Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services

My younger brother was not allowed to volunteer here as they give all employees background checks, and if someone doesn’t have a clean check, they will be not allowed to work.
When he was younger he made a mistake and unfortunately it’s on his record.
I think it’s kinda stupid they didn’t even allow him to explain himself or understand that it happened so long ago.

I’m someone from a family that doesn’t like to admit to having mental illness and mental health care, and I work here as a peer specialist. I’ve been in this business for five years or so and I’ve seen a lot of changes. My first note here is that people with mental health issues rarely have the mindfulness to post online and sometimes don’t have access to resources that allow them to learn how.
This is not an easy place to start learning for anyone, and I agree that sometimes it feels like there isn’t anyone able to help. But I have to say, all of us want to help, even if it feels like maybe we are not able to do much about it right now.
This is a starting point for a lot of people who want to connect to people who can help open minds and who want changes that can lead to meaningful roles. It is only one point, but one that might open up other opportunities. I chose to work in this field to help others who hear voices like me, people who know what it’s like not to care anymore, and who take longer than others learning what they really need to make themselves feel good about themselves. I choose recovery and self care, and Didi Hirsch has been for me a place where I can find a meaningful role.

Move on, People! You won’t be helped here…
What in the hell is the point of making an appointment if:
A. You’re made to sit in the waiting room for close to an hour
B. There ain’t no therapist for ya till FOUR freakin’ weeks
I get it. There’s a consultation *first* to find out if you’re ready to shoot up a place and then yourself. This is how they evaluate your mental state and (I thought) match you up with the appropriate therapist… one that’s the right fit.
After an hour in the waiting room and another hour wasting time talking to someone who is LEAVING this location, I was told I wouldn’t be able to see someone for 4 weeks.
WASTE. OF. TIME.
What should have happened is – when calling to make an appointment, the patient is referred elsewhere RIGHT OFF THE BAT. Because doing it THIS stupid way has the patient making ANOTHER appointment elsewhere and having to have yet ANOTHER consultation at that OTHER location. Stupid stupid stupid. What was the point?
Yes, as an avid Unilocaler, I did read all the one star reviews in horror. I was hoping *not* to be one more disappointed patient and went through with the appointment. My bad.
This is a Mickey Mouse operation. You’ve been warned.

Reading the other reviews, now I don’t feel so bad.
Called many, many times and intake would not talk to me and they did not return any of my calls.
Clearly they are not interested in helping me, uh, anyone… from the look of these reviews.

This is the second time I’m posting this because they managed to have my review removed!
Summary:
If you have PTSD, do NOT go here.
If you are hypervigilant, do NOT go here.
If you have depression, do NOT go here.
Staff has no training, including the manager/​supervisors.
Be aware: sometimes you’ll be waiting with people who just got out of jail.
Didi Hirsch seems like a place where mental health professionals go to gain experience. Unless you’re willing to be a guinea pig, DON’T go.
Intake process:
Terrible. I had three visits and I was still doing intake. According to them, I would have had to gone through 5 intakes for me to start seeing somebody on a regular basis. That to me is ridiculous. I told them that I don’t want to keep re-​living my trauma as it puts me in a very bad dark place, but it didn’t matter.
Staff:
Unprofessional.
Security — He kept hitting on me and followed me inside during intake. Security is supposed to make clients and patients feel secure, not unsafe.
Front desk — Sometimes they’ll acknowledge you, sometimes they won’t. Unprofessional in the way they talk.
Doctors:
I had an appointment with «doctor» Rees. She may have a degree, but she has absolutely no experience when it comes to patient care. When I told her that I didn’t want to tell her about my trauma again, she told me to leave. What kind of a «doctor» tells a patient to leave? I gave her a letter from my old psychiatrist and told her that she can contact her. She also had my files from the first two intakes. Rees is very inexperienced and unprofessional. AVOID.
Management:
Worse than doctors. Carolyn — I’m not sure how she became the manager of the Sepulveda center. Nothing about her says manager to me. After the doctor told me to leave, I complained. She didn’t get back to me until I complained again a week later. When she did finally call, she didn’t apologize for anything. She sounded annoyed, probably because I complained to the VP of Clinical Operations. Long story short, I was very hesitant to meet with her because I didn’t want any form of backlash as I’m hypervigilant. Terrible experience with her. I didn’t feel like she wanted to help me and her actions weren’t of a person who wanted to help me. Terrible manager. She doesn’t have any customer service skills.
VP — She was nice. She apologized and said what she was supposed to. However, I was disappointed in her at the end because she didn’t try to help me and make things work so I can get help.
It’s easy to send someone a list of places and tell them you can get help there, but what about Didi Hirsch? I went to go get help at Didi Hirsch.
I can go on and on about my bad experiences at Didi. Avoid this place unless you have absolutely no other choice. They have strict rules and it doesn’t matter to them if those rules may hurt you. They treat you like a robot. You either do and follow their rules or you get no help. If a rule doesn’t help a patient, why enforce it? For example, I didn’t want to keep re-​living my trauma and I was told to leave when I said I don’t want to go through it again. Not only that, but if you call to get help, they may punish you. After my first and second visits at Didi and going through my trauma as part of the intake, I didn’t feel well and needed a therapy session. I called and not only did I not get a therapy session, but they cut my therapy sessions from 52 to 12.

I went to this facility due to me being a victim of domestic violence and the loss of my Dad I now suffer from PTSD. I thought by going to Didi Hirsch it would help in my recovery wow was I wrong going here dealing with unprofessional Dr. s and Therapist who could careless only made my PTSD worseThis facility is quick to use you as a guinea pig placing you on all kinds of medications which are vaguely monitored by a «nurse» NO I wouldn’t recommend Didi Hirsch in Culver City to anyone! Take heed to ALL WARNINGS!!! Didi Hirsch

Not to get into my personal life but I was told to seek psychiatry by 3 different doctors. And one of them told me to make an appointment here. Big mistake. After waiting waiting forever for my appointment to come I get there and they have someone who is new take me in. Everyones got to start somewhere I get that but I thought I was going to talk to a therapist and then be referred to a psychiatrist WHICH WAS THE PLAN NEEDED. But no, I sat there and filled out paper work, did a brief discussion of my life and was told that I couldnt see a psychiatrist and that maybe they could find me some one on one therapy. I was so excited to finally get some help and get my life back in order. But the place was no help.

its not what they advertise they dont care about the patients all money