I wanted to leave a very honest review of my experience with Ella for those who are searching for a therapist. Ella’s practice caught my eye for several reasons. I loved that she promoted her belief that therapy should be affordable to all and that she accepts most major insurances, as I was trying to find a therpist in network. Further, she allows for dogs in therapy which is very unique and makes complete sense for dog lovers out there! Petting a dog while taking about some really hard stuff is truly therapeutic. I also liked that her practice seemed involved in giving back to the community. However, my first red flag was when I contacted Ella via email and requested a brief phone call consultation to give me a better indication if it would be a good fit. Ella’s response was short and she stated that she didn’t have time for a phone call and any sort of information about the practice and her approach can be found online. While this is true, Ella was the only therapist out of about 3-4 that I contacted that said they simply did not have time. If you have time for a new client (and as a therapist, one should understand that an individual making that first contact point is a big step), then in my opinion, you should have time for a 5-8 min phone call at some point in a week or two. I shrugged it off and liked what I saw from her website and made an appointment. Ella’s office is super tidy and welcoming, and those tiny little dogs always made me smile. Unfortunately, the practice seemed great on the surface, and this seemed to be the care I was looking for...but through our interactions, there continued to be a series of small events in which she was unprofessional. I had only seen her twice (maybe 3x) and she texted me early, an hour or so before my appointment and asked if we could reschedule because she stayed up late at a holiday play rehearsal. I found it a little odd since we hadn’t really developed much of a relationship yet, and it wasn’t like she was sick and couldn’t come in. However, I felt like I could shrug that off as well. She also rescheduled with me last minute on another occasion as well and it seemed like a lot for only seeing her a handful of times. I get that things happen but if you’re not able to make 9am Friday morning meetings, then don’t say you’re available then. Another session, Ella started with “a lot of my clients are coming in and talking about Kobe Bryant’s death. Did that impact you at all?” That is an incredibly leading question and made me feel like I had to discuss something that I didn’t feel the need to discuss. Of course it was a tragedy, but as the client, it is up to me to bring that up. I told her I agreed it was awful but didn’t put energy into discussing the topic, so I changed the subject and she ended that conversation with saying “stay off social media”. Staying off social media is not a concern of mine at all and it totally sounded like she was projecting her own feelings and/or other clients’ feelings/circumstances. Lastly, we exchanged emails as I told her I would no longer be using her services and I asked for feedback on how to move forward in terms of care. She suggested I figure some things out on my own before seeking out another therapist. While her response certainly gave me things to think about for the future...I also think it’s completely OK to seek assistance as a struggling client even when you’re not sure what’s bothering you. Part of therapy can be figuring that out and I voiced my concerns with her and was attempting to work that out, as I should! I’m sure many others who struggle with depression can relate that sometimes you need the space to talk and figure it out with professional help. Everyone is human and makes mistakes or slips up in their work, including therapists, but in only 6-8 sessions, there were multiple occasions in which Ella was unprofessional.