Mitchell L Glaser, MD

I went to him twice. The only reason I would keep going would be convenience. He was very brash, which isn’t awful. The brash-​ness didn’t bother me until it became clear he had no regard or understand of mental illness. I had recently been hospitalized for a suicide attempt and a severe eating disorder, so not the time to have someone disregard your illness. He didn’t really seem to display any «doctor» qualities. He asked me what I wanted to take: uh, I’m not the doctor. I like having a say in what medications I take, but only after getting examples and recommendations from a professional. To be straight out asked made me feel like this was more of a drug deal. I’ve decided not to go back after he billed my insurance improperly twice.

I’ve filed grievances with the state licensing board and BCBS, but aside from those steps, it seems Dr. Glaser is beyond professional reproach and knows it. That’s the only explanation I can muster for the verbal abuse I paid to receive today.
Dr. Glaser treated me in an unprofessional, inappropriate, and offensive manner during an appointment. (For the record, I’ve been seeing him once every few months for several years for mild ADD and generalized anxiety with no history of behavioral or mental instability in any area of my life.)
Because of what followed, it’s relevant to point out some details about my appearance and hygiene. Due to the subzero temperature and wind chill advisory today, I wore a coat, gloves, and winter hat to my appointment. I am an impeccably clean person. I typically shower and wash my hair twice a day — once first thing in the morning and again in the early evening after the gym — and today was no exception. I wear only freshly laundered clothes. I don’t dress to impress or wear makeup, but I’m put-​together for a non-​fashionista and am told I look much younger than my 32 years.
Now that you know I look and smell clean and fresh basically all the time, I’ll get back to the hat, which is simply a kelly green cotton-​poly blend with a Burton logo. I think of it as a thing that keeps my head warm, but apparently it’s more than that to some people. I must be using it to hide a shameful head of filthy, greasy hair, right? Dr. Glaser mentioned my hat several times at the beginning of the session, but I did not make much of it at first. When he asked if I was wearing it as a fashion statement, I took this as normal jesting and replied in stride along the lines of, «Nope, just a statement against frostbitten ears!» (If anyone can dish out and take non-​offensive, non-​harmful banter, it’s me. I would soon learn that this was going somewhere else entirely, though — somewhere not at all lighthearted.)
After the usual Q&A and me spilling my guts about my frustrations with trying to obtain a psychology residency and decide whether or to complete my doctorate or move on from it (blah blah blah), the session took a dark turn. (While this life issue I discussed with him might not seem all that sensitive or serious, it’s a struggle I do not readily open up about, and the act of confiding adds to my vulnerability in the doctor/​patient relationship.)
I mentioned that I’d stopped taking a medication he’d prescribed for low energy. I explained that the issue had improved after my OB/​GYN tested and treated me for severe anemia. (If I want to get technical about malpractice, I might mention that Dr. Glaser didn’t question any possible non-​psychiatric reasons for my low energy. It would’ve made sense for a physician to order a blood panel before a bottle of Wellbutrin. I mean, I nearly died from menorrhagia twice last year, but oh well.) I’d been feeling better with my new normal-​ish iron levels.
Then this happened:
Dr. Glaser responded, «Really, you’re feeling better? You look like shit.»
Fairly certain he was joking, I replied, «Um, you’re joking, right?» (Please believe me when I tell you I sincerely hoped he was joking and that for some strange reason I actually would have been okay with that.)
Dr. Glaser: «No, I’m not joking. You look like shit.» (I’m not sure why he was grinning.)
Me: «What about me looks like shit?»
Dr. Glaser: «You look tired and disheveled. And you look unshowered.»
Me: «Excuse me? Unshowered? I wake up and shower every morning no matter how I feel, so can you explain to me how I look unshowered?»
Dr. Glaser: «You’re wearing that hat.»
Me: «I’m wearing a hat because it’s zero degrees outside.» Then, in a fit of offended and insecure womanhood or something, I pulled off the hat and took down my very long Pureology shampoo-​fresh hair. «See this?» I asked, «This is clean f****** hair.» I told him he was being offensive and inappropriate.
Dr. Glaser: «Oh, oh… very pretty. It was the hat.» (Just admit your mistake and offer a sincere apology next time you degrade someone, you backpedaling bonehead.)
I told him I’d be finding a new psychiatrist. (Frankly, I wonder if mild ADD and anxiety symptoms are better than being mistreated by someone you’re supposed to trust). Finally, I reiterated that his verbalizations were inappropriate, which was met with, «I’m sorry you feel that way. We’ll take you back if you change your mind.» Patronizing much?
This happened in front of a medical student who was shadowing him. As a clinical psychology doctoral candidate with three years of experience seeing patients, I cannot fathom treating anyone this way. The person you entrust with your mental health should not make you feel confused, betrayed, and degraded.
Evidently, the dress code for meeting in Dr. Glaser’s office (which is kind of dusty and smelly, BTW) entails a cute top and wet hair or a salon blowout, even during National Weather Service wind chill advisories.