Dr vickar saved me. He continues to save me. What a privilege it’s been to have a doctor who’s been so caring. He will always take your call. He will always make a time for you, despite how busy he is. He’s not just a psychiatrist, he’s a person with great empathy- who truly cares.

Submitted April 6, 2024

I believe he believes, that he is helpful and has good ideas. He is a good person and intends to be a good doctor, however I don't think its realized that he is not actually helpful. We saw Dr Vickar over 30 years ago for family therapy. He tried to fix everything with a pill and insisted it would assist to make me want to go to school. I was suffering with an eating disorder at the time. He tended to ask a lot of strange and bizarre questions which he believed would give insight into the mechanisms of how the mind was funcitoning. His ideas were crazy, and were not helpful at all. He misdiagnosed me which I later was told by a different doctor, and did more harm in the long run. He told my parents ideas of why he thought things were happening that had no baring. He referred me to a doctor for individual therapy that was as crazy as he was if not worse. All I wanted to do was be left alone. I was not in danger I got put in day hostpial around these psychos that had way bigger issues than I did, and it was NOT HELPFUL. I needed to be around healthy peers, and all that happened was I got was more annoyed due to him thinking he had things figured out when he was not even scratching the surface. At about 17 I got myself off the meds got myself a job got the hell away from him and anything that had to do with therapy and started improving. During my 20s I had some more mental health issues returned to private therapy for a while which ended in disaster and was NEVER helpful. Doctors should learn they can't fix everything with a pill and that diagnosis are constantly updated in criteria and should listen to the patient in terms of whats going on not what they decide is going on that is not even there! I think he has done a lot of damage to SOME patients perhaps not all due to incorrect diangosing and ability to help. My parents would often try and take his advice as they thought it was the right thing then realized that he was making more trouble than help. I am now married living in my own home in another provicne with a child. Getting away from the system and the crazies in it was the best thing I ever did. I wish this doctor well and hope that those that see him for help get correct help!

Submitted March 4, 2024

I am now 43 years old and I still remember Dr Vickar from nearly 30 years ago. I spent a lot of time in the in patient program and had alot going on in my life (and in my mental health) and I remember him being the kindest and the most patient doctor. Since then I have seen several medical professionals, none of which have impacted me the way that he did. He left a mark on my heart enough that I am here writing this review today -- and if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have been here in the first place.

Submitted Dec. 14, 2023

We were referred to Dr. V when my son was needing help with his OCD. I cannot praise him enough! Dr. Vickar helped him understand his condition and learn to help himself deal with his issues. Dr. Vickar has such a relaxing style that my son immediately felt comfortable and open to what Dr. V had to say. Winnipeg is lucky to have this gifted man.

Submitted Nov. 21, 2019

We were referred to this Eating Disolder clinic by our daughter's doctor. Our doctor told us that our daughter had symptoms of a possible eating disorder. She was 15 going to be 16 soon and had lost 17% of her body weight. She should have matured and gained weight during this time. She was also at the time choosing to be a vegetarian and was very active in extra-curricular activities. Our doctor said better safe than sorry and talk to Dr. Vickar. We decided to see him and his staff at the clinic.
The clinic is a professional office downtown. They have private offices with trained staff. We were initially impressed with their care and concern for our daughter. They were upfront about their procedures and analysis technique and their success stories. They told us they were the best clinic for eating disorders in the region and we were lucky our daughter was referred to them.
In short order, their initial diagnosis for our daughter was Anorexia Nervosa. We were shocked of course that our daughter had this illness. We quickly read up on eating disorders because we were somewhat in denial of their diagnosis. They scared us so much my wife and daughter cried. How can we be in denial of this news because they are the doctors and they have seen this. And then they tell us the deadly stats of eating disorders. We don't want our child to die.
We promptly decide to begin treatment with them. She met with Dr. Vickar and his team including a dietitian and social worker. We booked appointments 3 times a week during the school day. Our daughter was initially not responsive to treatment. She did not have good relations with Dr. Vickar and the social worker. She did learn lots from the dietitian. However, they insisted she start eating meat against her wish to stay vegetarian. Her body weight did not increase enough during the first 6 months. She did not lose weight either. They felt she needed to have better results/weight gain with more intense treatment. She would need to drop her extracurricular activities and come in for more meetings. That was not enough for the staff since there was not enough weight gain. They had us, the parents, come in for a special meeting with the staff. They recommended our daughter be enrolled in their day hospital program full time. She would be schooled and fed there for 5 days a week. It was so drastic. We pushed back because we understand and know our child more than they do. They are the experts. They seen it all. They tell us the ugly stats of eating disorders. However, in our case, we were not willing to start the irreparable damage it could cause her and our relationship with her. We were against their full on recommendation. And they were not happy about our decision for her. They said the other option for her was prescribing medications for her condition. They were for mood and anxiety symptoms. We again said no their recommendations of drugs for her. For the year and a half of our visits, it had put a lot of strain on our daughter and ourselves. It had made us question ourselves as good parents and understanding who we are in this trying time. We really didn't appreciate the black and white of the recommendations. We decided to drop the treatments overall. It seemed like the response from the clinic was 'if you are not with us, you are against us'. Her file was closed and we have not met with them in 2 years. Fortunately, in our case, our daughter has gained her weight back. She continues to be vegetarian. She continues to go to school and be active in her extra-curricular activities. We still monitor her health, weight and eating habits. We do appreciate the treatments we had; however, we wished it would have been a better working situation for all. It was such a challenging and stressful time for our daughter and ourselves. I am sure they have helped many patients and families. In our case, I am not sure they did for us.
We wish all who are reading this, the best for our family during your struggles. If you need help, seek help.

Submitted March 4, 2019

Great psychiatrist. Very easy to talk to. Knowledgable and kind. Thanks for everything Dr Vickar. :)

Submitted Feb. 28, 2018

Dr. Vickar helped to save our daughter's life. He was committed to her and developed a treatment plan with his team that addressed some very complicated and heartbreaking issues within our family. Our daughter hated him at times, but that was because he pushed her to challenge her way of thinking and encouraged her to face the truth of what was going on with her perception of her body and her mind. We are grateful for Dr. Vickar and wish him all the best in his retirement.

Submitted Dec. 19, 2017

If it wasn't for Dr. Vickar taking me on as a teenager and fixing all the mistakes of the doctors who loaded me up on unnecessary medications, a wrong diagnosis and referred me to the correct programs I wouldn't be here. Did I hate him and fire him at times? Absolutely I was a teenager/young adult with a whole whack of baggage from an awful childhood. I had to go through a few different programs throughout the years and no matter what amount of support I have needed I've been able to get. I have a chronic mood disorder and I have had an eating disorder along side of it and I have survived it all. If it wasn't for him calling me out on my s**t I wouldn't have gotten anywhere. I've had incredible success now and I still have the support to make sure it stays that way. AND he has been way better with the whole punctuality lately so that's been nice.

Submitted April 8, 2017

Dr. VicMar is an amazing doc who helped me so much in treatment. Punctual, helpful, understanding, patient, everything a doc should be!

Submitted March 22, 2017

Brilliant man, amazing doctor. Continued to take me on in his private practice when I turned 18 and I couldn't be more thankful. We've definitely had our ups and downs but as an adolescent psychiatrist, especially in eating disorders that is to be expected. He's always late, yes, but that is because of how much he cares about the mental health of his clients and WANTS to keep talking to you, causing him to run behind. I agree with a previous post that he will appear to be falling asleep and then wake up with the most brilliant answer or thought. I hated him as a teenager but love him now.

Submitted Feb. 11, 2017