Hennepin County Mental Health

Great public health clinic. I've been going here for over a decade. I was surprised to see the negative reviews, so I wanted to post my take. As a county mental health clinic, I think if you compare this place to a private clinic it would be a bit unfair. It is so much better than the last two public clinics I've used. They have a few walk-in times and a sliding-scale cost structure that means you might have no payment for your services. They do have full-time security guard that is usually on the second floor, which I guess could make some people uncomfortable. As a public clinic that takes some patients without payment, the clinic sometimes sees patients who are going through extremely rough times, and I think a security presence can be helpful in those cases. The majority of patients who go there act pretty civil even when frustrated though, and so the security people can usually be laid back and not very intimidating. I realize that if you have had bad experiences with police/security in the past, this could make being in the 2nd floor waiting room uncomfortable, but I have been okay with it. There is definitely one staff member who can be kind of rude, or at least a bit short with people, but I love the rest of the staff. I'm not really qualified to say how good my therapist and psychiatrist are, but they behave completely professionally and seemed to have helped me gain significant insight into my problems, which are numerous. My psychiatrist is often overbooked and so might be late for my appointment, but it is usually because her previous sessions go longer. I guess I don't hold that against her. Sometimes I'm a patient she goes overtime with.
8 years ago (01-05-2018)

A tragedy of a "mental health" clinic- Needs to be investigated immediately: Here's what they don't tell you, specifically, that I just learned recently: They make you sign a HIPAA form, but they do not mention in it, that they enter their personal psychotherapy notes into your MEDICAL CHART, for literally anyone who has access to HCMC's system, to look at. Let that sink in- So much for client/patient confidentiality. No other hospital that I have been to for therapy or meds does this, because of the inherent sensitivity of this information (and the inherent bias of the therapist taking the notes). This is not only dangerous, but callous and insensitive. This place is likely to have a lawsuit on its hands: Besides my "therapist" being 80% of the problem, the woman who has the ability to prescribe me medication is frequently late to my appointments (last time, by 40 minutes), among other complaints. Sometimes, a front desk person is obnoxiously rude, as if asking her a question about appointment timing (politely) is somehow inappropriate; Eat a Snickers, chica. This place has a very jail-like atmosphere: You have to be buzzed in everywhere, and there are security guards parked right near the desk. You feel dehumanized by the experience. Now onto my ex-therapist: Power-tripping, narcissist of a "senior psychiatric social worker" (with nobody to report to, mind you, so they're free to do whatever they want to people in private, without repercussions), who did essentially nothing but re-traumatize me. She'd sit across from me with stiff, arm-folded body posture, eye-rolling, "micro aggressions" whilst judging, letting me ramble uncomfortably, never paying attention, or offering feedback on anything until I finally asked her what the heck was going on, after offering her usual "that must've really sucked" (it was basically the only thing she ever said to me, and she had the deer in headlights look of incompetence and speechlessness when I finally called her out), and writing pejorative diagnoses into my chart, to make sure I would be discredited if I ever filed a complaint or grievance. The best part is, this clinic is tied into HCMC, so you can expect to be judged, bullied, gaslit, and demeaned by any doctor in the system that you see for real medical need, who thinks they know anything about you, based on what a social worker has written about you... based on their own projections/counter-transference, general biases, negligence, and hostility; because they have access to any of your "medical" history deemed fact by these incompetent, burned-out, and generally apathetic people. It happened to me the day after I cut ties with her, and then when I filed the grievance, they blamed me for my experience, and went to work covering it up. A specialist doctor I saw, had personal information about me, and humiliated/intimidated me. Do not go here. This place is a joke, and hurts already vulnerable and struggling people, seeking resources, and just a sliver of empathy/validation for their experiences (which they space out/don't listen to, and assume everything is about your general personality, even when you prove them wrong in their assumptions, and gently pry about what their bizarre issues with you are, getting them to imply that they're on the cluster-b spectrum). You get the opposite from them, as they're just looking to just show up and milk your insurance. I should've left far sooner than I did, but PTSD (and autism spectrum, for the record) is complicated, and she exploited that, and my trust. How dare you. Your job isn't to get paid to make depressed and anxious people's lives worse, and you all should be ashamed of yourselves. But the people here being critical of you are all just disgruntled loons, without a cause, right? ;-)
8 years ago (10-04-2018)

Everyone let's file a class action lawsuit against this place. They have conducted unethical practices unethical practices doing unethical practices for racketeering and conspiracy of death eugenics against mentally disabled people.
8 years ago (12-03-2018)

I will submit an affidavit to a legal office to motion a lawsuit against this place.
8 years ago (12-03-2018)

Not pleased... I would need to steer clear of this clinic. They are apart of Hennepin County so if you have a temporary panic attack or suffer from PTSD for instance, any Hennepin County employee who works with a computer can look you up and see that you have a mental health issue. Demeaning!!!! Not private at all!!!!
11 years ago (03-08-2015)