Shelley S. Kaufman, PHD

"I'm writing this after not visiting Dr. Kaufman for almost a decade. She's the worst therapist I've ever had and I feel like other people should know how awful she was. Given the recent reviews, doesn't look like much has changed. First of all, she would talk about her patients and breach HIPPA constantly. Patient files were on display on her desk, and she would talk about treatments that other patients were undergoing. For instance, I'd come into the room after someone left, there's an EMDR device, she'd tell me about their treatment and their problems. She'd tell me people after me were coming for marriage counseling and that they "weren't going to make it". I was 19 or at the time (I'm 31 now) and this stuck with me. Second of all, she was constantly cancelling appointments. Her grandkids were almost always in office, though they did not cause much trouble. She would talk about her life and her problems often during session. In a month, with a weekly setup, I'd see her MAYBE twice. She'd typically give an excuse about her personal family life impacting her appointments. Third, she does not listen. I was an emerging adult in a home situation that didn't allow me to move out due to not making enough money, and every week she'd say, "why don't you just move out, why don't you just get a new job?" This was 2010-2012, just after the housing crash. High school graduates couldn't find jobs, let alone the kind that could pay them money to rent a room somewhere. Completely useless advice. She might have well have asked me, "why weren't you born rich, why didn't you win the lottery?" The fourth and final thing I wanted to bring up that has bothered me the last 10 years, is our second appointment Dr. Kaufman invited me to yoga with her. This was my FIRST time going to a therapist, and only my second visit ever with a therapist when I received the invitation, so I legitimately got the sense that she must have been a really good therapist to invite me to do something beneficial outside of billed therapy. I had never done yoga before, but because I was young and uninformed and I assumed my *therapist* would *be there* to thing she invited me to, I went despite my apprehension. I showed up at the specified time, for the correct class, and the instructor knew who she was, so I knew I was in the right place. She never showed, didn't answer the phone when I called the office, and I walked out crying 40 minutes into the class. The yoga instructor showed more compassion to me in that moment than the 8+ months I spent going to Shelley. The next week when I asked why I wasn't given a heads up that she wasn't going to be there, she just laughed and said she didn't feel like going and forgot to call me. From the way she said "forgot to call [me]", you would think she forgot about me entirely. .....If you're a therapist, who treats patients actively going through emotional neglect and abandonment from their caregivers in real time, and you pull that trash? Stop working with people. You clearly aren't meant for it. If 15+ years of reviews aren't an indicator, maybe it's time to retire. Then again, a google search shows a surrender of license so.... I am glad I found an actual therapist and treatment program that works. The only reason I'm posting this review now is because my current therapist said it might be beneficial for closure. I doubt Shelley will ever take the time to read it, but if it can save someone else the money and time investment, then we're all winners here."

"More interested in talking about herself then than you."

"Dr. Kaufman was perfect for me"

"Shelley saved my life after the death of my fifteen year old daughter in 1992, I owe my life to her."

"Dr. Kaufman cancelled 2 out of 4 of my initial appointments at the last minute. I finally gave up on her when she gave me only 40 minutes the fourth appointment, and charged me for an hour. Her excuse was her computer was down and she couldn't pull up my information, which also means her memory is poor if she can't remember our last visit. She is very irresponsible and does not take into account the needs of her patients."