Kaiser Permanente Tacoma Mental Health & Wellness

"The biggest problem is that they aggressively push patients who take medication for complicated conditions to go back to being only seen by their primary care provider, with the promise that your doctor can consult with them if they need to. But my doctor felt it was too complex for him to act as the middleman and made a referral back to behavioral health. When I called the referral line, they said that I was now considered a brand new behavioral health patient and I had to wait weeks or more for an "initial" visit with a therapist who would then do a referral for someone who could make changes to my meds and that appointment would be about two months after the "initial" one. They hung up on me when I asked for a supervisor because I couldn't wait that long to have my meds adjusted. I called back and they gave me a number to call but that person never returned the call. I would say that unless you have no other options, use any other provider. Hold times are ridiculous. How about a way to leave a callback number instead of sitting on the phone? Front desk staff are condescending, rude, and unhelpful. They act like patients are inconveniencing them. When doctors write the wrong information on FMLA forms, they refer you back to the FMLA team, only there is no way to contact them other than to submit a new application. FMLA paperwork doesn't get sent out once it's complete. It just sits in never never land waiting for the patient to call and sit on hold an hour just to be told they put it on the patient chart, which they didn't."

"I have been seeing a physiatrist here for nearly 6 years now. It is almost impossible to get ahold of her or schedule an appointment. (It literally takes about 3-4 months just to be able to talk to her on the phone.) Med changes take extremely long due to the appointment wait times. I don’t think it’s her fault, but I blame kaiser for being understaffed here. I had a therapist here as well who quit three years ago and they haven’t been able to set me up with another therapist since."

"I am a member services representative from Kaiser Permanente and I had a recent member call me and tell me that she was trying to call Tacoma Mental Health and it was a recording and then all the sudden she was transferred to Life Alert. She said before she was transferred to Life Alert she actually never spoke to a rep, she was just sent over there. The gentlemen that spoke to her told her about a life alert device that she qualified to receive free but the payment for the service was $50 a month, she then proceeded to tell the man that she couldn't afford that and she didn't want it. He then started pushing her into it and not taking no for an answer. This made her very uncomfortable and upset. He just kept going on and on. I filed a grievance in our system regarding this but i wanted to tell someone that members are getting transferred there without being asked and then being pressured into getting the service and when the member is trying to say no, they are rude and pushy. She was calling a 1-800 number to call the clinic so i gave her the 253- number instead. I don't know if this is going to get to the right place but i sure hope someone talks to that gentlemen about customer service skills because it sounds like he needs some more training on listening to their customers."

"I have been here before pre-pandemic and it was fine. But now I am left on hold for over an hour and no one ever picks up. I have called many times over the last month and heard nothing."

"Incredibly friendly and welcoming! I didn't feel like I was insane or just talking to someone who doesn't care. Emily was my therapist and she's the sweetest person to talk to. Definitely recommend coming here for mental help. The location is a bit chaotic due to the building being near a mall. I suggest leaving early for your appointment half an hour or more if it's in the morning to avoid too much traffic."