Dr. Smita Hasmukh Patel, MD

I have been seeing Dr. Patel for over two years now, so I can say with authority that she has zero emotional intelligence and absolutely no self awareness of social cues, and on top of that, clearly doesn't listen to a word her patients say. I have never been treated by a doctor or mental health professional the way she treated me. I was behind on getting bloodwork, and she actually raised her voice at me while I was explaining that I was unable to do so due to a long list of personal and professional responsibilities. I begged her to see eye-to-eye with me as I explained how tired I was due to all of the previously mentioned responsibilities, and how not taking the medication had caused me to have a complete mental breakdown the previous week. Even after this long explanation, she clearly didn't listen to me as she threatened to take away one of my medications, saying that the medication was probably making me tired instead. She doesn't listen to her patients, she has zero interest in… their actual mental health, and she's one of the most awkward doctors I've ever had the displeasure of working with. After this aggravating conversation where she actually raised her voice at me, she dismissed me as a patient. Save yourself the annoyance, and do not book an appointment with her.

Dr Patel, for many reasons, is by far the worst mental health professional I have ever visited.

I saw Dr. Patel during a crisis in my life and felt like I had no option but to go to her based on availability. I wish I had done more research and waited for a better psychiatrist. She doesn’t listen to you, whether about your situation or your feelings on the medications you are prescribed. I was uncomfortable with the number of medications she had me on so I switched providers and am MUCH happier. However, I recommended her to others who have had even worse experiences. Her staff is rude, she is a very poor communicator, and she falsifies and withholds medical records to blame her patients for her unprofessional behavior. I would give her 0 stars if possible and will be reporting her to the medical board.

I was incredibly disillusioned by the negative comments, but decided to put my doubts away and give it a shot regardless. This doctor was not pushy and was incredibly apt and willing to work with me on my issues without being judgmental and listened very well. Her focus on holistic health and desire to never over-prescribe and work with the patient was very obvious, even after our first meeting. She was kind, thoughtful, and caring, and I look forward to working with her in the future. If you have some reservations, just make sure to give it a try before discounting her!

After being a patient of Dr. Patel's I am upset that I did not do more research beforehand. Our first appointment was roughly 20 minutes and she did nothing to diagnose me herself, instead, she just went along with what my previous doctor had told me. When I told her I wanted to try new medicines, she assured me we would work on that. However, as I learned after our next appointment, this was not her intention and instead, our appointments got shorter. She was always at her desk doing other things while I sat awkwardly at the couch waiting for her to ask me the exact same questions she always did, "where is your family, where do you go to school". It showed that she actually had no interest in me as a patient. I came back to her after meeting with my general doctor back home and we discussed taking me off all medications as it was hurting me more than helping. When I told her this and that I had started tapering off my medicines, she became very upset at me instead of helping me… realize my ultimate goal of getting off the medications safely. On our last appointment, she told me, visibly angry at me. that the medicines weren't to be taken like "Advil or candy" and I was left sobbing at the end of it. She told me that if I missed the next appointment she would drop me as a patient. I left feeling incredibly disrespected and felt as if the whole interaction was my fault. I am not a difficult patient, I simply wanted to start going off my medications at the advice of my doctor back home (who consulted with her in-house psychiatrist as well). I would strongly caution anyone from going to her for appointments unless you want to feel estranged from your doctor or need a quick prescription with no questions or empathy at all.

I've been to see Doctor Patel for more than 2 years now. I've been very happy with her as a doctor. At the beginning, I saw her pretty frequently as she started working through what medicines might work. She had me journaling and tracking so I could not just report what I remembered but bring in a fuller picture of the previous week (and then 2 and beyond). She was very conscientious about moving me to a diagnosis without making it feel I was being pushed with a label. And now that I found the right mix, and have been in maintenance mode for a while, she's very open to when I report changes that would make us make some changes to my regimen. She's very good at looking at my progress week over week, month over month, and now quarter over quarter. She listens and responds very well. One nice thing - she's comfortable mixing in non-medical suggestions as well. The meditation, yoga, breathing reminders may be basic, but it is nice to feel like we aren't only relying on the… drugs. One final thing - very easy to get an appointment, and luckily for me, change times.

