It sounds like this man has two approaches, one with his regular patients and one with "others" - people there for VOC Rehab evaluations, custody evaluations, etc. I have been there twice, both times for Voc Rehab evaluations. I found him to be aloof, no compassion at all, no "bedside" manner there at all. The most ridiculous thing of all was the test itself. How one person armed with a ridiculous test like that - which wasted a lot of my time both times - can ruin one's future employment prospects is beyond comprehension. I think those who use him for these evaluations, the State of TN or whoever, should definitely find somebody else. Asking someone if they've ever thought about killing themselves in the way that he asked me, totally without compassion and even seemingly filled with disdain - as someone who considers suicide as an out almost every day of my life - well, I found it nausea-inducing. I can't imagine that he has any decency in him at all, and I think he likes handing down these judgments and having so much power, the power to ruin one's future. The thought of ever seeing him again makes my skin crawl, and one can only hope that he himself becomes mentally ill (if he's not already) so he can finally understand, when HIS evaluating doctor hands him HIS report. Of course, I do not actually wish this upon him or on anybody. But I can assure you - my future has indeed been ruined. I have a copy of his first report. Vocational Rehabilitation would not give me his second report, saying I had to contact the doctor for that (I can't even see my own report???) - the thought of which was so sickening, I didn't even bother getting it.

Submitted Nov. 30, 2016

He helped me a great deal when I needed it! I would highly recommend him as a therapist and custody evaluator.

Submitted March 29, 2016

I used him as a custody evaluator in a case which the mother was withholding co-parenting time or severely interfering with time with my children. Without any other insight than 30 minutes with the children, he recommended I stop seeing my children. This was the one area I asked for support, which was to draft a plan to spend time with my children. He has no regard for family, nor for any of the professional insight needed to treat this dynamic. He constructed a report which was malicious and filled with fabrications. Save your money and your sanity, he is no value to the community in family therapy.

Submitted March 7, 2016

I've been seeing Dr. Brietstein for about 3 years now to work through several issues...most recently a divorce and "starting over." He always seems to know when to ask the hard questions, and how to make you see things from a different perspective...which is key in counseling. He reminds me that things aren't always as bad as they seem...and to not always go to the worst possible outcome, which is very difficult for me. The only criticism I have is that sometimes I have to ask for his opinion and/or recommendation on how to work through certain things, but that has improved over our time together.

Submitted Nov. 17, 2015

I have been seeing Dr Brietstein for about 5 years now and I have been completely satisfied with him as my therapist. He is very astute at sensing what I think and feel. He shows warmth and acceptance as well as empathy for my background. I feel very comfortable telling him my inner most feelings and thoughts. He is also very positive in helping you strive towards goals. He explains symptoms you have with your circumstances in a language that is easy to understand. He also over the years has helped me to remain hopeful and optimistic of improvements.

Submitted Nov. 14, 2015

I met with Dr. Brietstein about 20 years ago to work through some difficulties I was having as a young adult. I had wonderful success with him and found him to be very insightful and great at helping me to find ways to move forward in my life.
Recently, I felt a need for help again and was thrilled to find he was still available. He is really good at listening and helping me to find ways of problem solving that work best for my situation. I would highly recommend this man to anyone needing a caring, intelligent, professional therapist!

Submitted Nov. 11, 2015

I have been seeing this Dr. for a while now and this is my third attempt at therapy for myself. After seeing three therapist at another well know clinic here in Knoxville only to get tossed around from therapist to therapist and never getting any help at all I almost gave up. I was referred to Dr. Brietstein by Tennova md line and I have found a Dr. That ally listens to me and I really value his opinion and care that I have received there from him as well as his wonderful and helpful staff. I would highly recommend this Dr. to anyone with out a second of hesitation.Thanks to him I have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel that is not attached to a train. I will continue with my therapy for quite a while but would not consider continuing to do so if I didn't have him as my Dr. He is a true blessing !

Submitted Nov. 5, 2015

the man needs more help than his clients, we used him for custody evaluation ,he denied i gave him any documentation on my wife even though he refused to take half of it as" i already overloaded him" Vebally assaulted me for filing a complaint with against a fellow college of his 2 years previos He lies relentlessly and is full of hatred . Impersonnll is least of issues

Submitted July 17, 2015

Will not clarify details cuts people short mid sentence uninformitI've. Not good with children

Submitted June 16, 2015

Had testing done with him for purposes of Voc Rehab eligibility. He had ZERO personality, which maybe is part of all professional psychologists character, I don't know. Was given series of tests and time to talk about past history. I noticed that upon receiving my evaluation, it was littered with all kinds of errors such as grammatical, misstated reference to past history, dates that were in correct, and a few other things. I was shocked at how unprofessional the report was. I noticed that he only focused on my past family history and gave a psychological diagnosis from that. He linked all my erratic jobs and education problems to this diagnosis he gave me, which he told me to look it up on the internet what it meant beyond his brief explanation. I was slightly taken aback to that, as well as another comment he made regarding my situation. I found he also had ZERO compassion, again, maybe that's the way these psychologists are. Regardless, I was disappointed. There was no attempt to diagnose ADD, no questions on why I felt limited from this proposal of ADD. Imagine having multiple ADD characteristics your whole life and from one conversation he diagnoses you with emotional problems stemming from your past. The educational tests were a joke as well, which I feel did not represent me. I struggle with mathematics and reading comprehension and I was given such a basic level of math, I don't feel it adequately captured my deficiencies. In fact, I've had a test like that decades ago and failed it because the level of math required was higher. I haven't had any math since then and now it's not an issue and I have no learning disabilities. Then why do I feel deficient to help my kids with their math, geometry, algebra, etc?
My take on Dr. Brietstein is not very favorable. His receptionist was cheerful and friendly but the people in the waiting room were questionable. I was racially abused by some cranky imbalanced girl (she even got my race incorrect) and she demanded to know who was making the noise with their keys (me). Her friend apologized for her behavior when she walked back with her pyschologist because she was "pregnant". Then another friend of hers was complaining and dropped the f-bomb several times. I was quite uncomfortable and I realized these were the type of people who are capable of violence against innocent people. I was actually scared for myself.
Good luck if you should ever be so unlucky to have to go to this office.

Submitted Jan. 14, 2015