Wittlin, William A, Md - William Wittlin Psych

Dr. Wittlin has had a sincere impact on my life. Through medication and therapy, I have gradually made improvements to the point that my life has completely changed. He may not always be right on point, but he is more than willing to work with his patients and he shows his care by how involved he is. He truly cares about his patients and that is rare in a doctor these days. more

I am the mother of a 16 year old son who was having extremely serious ""issues"" coinciding with his 13th birthday. ?He suddenly hated me and my husband for no reason and his oppositional defiance disorder was out of control. ? My son refused school, was running away, had inappropriate friends, was cutting, drawing morbid pictures, lying constantly and exhibiting threatening behavior to his parents and teachers (on rare occasions when he would go to school). ?His only ambition was to be a gang member in the city. ?I was afraid of my own son, but more afraid for him as I knew his choices were going to lead to either jail or death.? At first I spoke to his pediatrician who referred us to a psychologist. ?For several months, we had weekly family therapy sessions where my son would act more belligerent than ever towards us. ?After it was apparent that talk therapy was not working, we saw another psychiatrist who seemingly had a lot of his own ""baggage"" and since my son refused treatment, the psychiatrist would not prescribe anything for my son, although he did feel he was ""slightly"" depressed. ?His exact words were that ""we had created the monster.....now we have to live with him"". ?By this time, my family was unraveling.? At this desperate time, we were looking into options to save our son's life. ?We were seriously considering committing him as an inpatient at a psych hospital. ?In fact, our insurance had pre-approved coverage. ?At about this same time I had found Dr. Wittlin on the Internet. ?I called his office where I spoke to Irene who instantly made me feel comfortable and reassured me that Dr Wittlin could help my son. ?Irene knew it was an urgent matter and we had an appointment the following week. On the first visit to Dr Wittlin, he first evaluated my son alone. ?They were in behind closed doors for a while and then Dr Wittlin called my husband and me to come in to join them. ?Dr Wittlin was extremely honest and could see that my son was severely troubled and diagnosed him as bipolar. ?I remember being relieved at the diagnosis and that (maybe) there would be an end to this nightmare we were living. However, my son became very agitated and stomped out of the office declining any treatment. ?Dr Wittlin advised my husband and me that we should consider counseling for ourselves. After a few days, I had negotiated with my son until he agreed to take medicine for his illness. ?I called Dr Wittlin's office and spoke to Irene and advised her of my son's ""change of heart"" and a prescription was called in immediately. ?Within days of beginning this medicine, he became much healthier and happier. ?Friends and family were commenting to me how much better he acted. ? So was it a lucky guess on Dr Wittlin's part; is there even such a thing as bipolar???? ?I can only tell you that after almost three years of monthly sessions (including family therapy) and medicine compliance, my son is in 10th grade on the honor roll. ?He goes to school every day and gets up the first time called. ?Dr Wittlin does monthly drug screens which my son has always passed. ?My son is very active in a religious group, has helped various good will projects and is considering the field of criminal justice. ?I am sure that if my son had not been treated by Dr Wittlin that he would not be having the multitude of successes he has had and that he might not even be here. ? My opinion is that Dr Wittlin is experienced, very intelligent and truly cares about his patients. ?With his expertise, he is able to use the miracle of medicine to save a life. ?? ? ? ? ? more

I am a patient of Dr. William Wittlin. I have a very serious mental illness called schizo-affective disorder (with bipolar features). I have dealt with many psychiatrists over the years, and find Dr. Wittlin's style to be refreshing and terrifically reliable, something extremely important to me. He is totally, in your face, honest. He is, however, a fantastic advocate for the mentally ill. He goes above and beyond in his patient's care, in that he requires (with your permission of course) ongoing interaction with your personal physician (very unusual for most psychiatrists) to make sure your care is effective, but more importantly, safe. Also, Dr. Wittlin's fees, for a board-certified psychiatrist, are extremely reasonable. I have had psychiatrists in the past that charged as much as $500 per half hour, with no room for payment arrangements. Irene, who is Dr. Wittlin's office manager, will work with patients and their families to be able to afford his very reasonably priced care. She is as well, a very kind person, and stays on top of everything concerning your care. She is an extremely confidential person, and will never discuss your case with anyone else. So, the point of me writing this is that I think the people of Skaneateles need to know about the tremendous resource in their backyard. Most people that see Dr. Wittlin probably are not as ill as I, but I can speak from 34 years of experience, that Dr. Wittlin will take your case just as seriously as my own. Fortunately, we live in a time when there is more openness about mental illness and its treatment. Dr. Wittlin is an excellent example of what great psychiatric care can be. You will never be made to feel that you or your adolescent are any less of a person because of their illness, from anxiety and depression, to more severe forms such as mine. If you are looking for an excellent psychiatrist in the Skaneateles, Auburn, and Ithaca areas, Dr. Wittlin is a phone call away. My first call to Dr. Wittlin was on a holiday, and he still called me back quickly. Thank you for reading this. Just know, there are people that care about you, and they are in your own village. Pros: Knowledgeable, committed, kind, generous, and... Cons: Honest to a fault; some folks cannot tolerate such honesty. more