Psychiatric Wellness Center - Bakersfield, California

R Phipps

This is a very generous two-star review. I had an appointment at 8 am, so that is my woe story for today. I do not usually come into the office this early. I am proud of my punctuality, so I arrived early by a few minutes.

The sign on the door said they opened at 8:30 am. I have ambulatory issues, so I did not check the door. Five to seven minutes passed before someone else went through the door. I entered shortly after and spoke to the receptionist about the problem with their sign. The response was, "Oh yeah, it has been like that for a long time; we've had many people tell us about that."

A short time later, I saw my therapist and voiced the same complaint. Part of her response was to give pushback on my complaint that contained the statement, "That is not my department." It went downhill from there. If she had just said, "I pass it along," there would not have been a disagreement.

Part of my treatment is that I am very judgemental. I could not help but infer from her response that she did not need this job. I've seen this therapist twice now and so far I am not feeling the chemistry that I feel is needed for good therapy. We will see what the future holds, and my review will reflect that.

Frank

I have had an extremely upsetting and awful experience trying to get my elderly mother a first appointment at this location. Twice now they wait until the day of the appointment to call and cancel on us with little explanation or care. The receptionists are dispassionate and fast talking (good luck understanding their light speed babbling), and you get the impression that patients are being processed like cattle. They try really hard to get you to agree to remote appointments. They really don't want to see you in person. I can only surmise that a video call is more profitable for them. I will not go through the hassle of making a third appointment that they will inevitably cancel at the last minute again. This whole experience was extremely upsetting, and from a place that is supposed to help with your mental health no less. Thank you very much indeed.

P.S. 20 minutes after I posted this review they responded with what is clearly a canned, perfunctory (perhaps even AI generated) response that upsets me even more. Check it out.

Fabian Cervantes

I’m deeply disappointed with my experience with the Psychiatric Wellness Center. Over the past two days, I’ve called twice, only to be placed on hold for an unreasonably long time. Yesterday, I waited nearly 25 minutes, and today, after holding for over 30 minutes, I had no choice but to hang up.

This is especially troubling given that this is a mental health facility where timely and compassionate communication should be a priority. For those of us reaching out for help, this kind of service—or lack thereof—is disheartening and unacceptable.

I had high hopes for this center as a place to help improve my mental health, but this experience has left me with serious doubts. No one seeking mental health support should have to deal with this level of frustration. It’s clear something needs to change here to ensure others aren’t met with the same discouraging experience.

Penny Sather

After my experience with this office I am searching for someone else. I have been on the same meds for 8 years with no changes and no changes needed. I can only get 20 days at a time of standard meds (not controlled substances). They force you to see their nurse practitioner because it’s supposedly cheaper, yet I get random bills. I can’t get my meds refilled on time no matter how many times I call, and half the time it’s the wrong dosage.

I requested to switch to see Dr B and it wasn’t until my husband told Dr B about all the issues I’ve been having with getting my meds that I got a call back from the clinical manager promising to look into it. I never heard back.

I’m done with these people. If I can’t find someone in Bakersfield, I’ll drive to Santa Clarita. If they can’t fill meds effectively they shouldn’t be in business.

As an update: I just spent 6 minutes on hold, got hung up on, and then when I called back, someone answered right away.

It’s just a very poorly run practice.

Tiff

I was nervous to make the appointment as well as speak with a male provider (as a woman). I had my first appointment with Dr Bhurgri and he was very thorough, easy to talk to and kind. I was also very impressed with how professional and quick the office staff was. Overall, a great experience and would recommend this office

John Sturdivant

Saw Dr. Fernando there for help. He repeatedly called medications into the wrong pharmacy, called in the wrong dosage for medications, and forgot to call in medications. I called and spoke with Lindsay from the nursing department and she told me that "nobody is perfect" and told me nobody else from there office would be able to see me because "I wasn't very nice". I will be filing a complaint with the California Medical Board regarding these two, I highly recommend staying away from this practice.

natalie kocienski

I just had my first appt and it was horrible. I had Dr Bughari who started off real nice. Than he wouldn’t let me speak I was rushed and just wanted to prescribe meds not hearing to what I’m going through. I wanted to ask more but said I’ll prescribe meds and good bye. I will never go back waste of my time.

alex lambros

Dr. Bhurgri has been instrumental in my mental health journey. I sought him out after dealing with a crisis on the recommendation of a friend and from our first appointment he has been focused on improving my quality of life and returning me to a healthy baseline through the right combination of medications and lifestyle changes. He's been open, honest, and direct, which I appreciate. He's easily accessible via video appointments. I also really appreciated the support of Venessa, a case manager, in assisting me with paperwork for disability with work. She dealt with the numerous requests with patience and was always on time in delivering. I would highly recommend to a friend.