Amy Mee-Ran Kobus, Ph.D.

"This is specifically about the PROVIDER Amy Kobus, and not about OHSU Psychiatry in general - OHSU-assigned therapy provider, absolutely awful. Gave me a vague 'homework' assignment ('come up with a list of things you would like to accomplish in therapy') and then at our next visit told me it was an inappropriate list - it had too many items, the items would take too long, they were too vague, and oh yeah - my goals should be achievable within 10 weeks; come up with a new goal, on the spot, in session. So my 'new goal' was to create and adhere to a somewhat regular sleep schedule. She gave me a lot of very general advice, completely ignoring my ADHD diagnosis and previous sleep issues. I missed a visit due to illness, and at our next visit she asked how I was doing. I explained I had been at the ER for a medical condition that I've been advised to go directly to the ER for, and she said I should not use the ER as it was "too expensive". When I jokingly said, "I have OHP so it's all the same cost to me," she responded, "Well, you know... on the system." I'm sorry, did you just imply I should risk my life so that I don't cost 'the system' too much money? She asked very abruptly if she could contact my primary care provider, and feeling put on the spot I said "I guess?" She then asked how I had done at maintaining a schedule, I responded that I had not done very well due to being ill, and she responded by saying I had done a great job and that as far as she was concerned I could probably go back to work within two more weeks. Going back to work was never a goal of mine, nor was it anything I had really expressed interest in, so the combination of 'being too expensive on the system' and 'you should go back to work' really made me feel like there was a bias against poor people immediately apparent in her treatment plan. She closed out the session by saying that she was going to contact my PCP and ask him to create a plan with her to get me to stop "utilizing the emergency room". I had been very open and up front, throughout our sessions, about the fact that I have a substantial amount of medical trauma, particularly regarding having my medications altered or my diagnoses questioned, due to several experiences with that in other states regarding my ADHD and GAD medications and diagnoses. Her stating that she was planning on contacting my PCP to try to remove my appropriate access to emergency medical care was incredibly upsetting and reminded me of all my previous poor experiences. After our visit, I immediately went online and cancelled all my upcoming appointments with her via MyChart. The best part of my experience with Dr. Kobus was her office staff, who was very polite and understanding when he had to call and ask if I had intentionally cancelled all my upcoming appointments (yes) and if I would like to reschedule them (no)."

"Really effective doctors and nurses. I've seen a lot of good come from here."