Uptown Psych of Illinois - Chicago, Illinois

Francesca Dreesen

Responding the two reviews below me regarding M. Kos. I had an appointment because I was looking for a new provider that accepted my insurance to refill the prescription I have been using effectively as needed for the past 7 years.

I know exactly what works for me and my body and have no history of abusing medications with backup from pharmacist records and therapists.

She spent most of the time telling me what vitamins and foods I should eat instead (not helpful, I’m not dumb I’ve been doing that for 10+ years).

She then said I’ve already tried to place this prescription with another provider this month - no idea how should would get that idea. I said it’s been a year since I last received a 30 day supply and she smirked at me and told me she has been “an addiction special for the last 20 years” and she knows.

She finished the appointment saying she will not refill this prescription, even for a 30 day supply and smugly mentioned she’s “sorry I didn’t get what I wanted”. I left crying. This was a horrible experience.

John Devlin

Do not deal with this organization it is clueless. All you do is get voicemail after voicemail. No one returned your phone call and you are treated like a second class citizen. A court order was sent to them asking for my court records weeks ago they claim that I needed to send them a signed form, releasing them even though a court order supersede any any signed paper by myself do not go to this organization. It sucks

Joe Monette

I have been with this practice for several years. The desk staff is unorganized, but the first two of the three providers I've seen were professional and timely. Recently, and two days before my scheduled appointment, the office called to inform me my current provider was no longer with the practice. They scheduled me with a new provider, Margarita Kos for 3 weeks later. I asked about the continuation of my current prescriptions and was told she would make the request to have them filled by my new provider. My prescriptions were not refilled.
During my first appointment, I went through a normal new-patient session where Margarita asked me questions about my health and medications. She responded with judgment to more than one of my responses. If the said judgment had prefaced her suggestions or explanations, I would have been more receptive, but I received nothing besides the judgment. She also indicated that many of the recent practitioners were fired as a result of their performance. Margarita, therefore, opposed continuing the treatment plan that had been satisfactorily managing my condition for more than 10 years. It was apparent to me that she wanted to discontinue prescribing this medication to me completely, but said we would revisit it after I (a person in good health) get an EKG. She wouldn’t order the EKG either; I had to go to my PCP for this order. Meanwhile, my daily routine has become more cumbersome to navigate. I’m searching for a new mental health provider.

Haris Latic

I've been going to Uptown Psych for the last year. Initially everything was great until my provider left and I was switched over to Margarita Kos.

Similar to Joe M's review, Margarita was judgmental and treated me as if I was completely clueless when it came to my health decisions and requests. On an aside, when I shared that I got married over the summer, she immediately asked if I was married to a man or to a women - a question I thought to be completely inappropriate.

I was also required to have an EKG done but received inconclusive results. My primary care doctor thought it was not concerning, mostly unremarkable, and said that we could do a second EKG to clear this up.

During the process she refused to refill my prescription and wanted a 2D heart echo test done. The follow up test was prohibitively expensive and my insurance wouldn't cover the full amount. This caused me to go several weeks without my medication and created great hardship in my daily life and work.

Rob Hill

Updated October 2024: since Dr. Lam left the practice, I'm changing my rating to one star.

Pros: Dr. Lam is a very good psychiatrist. He explains things clearly without being patronizing and treats me like a partner in my health.

Cons: the office is a nightmare to work with. They can't even schedule a basic appointment; for example, once they offered me a time that wasn't actually available, then rescheduled me twice, then after scheduling me added an extra appointment that I had to request to cancel three times.

It's a shame because I have had very good care from Dr. Lam and I imagine other doctors in the practice are effective too, but the administration of the practice makes it so much more difficult to deal with.

Leeann Tran

Terrible practice. Scheduled an online appointment with Justin Lam for October 16. I did not receive any information with details for joining the call prior to my appointment. I called to inquire and the office mentioned they forgot to create a link for me. After joining the call at 3:05, Justin mentioned I had 45 minutes left to discuss my concerns despite being billed for a 60+ minute session.

During the introduction the provider seemed uninterested in getting to know me, which is not something you'd want in a psychiatrist. Coming in as a new patient, I needed assistance with finding new medication that didn't give me severe side effects. Justin came to the conclusion that he was, "only able to diagnose me 50-60% clearly and that's being generous," after conversing for 25 minutes. I have been seeing providers for my mental health regarding depression/anxiety for years, it was insensitive to hear that Justin Lam did not take my concerns seriously. I was told to reach out to compound pharmacies or I'd had to try new medication.

At the end of the appointment, I confirmed with Justin if I needed to make another appointment to get another prescription or could I reach out via email. He mentioned I could reach out via email. It's been over a week and I still have not heard a response. Even if I needed to schedule another appointment, I would have appreciated a courtesy message instead of being left in the dark. I have been without psychiatric medication for weeks now and have been struggling since.

For those in vulnerable positions and/or struggling with their mental health, I would not recommend visiting this practice.

elizabeth rosenbaum

I have never written a negative review of business before but am making an exception as I feel its my responsibility to warn others. Uptown Psych is extremely disorganized (after 2 years with them they lost my records and had to ask me if I am on medication and if so what it is) and are at times negligent. Additionally my doctor has changed 4 times in the last 2 years because they keep quitting, so I have rarely seen the same person for more than one appointment. During my appointments some of the doctors were extremely rushed & very clearly just wanted to get through with the appointment. This is worst patient experience I have ever had in my 31 years of life.

Angela E.

I honestly don't believe this is a real medical practice.
I've now been put in two dangerous situations by this place.

First, my provider was not responding to my refill request for an entire week, despite several calls and emails over the course of 7 days. It actually felt hopeless.
The front desk staff just didn't seem to comprehend how important it is for patients to have their medication. They kept saying they "passed the message along" and "can't say how long it might take to get a response". I did everything right on my part, and was getting nowhere as my medication supply was disappearing. I begged them to contact someone, page someone, anything at all that might help. I asked what patients were supposed to do in this situation. Just absolutely no response other than the robotic, repetitive "I will pass this message along".
I wound up having to call off work the next day since I was forced to skip my dose.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to find a new provider before the next incident. Once again I was nearly out of medication, but this time the provider insisted that it was too early for a refill. They told the pharmacy NOT to refill me because I "just picked some up recently". It was not true. I was astounded, taking screenshots of my pharmacy app, begging them to believe me. I admit, I was going out of my mind at this point, so I kept calling every 2 hours. I remembered how sick I felt the last time they refused to help. I couldn't make myself sick and miss work again.
Finally, they cared enough to actually look into it, and it turned out the provider herself made a mistake and "was looking at the wrong one".

I wasn't being dramatic when I said it doesn't feel like a real medical practice. I've felt more cared for by my mail carrier than anyone here.