John M Deirmenjian MD

Unfortunately, due to my medical condition, I was unable to make my appointment. I called to cancel and reschedule, yet never received a call back. I followed-​up with a call today and was told that it is their policy that if new patients cancel, they do not reschedule… EVER. No exceptions. I have never heard of such a policy. This is a psychiatrist that is supposed to be in the business of helping people. Not everything is black and white, as he of all people should know. One strike and you’re out is pretty harsh for this business — I feel like I’ve been sentenced to death row. I have to say that although this is the most obsurd thing I have heard in a while, I am thankful I canceled and they have this policy, as it says a lot about this doctor’s character and saved me from putting my well being in this man’s hands. I hope the sharing of my experience directs others away from this doctor.

I’m still seeing Dr Diermenjian and I still have nothing but good things to say about him. He’s excellent.

I’ve been seeing Dr. D for a while now but the appointments are never longer than 5 minutes. He doesn’t want to do any paperwork for you and he doesn’t suggest any lab work to see where you stand with some of the meds he prescribes. I haven’t changed drs because I dont really have the time. Now that my job has been harrassing me, I’ve relapsed and need a new dr ASAP! I will make one last appointment to get a referral to another dr. If he doesn’t give it to me, I will call the insurance company and have them find me one.

I started seeing Dr. D in 2006. This was after I had been through major therapy for bipolar and was stable. I had already had my meds prescribed by another psych in Orange County, but she moved even further down south, so I needed to go to someone local.
My therapist had a list of names adn Dr. D. was one of them. I got in right away and have seen him ever since.
What to expect.
Wait time 5 — 20 minutes depending on the time of day
Appt. time: 2– 5 minutes.
He has never been unkind to me, but he never is in the mood to have a long conversation and I wonder if he even knows how to do «talk-​therapy.»
Seriously, that’s it. Because I was stable for so long, I guess I really didn’t mind, It saved me time and I seemed to be getting what I needed. However, I had a MAJOR lapse in 2012 (manic for like the whole year), depressed for most of 2013, and he was of no help at all. I finally asked if I could have a referral to a local therapist (my previous one moved out of state). I was in such a state that I actually did an online visit to a therapist in the middle of the night (live chat) and she was able to get me straight for a while.
If you want quick meds, visit Dr. D. If you are actually in crisis, DON’T. My old psychiatrist gave me at least a 30 minute appintment which supplemented my regular therapy. I guess I just need to be more specific with my questions when looking for a new doctor.
Why do I still go to Dr. D? I really don’t know. I guess I just don’t want to spend the energy looking for a new doctor. He has done nothing for me, but write teh same prescription that I came with from my prevoius psychiatrist.
Today (Thursday) I called for an appointment. He is out of town until Monday. I asked if he had a colleague that I could visit since he is not available. The secretary reported that since the trip was so short, he didn’t arrange that. Thusday — Monday is not «short» for someone with a mental illness. Hopefully my pharm will supplement me with a few pills to get throught the weekend, but that’s not a sure thing. Part of it is my fault for not calling earlier, but seroiously, he should have a sub to take his patients in the event of an emergency.

I saw Dr. Deirmenjian for quite a few years. My depression and anxiety was continuously worsening and my life was becoming more and more difficult to endure. He had me on anti-​anxiety rx that I became addicted to and told him that I had to come off of it. He put me on another and the same thing. I was also rx’d anti-​depressants and he gladly offered other powerful mood stabilizers with uppers, more downers and heavy duty sleep sedatives. I thought this was the only way I could live my life. I was never informed that I needed to have my vitals and organs checked. Every few months he wanted to up my doses on EVERYTHING! His office reminded me of a pharmacy in Tijuana. People came and left holding new rx scripts and bags of samples. I came to realize that I needed professional help to undo what has been done for all those years. The detox was pure agony and I came to find out that my organs had taken a severe beating and will never work the same again. Now I am being treated with one small dose of antidepressant and my life is manageable, livable and most of all, enjoyable. Who knew I didn’t need to be sedated like an elephant to get through the day. I highly suggest you go somewhere else. Go to a Dr. who truly cares about you, your well being, quality of life and not the kickbacks they get from the rx companies.

I have worked with many area psychiatrists and can honestly say that Dr. D is one of the only MD’s that I would recommend to a friend or family member.
Based on the comments of others, I think its important to note that most private practice psychiatrists just do «medication management» and you have to go elsewhere for therapy.
That being said, he knows is meds very well and really cares about his patients.

ditto!
I never spent more time with the doctor than I spent waiting for my what became 4 min appointment. Often when I arrived there were many people waiting as we were told by the receptionist «the doctor was running late». Once I had to sit in the kitchen because there were not enough chairs left to waiting the waiting room.