Leaving this review as I prepare to leave for my move to North Carolina. Just want to mention that this therapist helped me enormously over the 3 or so years that I was seeing him. It is because of him that I no longer suffer from anxiety or depression,my relationships have improved[primarilly because of group therapy] and now I am moving south with my new husband where we hope to have a family. Thank you Michael

by Becky xxx.xxx.16.123

August 31, 2016

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I know this therapist for several years. I cannot recommend anyone more highly. He helped me get into my current field and has helped me through several difficult incidents including saving my marriage.

by Rebecca xxx.xxx.233.51

August 11, 2016

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On my first visit he came off as sympathetic and interested in helping me sort through my issues. On my second visit, he became suddenly very abrasive, antagonizing, and downright insulting. Completely unprofessional, accusatory, and came to sweeping conclusions about my life before he had even gotten to know anything about me.

by Tracy Solomon xxx.xxx.82.4

August 01, 2016

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I met with Michael a year or so ago. He has been my therapist since that time.
I can not recommend anyone else as highly as I recommend him.
He saved my marriage and has helped me to evolve out of my symptoms.

by Renee xxx.xxx.20.177

March 14, 2016

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I was a patient of Michael Fischmans for a significant amount of time, as was my husband. He was helpful in the beginning, but slowly I began dreading each appointment, root canal would have been a better option. He is inappropriate. Having food delivered and eating during sessions. Falling asleep during sessions and blaming the patient for this. Manipulating, controlling and disparaging patients to stay in treatment with him. I attended individual and group therapy. Members of my group would try to end treatemnt, Mr. Fishcman would manipulate the group to side with him, this made it difficult to leave and drag on the discussion for leaving for months. Upon my decision to end treatment, he was very angry. The decision was made and after 3 months of discussions, my last session was a group session. I said my good byes with the members, Mr Fischman would not look my way, he gave me the silent treatment, this went on for 90 minutes. During all my years of treatment, Mr. Fischman did not find any patient ready to leave treatment. Bad guy, motivated by money.

by Former Patient xxx.xxx.241.89

November 02, 2014

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Did this counselor answer all of your questions?

Every question I had was answered thoroughly

Were the waiting rooms private?

Absolutely, they had a private waiting area and a separate exit.

Did you leave feeling satisfied with your visit?

Completely!

Does the provider's staff treat you well?

Yes

Did this provider seem knowledgeable and competent?

Definitely

by Anonymous xxx.xxx.219.147

August 02, 2014

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Michael Fischman is horrible, judgmental man. His website says, “I am a friendly and ‘fun’ therapist.” What a joke. He was condescending and downright threatening. This was my first experience with therapy. I went to him for four sessions. He was extremely condescending and made snap judgments based on little or no information.
He began with an interrogation consisting of him repeating over and over, “So what are your here for?” I was trying to be as forthright and open with him as possible. I revealed a very traumatic occurrence that had happened to me in my youth that I’ve only started to remember clearly in recent years. No matter how hard I tried to answer his questions he just kept on repeating his why are you here line. His only real interest came when it was time to collect his co-pay.
During the second session he again launched into his why are you here attack. He remembered nothing from the first session. Nothing!!!! Not even the trauma that I revealed to him a week earlier. He repeated every question from the first session. At one point he accused me of being defensive and of not “connecting emotionally?” As for being defensive, hello? This was my first time speaking with a therapist. I was reveling painful things that I’ve never spoken to anyone about before. Wasn’t I there so he help me not be defensive? I assumed that a therapist would work to establish trust and to make the patient feel comfortable. My experience with Mr. Fischman was anything but. As for not “connecting emotionally,” I had no idea what he was talking about then, and, after several weeks of reflection, I still have no idea. I was at my first session of therapy and I felt like he was speaking to me as if I was experienced in this and knew what to do with that comment. He didn’t bother to explain what he meant despite my attempts to ask in several ways.
The third session was basically a repeat of the second. He again remembered nothing from the prior two sessions. It felt like an initial intake session. Again came the why are you here assault, followed by a repeat of his litany of basic questions, now being asked for the third time- were your parents together or separated, how many siblings do you a have, is there drug or alcohol use, what do you do, do you have children… He admitted that he hadn’t yet begun to build a file for me and proceeded to take several minutes to get out a fresh file to begin opening a file for me. He did however remember to collect his co-pay.
The fourth and final session began with his taking about ten minutes of my therapy time to locate my barely begun file, which he had misplaced. By the time he got around to launching into the why are you hear routine I had made up my mind that this man’s form of therapy was actually causing me more harm than good and that I did not ever want to come back to see him.
My recommendation, if you haven’t figured it out yet, is that this basically the last person you should ever turn to for help.

by Upset Patient xxx.xxx.95.32

April 24, 2014

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Mr. Fischman was, by far, the WORST therapist I have ever met. I found him to be unfriendly, unsympathetic, and extremely presumptive. He began by asking me what brought me in and then wouldn't even let me finish my answer before talking over me. He was constantly interrupting. He acted as if he had me diagnosed and knew everything about me within 10 minutes of meeting me (mind you without even really letting me talk). He claimed that OCD is entirely suppressed anger and when i mentioned that not every school of psychotherapy would agree with that he said a lot of therapists don't know what they are doing. He made egotistical claims like i was "lucky" to have found him. He claimed that being any degree of introverted is totally bad and when i questioned that he replied "do you wanna get better or not?" When i expressed some uncertainty about whether his method was right for me, instead of engaging me in a dialogue he ended our only session early (but made sure to bill me).

by Laurence xxx.xxx.120.69

March 25, 2014

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Did this provider have reasonable prices?

Yes

Would you recommend this clinical social worker to others?

I Already Have

Does this provider offer flexible appointment times?

Somewhat, but it's still difficult to get an appointment

Do you feel that you could have received better service somewhere else?

No, I don't think so

Are you confident that this provider will continue working with you until a solution is reached?

Absolutely! I'm confident they will work hard to find the best solution for me

by Anonymous xxx.xxx.205.242

March 29, 2013

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Was this provider late to your appointments?

No, they were on time

Did this provider seem up-to-date with the current advancements in their field?

Yes, they were informing me of new advancements that were extremely recent

Did this provider use excessive foul language?

Not at all! They are always respectful and courteous!

Is this business handicap-accessible?

Yes, it was handicap-accessible

How would you compare this provider to others in his/her field that you have visited?

Among the best I have seen

by Ivan xxx.xxx.210.170

March 22, 2013

Michael Fischman, Psychotherapist

Consumer Feedback

Michael Fischman, Psychotherapist

Clinical Social Workers

ColumbiaDoctors - Columbus Circle

New York, NY

ColumbiaDoctors - Midtown

New York, NY

ColumbiaDoctors - Midtown

New York, NY

ColumbiaDoctors - Midtown

New York, NY

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