Mental Health Program 401 Gresham Drive, Norfolk, VA 23507

"My son sees NP Shirl Dutton who is excellent and deserves 5 stars. Jax who leads the CBT Group is also awesome. However, we've had a mixed experience with CHKD Mental Health for our son's care. The providers, particularly his current provider, have been exceptional—knowledgeable, patient-centric, and committed to finding the best treatment plan. The front desk staff at the Norfolk location as well as the front desk staff at the psychological testing location in VB has been equally wonderful, promptly addressing any concerns. On the other hand, the scheduling process has been a significant source of frustration. From the referral submission to the waitlist, the lack of transparency and communication about wait times has been unacceptable. On multiple occasions, we were initially told our child wasn't on a waiting list, only to be informed otherwise later. The process lacks the necessary smoothness from the pediatrician to evaluation to psychiatry. This issue needs urgent attention from CHKD upper management. In summary, CHKD Mental Health has its strengths in (based on who we have seen) its clinical neuropsychologists,psychiatric providers, CBT therapists and the staff that work directly with them. But improvements to the dynamic of patient interactions from the scheduling staff and its management as well as the process itself are crucial for a more positive overall experience."

"The program is terrible overall but the doctors and nurses are amazing. You will wait to be seen for months and never be able to communicate with anyone. When you are seen by someone however the care is excellent. They desperately need to recruit more staff."

"We had been on their wait list for 5 months when they finally got us in for an initial in-process visit and we thought we would finally get the help our child needed. We have been on their waitlist for group therapy now for over 7 months. They have not returned the last two phone calls I’ve made. They stalled long enough that our referral expired and we have to go back to primary care to get the whole process started over to find a new provider. They are utterly failing the children who need their help."

"Dr. Spencer makes new diagnosis on the first visit. He never mentions them but he puts them in the global CHKD system so they populate on all your CHKD visits with ANY future provider. It seems silly to me to not communicate a diagnosis that is public to everyone at CHKD and you - if you read other providers notes (in the list of medical conditions). Dr. Spencer used a diagnosis with the word “somatic” in it. Somatic means hypochondriac to most people. So just be aware, Dr. Spencer has no problem putting something of this nature in your child's global CHKD system without telling you. My child has a rare and painful disease; she is the only child with this condition in all of CHKD’s system. Her condition has been confirmed by and deemed to be too severe to treat by CHKD, Cleveland Clinic and Duke. While Dr. Spencer’s decision making and communication style are annoying to me, I do not think his diagnosis has any impact on competent physicians making correct medical decisions. Your child may not have such a severe visual disease. In that scenario, a diagnosis with “somatic” in it may have more influence. Bottom line: If you see Dr. Spencer even once, be prepared for surprises in your child’s medical chart that are carried over to every single visit with any CHKD provider. He doesn’t seem to be able to communicate his thoughts or concerns to patients and parents in a meaningful way that ensures everyone is aware of the same issues."

"Our experience with CHKD's Mental Health Program was a complete joke. After waiting for months while we experienced crisis after crisis with our young child, we were seen virtually by Dr. Carl Peterson and a nurse practitioner simultaneously. They clearly had not glanced at her medical history with CHKD, nor reviewed any of the documentation I sent in at their clinic's request. Further, after Dr. Peterson saw oppositional behaviors in my child, that's all he could focus on. He did not want to consider my input, even though he had just met my child (virtually) 30 minutes before. I did not feel he took me seriously. He asked for a follow up visit with myself and my husband to clarify some information, but when we logged on for that appointment (after taking off of work and making arrangements for our child to be elsewhere), Dr. Peterson was nowhere to be found. The NP placed us on hold and tried to find him but was unsuccessful. Then CHKD had the audacity to bill me for that appointment. I now have her medical records to bring to another specialist, but they are worthless. Much of the information in those records is incorrect. It is impossible to find a good pediatric psychiatrist in this area. However, I strongly urge you not to waste 6 more months waiting for CHKD. Keep looking."