Scranton Counseling Center — Local services in Scranton

This is a lengthy but VALUABLE Review.✨

As far as the New modernized updated place/location on Cherry St goes, It's a beautiful clean & spacious building. I like how the pharmacy that was close to the old location is now directly attached to the inside, for convenience of those who may need it. They treat you like family at that pharmacy too always competent respectful knowledgeable & caring. A cpl women over the phone for the center have been extremely helpful, one of them by the name of Sky was very helpful today, by being attentive polite & caring. She came across as though it's important to her to help w/ my questions concerns & needs. That is extremely important when working at a counseling center. Though it's always important to remember Patience compassion & kindness can go a long way, w/ every human being in general, not just at a counciling center but every day life, bc you never know what someone else may be going through. So Thanks Sky for being a positive example on how one should carry oneself in your position & also in life!💐✨

All of this^ is a step up opposed to the old building there was a lot of callus, impatient, rude, snippy people especially from reception, to some docile therapists, & even ONE of the psychiatrists who'd been there a very long time & who I heard is at this Location as well 😩, was extremely rude making it uncomfortable to be in his presence, lil own want to seek further contact w/ him afterwards or even go back. It was completely horrendous & not helpful treatment of those who are there for help. He came across as smug & as though he wasnt truly listening nor cared, as though he had better things to do & couldn't wait for the conversation to end, he passed negative judgment by his facial expressions & callus assumptions in his comments, lacking empathy & consideration for the fact I politely yet assertively requested, I did not want another person in the room bc/ she knows the same people I know around where I live, & I felt very uncomfortable w/ her there. plus I was there to see him not her & she was also rude b4 I'd even requested her not be in the same room. For that reason my needs in seeking help, should have been considered & put first. I should have been able to see him w/o her in the room like I did a time or two prior. He could have cared less looked agitated & told me that if I was going to see him at all, that she was going to be in the room & that's that! If I can't accept that, then I could leave. He also rushed things greatly, like the clients are cattle. Like okay let's go NEXT!! Ugh Is it over yet? I can't stand this job I'm in it for the $. " I have a dinner date!" Let's Hurry along. So anyways..

I gave this New place a chance 🤗, one last time- to see how it would go & Not see Him but try someone New & so far - I'm not completely disappointed. The only thing that bummed me & put my seek for progress at a screeching holt 🛑, was the fact they're not doing teletherapy over the phone📱. But the New psychiatrist I saw has offered to call me l🙂 which is a lot better than the process of going in- which is appreciated. See..I was initially told, there was teletherapy that was entire reason I signed up which gave me the motivation bc I know I can handle that right now ( one step at a time). For those that it's more convenient for or for those that actually need it, bc they basically don't have another option such as for example: transportation issues & or extreme social anxiety or such a deep depression they can barely leave their house etc. but deserve/ need therapy as much as anyone else who seeks/ needs it.. I Truly hope it's brought back ASAP. 🙂 Thanks for reading my Epic 📚📖review! Hoping you're having a wonderful day Everyone!...

Sure, the new building might be nice to look at, or “state of the art” as some may put it, but that means nothing — at least to me — if, behind the glitz and glam, the experience leaves much to be desired. Allow me to elaborate. . .

I had to wait three months for an intake appointment with Dr. Byard. In case that wasn’t already defeating, Dr. Byard spent no more than 30 minutes in the initial assessment I patiently waited for, and was quick to make a diagnosis without all of the necessary information. I advised Dr. Byard this diagnosis has been made and rescinded by various other psychiatrists, but that apparently is not relevant information.

Also, to my displeasure, despite it not being a thorough intake process, I did not feel like the attention or care was given to me that, as a patient, you would expect during an initial intake assessment.

You might be wondering why I feel this way . . . this is because Dr. Byard spent a glaring amount of time on his cell phone while “completing the assessment.” Not only is this unprofessional behavior . . . it ultimately lead to my distrust in our provider/client relationship.

The icing on the cake, at least for me, was when Dr. Byard stated to me — a recovering bulimic — that, even at my lowest weight, “That’s still a normal BMI.” This practically invalidates the months I spent in treatment in order to achieve and maintain a healthy and stable weight.

The Body Mass Index is a fancy title and formula that was developed nearly 200 years ago by a mathematician. It fails to account for the differences in bone density, muscle tones, or even fat. It’s based upon numbers, not distribution of weight. Because some — like apparently Dr. Byard — base their evaluations with only BMI in mind, it’s not uncommon for there to be missed diagnoses, misdiagnoses, and discrimination because, essentially, physicians relied solely on looking at someone's body size and numbers on a chart, rather than listening to pt’s actual concerns and symptoms.

Not only was it an inappropriate comment to make, but it’s an archaic measure to use. It’s not a realistic expectation for physicians to effectively address obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, malnutrition, or various other conditions when this is a determining factor. “Archaic” seems like a fair description to me when considering the origins — it was spearheaded based off data collected on white males and built on the assumption that ‘the greater the BMI, the greater the chance of developing chronic illnesses.’

So, because my “BMI was normal,” I was healthy at my lowest weight — right?

I’ll consider it a true blessing in disguise learning that my insurance does not cover treatment in a place that is far from therapeutic. That in mind, I’ll happily wait another three months if it means I am connected with more supportive and professional care. I hope in the interim that Scranton Counseling Center better educates their staff on sensitivity and...

Both my kids have been working with SCC for food therapy and behavior therapy. My older son had trouble with all solids from purees to regular food. He lost 6lbs at the age of 15mo because he wouldn’t eat and when he did, he would puke at the very touch of his finger touching food. We got enrolled with food therapy for 1.5 yrs and my 3.5 yr old now eats and he’s in the 98th percentile!!! We also used behavior therapy because he would cry to the point of passing out. Thank God behavior therapy was able to help us with that. Eventually we used behavior therapy to work on a motivational system for eating and we also used it to help my son tell us what he wanted to eat. We worked on so many textures, smells, utensils, plates, etc. sooo helpful.

My now 5mo has a lot of problems drinking from a bottle. He was/is not breastfed, so it’s not a transition from breast to bottle issue. We are working with food therapy on breathing techniques, massages, and feeding methods. Thankfully he’s learning and so are we. Within the first day of therapy, he was eating better.

SCC was great to work with for my kids. They understood our issues and the urgency. They got us right in for treatment. This all occurred over Covid and they were so easy to work with over zoom. They really evaluated every aspect of my kids and then they included me in on the plan. We did therapy in only areas for which I wanted, had time do, had concerns. Our counselor, Cindy (sp?), is so amazing. She’s incredibly easy to get in touch with via all methods… phone, email, text, zoom. She’s personable. If she’s not available, she finds someone else who can help. If she doesn’t know an answer, she gets back to you with one. Ultimately she found THE BEST therapist to meet our needs, time schedules, and and desire for virtual sessions in the evenings and weekends!

Our therapists have never missed a session in 2 yrs!

We have nothing but great experiences and appreciation for the staff at SCC. They have helped us so much.

Thank you for giving my kids the best care!

Alane, Bob, Lucchio, and Sorano

Ps I see a lot of negative reviews on here. It’s what you make of it. Therapy isn’t a 100% fix and it’s not overnight and it depends on you to put in the effort. So, make the best of it. Can my son eat a shmorgasboard of food? No. But he eats and he’s so much better than he was. The goal isn’t to be “fixed.” It’s to work with your issue and learn how to function with it in the best...