If I could give her 0 stars I would.I was a patient back in 2017. I needed my clinical notes for employment with a Police Department. She refused to hand them over to not only me but the department of Police Psych Services as well. Finally, she said she would give them to me but with a $100 fee. I called Maryland Regulation Law and they told me she could only charge me 76 cents a page and a US mail fee if necessary. When I called to tell her the knowledge I had discovered, she yelled and swore at me. She then told me to never call the office again and threatened me. TERRIBLE DOCTOR. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL.

Greetings , Hello community that’s needs psychiatric services, do not use Dr Smita Patel please. This is serious, she very argumentative with her clients about concerns related to services she provides. She does not listen for understanding fro her clients and will cut you off or even hang up on you, like she did me. This is not made up ...., it’s real. Sad excuse for a dr. During my first visit she was falling to sleep and unresponsive to me , so she would stand up for from falling to sleep. She also very argumentative with her clients that's going through many different situations Yea, she’s losing clients left and right I bet. Because of her lack of professionalism. The worst. She doing more damage to mental clients then helping . Also, she ask me to say a good word on social media about her service , because of this problem of your ability to provide a total quality experience. Many folks on here probably are lying to help her business. Maybe it’s time for her to… STOP PRACTICING She don’t deserve any STARS at all. DONT WASTE YOUR TIME Michael Thomas

My experience with Dr. Patel was a nightmare. I had three sessions with her. In all of the sessions, she seemed to be sleepy and out-of-it during the sessions. Her eyes would droop and I would have to pause to make sure that she was still listening to me. Additionally, she often forgot details that I had previously told her. More importantly, she seriously lacked empathy for her patients, which is extremely crucial in this field where people are suffering from mental illnesses. She was extremely impatient and disrespectful towards me, and added to the stresses that I was already facing. During one of our sessions that she specifically asked me to schedule, we were supposed to fill out paperwork together. However, she filled out the entire thing mumbling to herself, not asking for my input, not even once looking up at me. When she was done, I asked to take a look at it, since we were supposed to fill it out together. She glared at me before rudely flicking the papers toward me to… review. We had a few other pieces of paperwork to finish which she didn’t have the patience to complete. Instead, she had me go out to the waiting room in front of other patients and complete the paperwork with the receptionist. Mind you, this was an appointment that she made me specifically schedule to fill out paperwork TOGETHER. (Also, other comments suggest that she often requires tons of appointments, which I can’t disagree with since she had me schedule two appointments within FOUR business days of each other with no specific purpose.) The worst part of it all was that she encouraged me to go on an abbreviated work schedule. She filled out the FMLA paperwork and had assured me that I would be able to receive short-term disability. However, she provided inconsistent information to my employer and to Cigna, thus causing the short-term disability claim to be denied. The days that I had taken off and I thought would be compensated for were not going to be compensated due to the denial. When I reached out to her to correct it, she just reinforced to Cigna that I did not need the short-term disability compensation. I would have never gone through taking an abbreviated work schedule if I had known that I was not going to be covered. I fought with Cigna for two months after having last seen her. It was a disaster having seen her, and even a disaster for months afterwards with the trouble that she caused. Avoid her at all costs. She will cause you more harm and strife than good.

Patel is here for 15-minute med management sessions, nothing more. If that's all you need, great, she may work for you. But if you need anything more, forget it. My relationship with her was fine - nothing to write home about, but no major issues - until I vented about my anxiety and life problems during my last session, like I do with any mental health professional. "What do you want me to do about it?" she snapped. When I snapped back, she called my language "abusive," said she has "been trying to help me" but that I whined "every time" I came to her office about "things she could do nothing about" and that I was "there for 15-minute medication management visits." She rolled her eyes when I accused her of being dismissive of me, tried to charge me again for my prior visit (which I'd paid), and wouldn't give me a release for my records. I'm now seeing a professional who is willing to and capable of dealing with my needs, and on medications that work for me.