Premier TMS Centers of Los Angeles

“Unprofessional business that discriminates based on employment and consequently fails to uphold the basic principle of healthcare as a human right. I was denied (or presumably ghosted, if not for my own contact attempts) based solely on the fact that I work in the psychiatry/mh field and have extensive knowledge/experience with TMS myself. I was told that my treatment be a "conflict of interest" despite not having any history with the company, nor disclosing any other personal info. No one could explain that rationale to me. By this logic, it would appear that I, being a fellow professional who happens to know TMS, bear a clinical contraindication, or simply sport some ambiguous quality that should deny my right to access to mental health treatment. Or it's that they seem to lack confidence in their practices and are afraid to get clocked, which is suspicious to say the least. Why can't you confidently treat someone who's deeply familiar with TMS and Neurostar? What are you hiding? Aside from the principle, the carelessness with which it was delivered was the most frustrating. I spoke to a tech who took my insurance information and assured that I would hear back by the end of the week. Like anyone else, I was hopeful to hear that my insurance would be accepted and that I might, too, soon know the radical potential of TMS. Judging by his excitement upon learning that I was involved with TMS myself, it is now clear, in retrospect, that dissemination of their policies among their employees is limited. I called on Friday of that week to check in, as I had not heard anything, and spoke with Dr. Deirmenjian himself, who in a cold-ish tone said he'd call back and abruptly hung up. Because I had still not heard anything, I followed up again the following Monday. I spoke with one of their female techs, whose tone conveyed a lack of confidence. She vaguely told me that "I would not be allowed to treat here and that will not change" and refused to disclose the reason. When I inquired further, she told me I was acting "inappropriately" and refused my request to speak with anyone else who might know. She said the doctor doesn't speak to patients who aren't in treatment, which was clearly a lie, given our prior phone call. Frankly, it's disheartening to witness such negligence and discrimination from another mental health facility that claims to care about mental health and the incredible power that lies within TMS. It is power to remember that anyone who comes through your doors deserves at the very least, communication with utmost transparency and delicacy, from the 1st conversation to discharge. To be thrown aside based on a non-clinical contraindication without explanation is no different from discrimination based on any other clinically irrelevant feature. I asked the female tech, "What difference would it have made to my treatment if I had withheld the voluntary information I shared with you about my job?" I invite you to please ask yourselves this question. Would it have changed my MT? Protocol? Coil location? I wouldn't be surprised if their presumable lack of confidence, coupled with their disregard for impartiality across the vulnerable population they treat, translates top-down to patient care. As people working in psychiatry/mh, it's ironic to deny people who are in need of and have full faith in the efficacy of TMS (when it's done right, that is). I am no different from anyone else who comes to you with hope for healing. I'm sure you're intimately familiar with the courage it takes to seek treatment as caregivers ourselves. If every TMS facility turned away fellow TMS workers, you'd introduce a fallacy because there'd be no access for us. What if all places operated like you? You don't hear about dentists denying dentists, car mechanics denying car mechanics, etc. I highly suggest re-evaluating your policies and ensuring that you can confidently and competently provide the services you boast. I never really write reviews, but I am passionate about mental health accessibility, and your discrimination was not okay.”