauma. i went into my appointment after the tech (poorly) relayed the info to DeKeyser, to which she was maskless when i walked in, halfway through us chatting (and me probably clearly uncomfortable) she asks if i want her to put her mask on, and i say no (we've been chatting for awhile now, why bring it up now?), and she tells me i can take mine off, which i reply no i'm fine. regardless of your beliefs about covid i found this unprofessional from a healthcare professional. she proceeds to ask me if the trauma symptoms are coming from a certain traumatic event (she said the actual event, but for personal reasons i won't be putting it here), which was startling to hear and honestly, from a mental health care professional, pretty ill-informed on how to handle trauma. i replied to her question and she keeps going on about how she thinks my lack of focus comes from anxiety/ptsd, and prescribes me something that i've already tried. i did not want medication at this point of TMS, my anxiety has lowered to a normal level. i didn't even really want adhd medication. i just felt pressured from the tech to have an "issue" for DeKeyser to fix. i am at this point checked out as she goes on about how i should be approaching TMS "under the helmet", which there probably was some merit to, but i just wanted to leave as i felt extremely unheard. i understand psychiatrists are trained as doctors and not therapists, but i felt like this was extremely unprofessional. i do enjoy the rest of the techs and think they're all wonderful, but after i finish treatment i will most likely be changing doctors.

Worst experience I've ever had with a psychiatrist. Refuses to listen and is very rude.

I saw Dr. Dekeyser once and have no plans to return. As other reviewers stated, she pushed Ketamine, even before discussing other medication and treatment options. Her bedside manner was brusk and due to that, I had no desire to open up to her. Her questions during intake were all over the place. She didn't ask questions that would give her true insight into my suffering. I knew within less than ten minutes that Dr. Dekeyser would not be my treating provider.

The other reviews make no sense to me. Sure Dr. Keyser is on her laptop. She MUST take notes during a session (obviously). I came to her after moving here and I’d been with my previous doctor for 25 years. The transition turned out to be completely easy! Dr. DeKeyser isn’t a clinical automaton. She treats both me and my 20 year old son, with warmth and care. She remembers things about us, and she really listens to our issues. Everything she does is exactly what I expect from a psychiatrist...I’ve been at this a LONG time. She does not “push” new therapies. She happens to be a providet of cutting edge therapies. Why on earth wouldn't she suggest them? I still remember 30 years ago when people were “scandalized” when Prozac was suggested for them. Those of us smart enough to trust our doctors ignored all the negative, and many of us saved our lives. Personally I am extremely glad to try an approach that doesn’t require a new cocktail of drugs and their side effects. TMS is FDA… approved and it is decidedly not quackery. Logically, it makes more sense than pills and EST. Dr. DeKeyser will definitely provide the right medications if you don’t want to try the newer therapies, such as TMS or Ketamine. I have researched both therapies extensively, including NIH, NLM, and NCBI, and I feel Sr. DeKeyser would be remiss I’m not suggesting what she can provide. Bottom line, I like her s lot, and if she wasn’t my doctor she is someone I’d be friends with. She is in a tough, highly scrutinized position, battling with greedy health care providers and and paranoid media reporting on psychiatry and neurology in general. I am truly saddened to see the negative reviews about her, because they reflect so much misunderstanding of how Psychiatry works.

Stunned by the lack of professionalism demonstrated during the consultation with Dr. DeKeyser. Experienced a rushed intake which included a sales pitch for Ketamine and TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) before a full diagnosis was made. The vast majority of the consultation included Dr. DeKeyser behind her laptop, Googling potential drugs, versus actually listening to her patient and providing an unbiased long term solution. I would like to warn future patients about this.

My daughter told the Dr. she becomes suicidal when she takes antidepressants, she prescribed them anyway and said: "just try them." My daughter felt terrible after two days and stopped the medication; she continued to prescribe them. This story was just one instance; my daughter did not feel heard over and over again.

I am a patient at Serenity Mental Health Centers in Arizona, where Dr. DeKeyser Practices. All of my interactions with Dr. DeKeyser have been very pleasant. She seems like a very kind person who truly cares about her patients and their needs. I can tell that she is very knowledgable as well.

Dr Dekeyser was not only inappropriately unprofessional, but was actually damaging in the way that she treated me. I was in desperation in wanting help, and not only did i not get what i needed, but then i had to wait 6 more weeks to get into a different psychiatrist. The only person in my 63 years of living that has treated me this poorly is my mother. That is a very poor commentary.