Ratings for Dr. John Vanderkooy
Vanderkooy is the reason why I don’t trust psychiatrists. I saw him inpatient when I was younger, and he belittled me, insulted me to my face, and blamed me for my childhood rape. He gaslit my emotions by saying “that’s not what you feel” and “tell me the truth,” leading me to lie to him so that he would hear what he wanted. He made fun of my self-harm scars. He made me feel so much worse. If his goal is to make an inpatient experience so horrible that you never want to try anything that could ever land you back there, he has succeeded. If his goal is to help, he has failed miserably. I am traumatized by my experiences with him, even years later.
Submitted Jan. 26, 2024
Dr Vanderkooy is seriously incredible. He is very knowledgeable and really takes the time to understand his patients and figure out what's wrong. I never feel judged when talking to him (like I have sometimes felt with other psychiatrists) and he always talks through treatment options before going through with anything. He has helped me through so much and I could not recommend him enough. I wish more psychiatrists could be as patient, caring and attentive as him.
Submitted Oct. 14, 2023
Honestly amazing, he’s helped me through so much I’m truly grateful to Dr. Vanderkooy for the past 2 years. He may come off as uncaring or distracted, but he’s been super helpful and really does care about his patients.
Submitted June 2, 2023
We brought our daughter to the hospital because she was so severely depressed, she couldn’t get out of bed or even shower. I was extremely nervous because we had a previous bad experience with a hospital psychiatrist. Dr.Vanderkooy was extremely gentle, knew what he was talking about and even had a diagnosis right away. He didn’t want to heavily medicate our daughter. He wanted to give her something that would take the edge off and get her into therapy immediately. He set up therapy with his team on top of it. We needed a med adjustment a few weeks in and he met with us the very next day. He also discovered another diagnosis and got my daughter on track with that. We have only been seeing him for a month and a half now and my daughter is running around smiling and laughing again. She is back to her old self and says she feels focused and confident. His nurse is super nice and very easy to talk to as well. The only complaint would be, having to wait usually 20 minutes or so to see him. But, to me, he’s usually late, because he actually takes his time with his patients, and he cares. We are very lucky to have Dr. Vanderkooy get our daughter through this difficult time. I highly recommend him and I feel like we won the psychiatric Dr lottery 😃
Submitted May 1, 2023
Compassionate and knowledgeable psychiatrist - our first experience with child psychiatry and all-around Dr. Vanderkooy and his team were top notch. Our child is going through a very difficult time with peers and school, but was able to open up and talk to Dr. Vanderkooy. He is friendly and informal - which was probably part of what made this work. He also took time to make sure the parents were also heard. We are hopeful!
Submitted April 13, 2023
He’s an amazing doctor I’m so fortunate to have had him. He would never be on time but I get it because he takes the time each time to make you feel safe and secure.
Submitted Dec. 1, 2022
awful doctor who “ fires” his patients for missing an appointment. I was told it was over the phone and never got my call. i called back and was told it was in person and that he would no longer be my doctor. I also am suffering from kidney stones and would not have been able to make it in person anyways. he has no empathy for his patients, cusses during appointments, and can be very rude at times. I am happy that i no longer have to deal with his personality but not right at all to fire his patients who need monthly refills of important medication. Hope he has a rude awakening!
Submitted Oct. 11, 2022
I’m so shocked to be reading all of these comments. I am someone who has suffered multiple offences of sexual violence from various males, which is why I have turned away from seeking male mental health professionals. Due to this, I felt a bit skeptical when I
started with Dr. Vanderkooy, however, he has been nothing less of kind and understanding. I told him today that I came off of my medication since the last time we spoke and he was completely on my side. He only asked me one question - “do you miss them?” and when I responded “no,” he agreed that it was best I was off of them. He is very knowledgeable within his studies and his work. He cares about his patient’s safety and their overall well-being. He is very outgoing and easy to understand. He advocates for his patients and is doing such for me at the moment. I had two psychiatrists before him that often left me feeling unable to talk to them or as though the support available to me was lacking, so Dr. Vanderkooy has been a much needed change. I would 100% recommend his services to anyone needing help. I am not trying to discredit other people’s experiences, but if after reading these comments you’re skeptical just like I was, just give him a chance and I’m sure you’ll agree with everything I have said!
Submitted July 20, 2022
I absolutely love Vanderkooy as one of his patients. He's definitely a much more casual psychiatrist than the average, but it makes it that much easier to talk to him. He asks questions and makes you think. He might play devil's advocate sometimes but it is mainly to understand your thought processes better. Working with him has found me a stable antidepressant and sleep medication. He shows genuine care for his patients, and feels real. Incredibly good with presferred names and pronouns. He is often 20+ minutes late however, so if you do have him you shouldn't be in a rush to get there immediately. It's evident that he knows his stuff.
Submitted May 19, 2022
I was encouraged to kill myself by this doctor when I was inpatient at CAIP. That was over ten years ago. He is extremely insecure and has little control over his anger. I highly suggest avoiding him and seeking help elsewhere.
Submitted Feb. 10, 2024