Depression MD

"Depression MD is a fabulous facility and in a class all of its own. Dr. Harding is so compassionate and knowledgeable and takes the time to really listen which is something new that I have found in the Psychiatric field. Her staff is wonderful and the facility is immaculate, and so peaceful. Dr. Harding has given those of us who suffer from depression, hope which is so needed."

"I feel so fortunate to have been referred to Dr. Harding. She and her staff have really helped my through some tough times so far. After so many years of searching for treatments that would stick, and always having so many more unanswered questions about my conditions, I am finally finding both of those things at Depression MD. Dr. Harding is such a joy to work with. She is so knowledgeable, methodical, professional, yet so easy to talk with. She takes the time to listen and walk me through what to expect. She also breaks down the why’s of each step in my treatment and makes sure I understand my own condition and treatments. This is such a breath of fresh air. I have found her staff to be equally personable, professional, and methodical. And FYI, this is coming from someone who has had so many troubling and neglectful encounters with other clinicians who were far less professional, far less competent, and far more interested in giving me a one-size-fits-all formula for success. It makes such a difference to have people who are willing to put in the work in to really investigate my conditions and the best path forward. And to reviewers complaining about having to wear a mask and be vaccinated—it’s still a clinic that follows standards in maintaining a healthy environment."

"i received treatment from this facility for almost 2 years. i can say with certainty that ketamine treatment has saved my life on multiple occasions. i am poor and was/am very grateful that CT medicaid (husky) covered these treatments due to a long history of failed treatments. i have severe treatment resistant depression coupled with complex PTSD and ADHD. although ketamine may never have put my symptoms into complete remission, the anti-suicidal effects were extremely invaluable to me and i could not imagine still being alive without having received these treatments. unfortunately, Dr. Harding did not see it the same way. a few weeks ago she scheduled an office visit with me to interrogate me on why my treatments were not working. i had just started a new antidepressant— one that she recommended to me, which i then recommended to my APRN, that had now cut my depressive symptoms in half. she seemed to ignore this information as she had already made a decision about my care because, in her words, i “should not be directing [my] own care as a patient” when i said continuing spravato treatments along with this new medication potentially could put me in remission. she proceeded to grill me over the entire visit, accusing me of having borderline personality disorder, due to ketamine treatments not putting me in remission, disregarding how i have responded to treatment many times and how i was still searching for a primary antidepressant that would help. she said “either the treatment is wrong or the diagnosis is wrong”, not realizing that treatment resistant depression is... treatment resistant? being a femme of color, this feels extremely ironic to say the least, considering she seems to be very aware of the struggles of women of color, yet BPD is frequently used as a diagnosis to unfairly label a “difficult” patient and disproportionately used against women. not to mention she is not a therapist who has any intimate knowledge about me, my relationships, or the way i apply my coping mechanisms, which is evident by the insinuations she made throughout the visit. she told me that because of a medical marijuana card for PTSD + fibromyalgia (i only use 3:1 CBD tinctures), my ADHD medication, and emergency benzodiazepines (for panic attacks/flashbacks) that she does not feel comfortable continuing treatment. yet this had not been a problem for entire time i had been in treatment, and i had been on these medications since the beginning. she drove this point home by saying “someone like you would be the first to sue a doctor if something happened”. once i started tearing up, trying to defend my case and prove myself to her, she began to usher me out of the office telling me she’ll have to speak to my APRN. i have been discontinued from treatments suddenly, with no taper, after being treated weekly for many months, which feels extremely negligent to me. she had the nerve to hug me without asking as i left in tears, humiliated. the irony of this practice adding on services for “objective” ADHD testing is not lost on me, when several questions on the PHQ-9 (depression screening) have considerable overlap with ADHD symptoms— which could easily explain my “terrible scores” as Dr. Harding so eloquently put it. the rebranding from “Lisa Harding MD LLC” to “Mood Disorder Institute PLLC” as well as charging my bank account for my balance without warning or consent two days before dropping me as a patient in this office visit is also not lost on me. i did not appreciate the personal attack on my character, intelligence, progress and hard work put into my struggles with mental health by a practitioner who was obviously just attempting to drop a financially unviable/inconvenient patient. i actually would have understood if she just said so instead of resorting to belittlement and gaslighting. if you decide to receive services from this clinic due to necessity, just be aware that i and others have had discomforts surrounding dr. harding’s bedside manner. if you’re an easy case, you’ll probably be fine. if not, best of luck."

