David P Goldstein MD

I saw Dr. Goldstein for over a year and he continued to push medications I didn’t need on me and collected checks from me with full knowledge that I was misdiagnosed
Now I have asked him to speak with a Psychiatrist named Dr. Thomas Becker who does NOT believe I have Bipolar Disorder and Dr. Goldstein is unwilling to tell the truth about my diagnosis
Please do NOT see this man

My experience with Dr Goldstein was very negative, unfortunately. He was recommended by the midwife practice Bay Area Maternity when I showed symptoms of postpartum depression. First of all, Dr Goldstein was extremely difficult to get in touch with on the phone-​we played phone tag for about a week. Finally we reached each other and made an appointment .
His office was messy and dusty, and the desk was covered with papers. For someone who was in the middle of a crisis and visiting a psychiatrist for the first time, it was not a very reassuring setting.
His beside manner also was very lacking in my opinion. I found him to be very robotic, and most of the appointment consisted of him asking me questions directly from a questionnaire where every single question started with the phrase «has there ever been a time when you weren’t quite yourself» or something like that. Then he diagnosed me with depression and prescribed me anti depressants. He read off a long list of possible side effects, which was intimidating. I asked whether I should keep taking my sleep medication since I’d had terrible insomnia. He laughed and said I wouldn’t need them anymore.
The whole experience was so upsetting that I put off taking the medication for another three weeks, and then finally found another psychiatrist to get another opinion. She was much more personable and communicative, and she has an emergency number for urgent questions, which was much more reassuring. I’ve now made a full recovery. I wouldn’t recommend Dr Goldstein, especially for postpartum.

I’ve seen Dr. Goldstein for many years for drug checkins (he evaluates me, decides if I should continue on my drugs). He is a little quiet at first, but really smart and much warmer after the initial quiet. Someone mentioned the billing thing — pay first, then bill your insurance — that’s pretty standard these days. His prices are actually a little lower than my daughter’s psychiatrist. I think he’s great! Thank you Dr. Goldstein!

This Dr. Also has a San Jose location on the Alameda. For the most part I liked him and he was easy to talk too… I would have liked to continue seeing him but he has odd billing that I just couldn’t afford. He charges for each appt his normal fee $ 200+ for the evaluation and $ 100+ for each visit which u pay in total. He then sends you an invoice that you submit to your insurance company for reimbursement and I totally get its a great system for him. Just not so great for those people who cant afford to pay that much each visit. I need the copay system… I’m poor. I also have been having reimbursement issues with the insurance company with this method. (i.e. Have not been reimbursed) He also did not tell me of his billing practice till the end of the first session… Ok, lesson learned, I now ask about billing and am now currently looking for a new psychatrist :(

I have know DR. Goldstein for many, many years and am a colleague in mental health. I refer to him often and so appreciate that he always call to let me know what he did or did not change in the patient’s medication after meeting with them. This really helps with coordination of care. He also really cares about people and is very thorough. Mary Buxton, LCSW

Very knowledgeable and thorough in his investigations. Takes time to get to know you and follows up on previous visits. Very conservative but safe approach to getting off medications. He can be a little abrupt and disinterested in his mannerisms, but I do believe he cares about his patients. Good at communicating and coordinating care with therapists.