Gurjeet K Dhallu - Tarrytown, New York

vfour

i saw this doctor when i was a child.

i have autism and a lot of other issues. i was having daily meltdowns and severe sensory overload every day to the point that i couldn't attend school properly. in the maybe 8 years that i saw this doctor, from around 7 to 15, she diagnosed me with various disorders (depression, bipolar, anxieties,) and put me on many medications i did not want. she actively told my parents not to listen to me about my own health.

i first thought i might have autism after a speech from an autistic classmate about how it felt to be autistic, where he described everything i went through every day. i told both her and my parents this when i was around 8. she told my parents not to get me tested, even though i begged them for years. she also told my mom that my insistence that i wanted to get tested was me seeking attention. instead of looking into autism, she blamed it on an issue with my mood. she put me on countless ssris and antipsychotics that all gave me terrible side effects and never made me feel any better over the course of 7 years. i was given no option to stop them. when i finally convinced my parents to take me to get tested for autism at 15, i got diagnosed with both autism and adhd. she said she "didn't believe i had them," even after i was diagnosed through formal testing. said she'd prescribe me adhd meds even though she "didn't think i had it." at this point i stopped seeing her.

i also brought up concerns about memory loss, "voices" talking to me in my head, and what was VERY CLEARLY trauma to her when i was around 12. i specifically brought up concerns that i might be having symptoms of a dissociative disorder. she brushed me off and then told my parents i wanted attention. mind you --- this was before there was even a "trend" about having alters. i only knew DID & OSDD existed because psychology was my special interest and i had read through countless websites on most known mental disorders. well, i'm an adult now and have been diagnosed with C-PTSD and am in treatment for DID, the exact disorder i told her i was afraid i was having symptoms of. i wasn't seeking attention, i was in pain and scared, and i was looking for help from a medical professional i should have been able to trust. i have no clue how she felt comfortable accusing a 12 year old of such a thing instead of getting me help for actual trauma and the mental health issues it caused me, but it was terrible. i could have received help for these issues much earlier, before they had accumulated and became so distressing that i had to be hospitalised multiple times in my teen years, and i now need intensive therapy as an adult and cannot properly attend work or schooling due to how disabling the symptoms have become.

one other thing --- she told my sibling that they "couldn't have borderline personality disorder" because they were a "good person," literally saying that people with that mental disorder are all bad people, so there's no way a good person can have it. my sibling was diagnosed with that disorder by another doctor once they were an adult, and has since been treated for it and seen significant improvements. they also could have benefited greatly from earlier diagnosis and intervention if dr. dhallu had acted accordingly.

dr. dhallu does not value or believe what patients say about their own health. she believes people with certain disorders are intrinsically bad people. she accused me of seeking attention as a young child for bringing two disorders up with her, despite me quite literally having both of those disorders, as acknowledged now by more caring doctors. her negligence has left me with significant traumas i now have to work through. please consider taking your child to someone else.

my mom speaks to me about how much she wishes we had lived somewhere else, where she could have taken me to another doctor --- so that i would not have had to suffer so much as a child, and so that i would be a happier adult who is not so burdened by my childhood. i do not want this to happen to any other children.

Jenna McKean

One of the best psychiatrists I have ever worked with!

Kenny Schaefer

Much respect for Dr. Dhallu.