"EDIT 10/02/23: This practice's tone of responses to reviews are part of the point I'm trying to convey—glad they're continuing to show themselves. This review was carefully written to share my experience so that others are aware of what they may experience themselves if they choose to receive treatment here. I want to be done with this but I feel a duty to ensure that my point is not undermined and that the truth is clear. The rules are the rules. There was clearly some miscommunication, but I just followed instructions. No one was really at fault, but I was spoken to as though I did a horrible thing. Covering for each other's errors by calling and attempting to make patients feel horrible and like they've done something wrong is not what I consider in line with "integrity" or "professionalism". I hope whoever wrote that response is right and that Dr. Lisa Harding treats her patients with care and speaks kindly to them. I did not have that experience with her. I did have that experience with everyone else in the practice. I'm sure whoever is reading these reviews will use deductive reasoning. *********** I've never felt more of a responsibility to write a review. Simply put, Dr. Lisa harding is rude, inconsiderate and disrespectful. This, a doctor who is responsible for the well-being of patients seeking mental/emotional help. Intake procedure requires proof of Covid-19 vaccination card—I called the office to let them know I am not vaccinated and asked whether or not I can still be seen by Dr. Holloway. The receptionist clearly misunderstood because she booked my appointment, but when I came in she said "it looks like we never received a photo of your vaccination card". I reminded her of the phone call to which she seemed confused but she sent me in to see Dr. Holloway anyway—who is great by the way and so is everyone I spoke to in the practice other than Dr. Lisa Harding. I left my appointment with a prescription but after doing some research I decided to advocate for a different treatment plan so I called Dr. Holloway and he patiently spent time on the phone with me discussing different options and we landed on a prescription that resonated better with me. All that was left was to sign consent forms and pick up my prescription. I was satisfied with my experience up until this point. Before I could sign consent forms and receive my prescription, I received an aggressive phone call from Dr. Harding, where she yelled at me for having received treatment at their practice as an unvaccinated person, that their policy is that they don't treat unvaxed patients and that her receptionist told her that I lied in order to receive treatment. She did not allow me to explain that I had no knowledge of this policy or explain what actually happened, cut me off many times to say that what I was explaining couldn't possibly be true, then told me it "seems like I want for my file to be closed". To which I responded yes because of course I don't want to receive treatment by a practitioner who calls emotionally/mentally unwell patients to yell at them, gaslight them and shame them. I had no desire to argue with her and couldn't even if I wanted to because she quite literally didn't allow me to speak. I couldn't help but feel a responsibility to share this experience because while I was able to stomach that phone call and just make other arrangements for treatment for myself, I can imagine that a more emotionally fragile patient might have been extremely negatively effected if spoken to by Dr. Harding in the way that she spoke to me. Psychiatric patients desperately seeking help to feel better...being treated by this practitioner...I can't help but rate 1/5 stars. If you do choose to receive treatment here, steer clear of Dr. Harding. Would highly recommend requesting Dr. Holloway as your doctor."

"Dr. Harding and her team and so kind, patient and attentive. The office is so beautiful and modern. Speaking with Dr. Harding for 1 hour yesterday to prepare myself for my ketamine/Spravato journey was the most amazing conversation I ever had with a Psychiatrist. She listens whole heartedly, she is honest and real, provides so much information in a simple manner, and answered any question I had. I am so grateful that I found this practice and feel so comfortable in their hands. I highly recommend!!"