This woman is interested in her patients for one reason - the fee she gets. She'll tell you that she is worth the fee because of her background and experience. How then can she tell a new patient that she can't help you! How do you say that to a person who is already feeling hopeless, alone and depressed. I guess she felt that she would have to work too hard. She is a rapacious and nasty person and I'd recommend staying away.
I feel that Dr. Mandelbaum has been very helpful in helping my wife and I communicate more effectively. Our first session with her was longer than a normal counseling session which I found reassuring that she was here to help.
Dr Mandelbaum was mine and my partners only attempt at couples counseling. We decided to explore other ways to improve our situation, and thankfully have been successful. This being said, we went to Dr. Mandelbaum in good faith. She seemed nice enough over the phone. We were very desperate for help at the time, and we feel she took full advantage of that, telling us she didn't think our relationship would last, that we should never talk to each other about anything that may start an argument; we should wait until we were in session with her, making us feel a necessity to see her if we wanted our relationship to work. She would listen to us talk for an hour, she said very little, and sent us on our way with lots of unresolved issues On top of all this, she charged considerably more than advertised on her website. And she seemed to justify it by repeating how many years she's been a "certified" therapist. If you're looking for real genuine help, save your time(and money!),look elsewhere