Thingvoll Melissa MD

"Dr. Thingvoll has been extremely helpful in guiding care for my son. Her knowledge and guidance has been so appreciated. It was well worth the wait to see her."

"I have had a personal and professional relationship with Dr. Thingvol for about 6 years. Our family has benefited from her skilled care and as a teacher/tutor, I have referred many students to her over the years. I can't say enough about her listening skills (we never feel rushed in an appt), her willingness to try so many options to find the best options to support kids, her ability to communicate and educate at the patient's level, and more. She and her team are always super responsive when I have a need, whether by phone call or email. I'm so glad she's in Asheville!"

"I recently attempted to contact Dr. Thingvoll for an initial consultation for my son. Her website stated that she was accepting new patients. It also stated that one needed to provide the standard new patient forms, get a referral from a pediatrician (another form) and a teacher form prior to setting up an appt. There was an option to also submit other evaluations at that time or bring them to the first appointment. Standard practice in most larger areas is to provide an initial phone conversation to discuss basic issues so I left a phone message that was not returned. It took around 2 hours to prepare the materials, xerox them at Staples and drive the forms to the needed locations. I dropped them off at Dr. Thingvolls and shortly received a phone message from a secretary asking to call her. I did and was informed that Dr. Thingvoll was not accepting new patients. I then drove to the office and picked up the paperwork which had been removed from the envelope. I never received a courtesy call from Dr. Thingvoll related to what my concerns were or even offering a potential referral despite that the practice hours listed are four days a week without evening work. I am a retired psychologist, in over two decades of practice I never turned initial contacts over to a receptionist. I always returned calls, usually within 24 hours. If I could not help, I found a way to refer the individual to someone who could help. Not only is the practice I have outlined here discourteous, in my day it would have not have been viewed as ethical, certainly not up to the standard of care. I certainly hope this is not the new wave of impersonal mental health treatment where receptionists are the front line for initial contacts with patients who call not because their lives are going well but because they look to mental health professionals for guidance."