He is very considerate and polite. Gave specific instructions to my GP to switch my meds. Major improvement and also the 3 books he recommended gave me great insight into a long term mental illness.

Submitted May 20, 2020

Dr Bakish had his assessment and report sent to my GP within 90 minutes of my leaving the appointment, all seven pages of it were accurate and blunt in regards to my psychological condition (one error in regards to another condition, but he's not an immunologist so that's hardly a fault against him). By sheer chance or the universe aligning he happened to have a time opening that I could see him on short notice for clarification of Dx (that is to say, no one would take the time to sit with me not in crisis to do a formal assessment).

Sure enough, he did an assessment and confirmed what I had suspected for a long time. He consulted the DSM for an additional assessment, and introduced a secondary Dx that I did not consider but also makes sense.

He is very straightforward, has a clinical approach but is not unkind, he does not ask invasive questions in regard to trauma, he does not need you to recount unnecessary details or relive it for his report. He is very good at what he does.

The assessment is basically confirmation for him. As Dr Bakish put it after the formalities were done, he was pretty sure he knew what my condition was simply from the way I was sitting in the waiting room and how I was dressed. I just about could have cried because out of all the "professionals" and "experts" before him who were dismissive or didn't notice these things, he understood what was actually happening.

I'd just about given up on any help from psychiatrists or medical personnel. This man gave me one more chance at actually getting healthy.

Submitted May 14, 2020

My life has changed since meeting dr. Bakish.
No more generic garbage. If you have mood disorder, switching to a name brand can make all the difference. I didn’t believe it at first. But it’s actually true from my experience. This doctor has been guiding my GP through the complexities of my disorder. Dr. Bakish, I can’t thank you enough.

Submitted April 7, 2020

He hadn’t even read my file. He told me I have to switch from my current medication to the generic as soon as possible and gave me a timeline for weaning off my current meds. I then weaned off exactly as he told me but even after 3 and a half weeks of waiting (and leaving multiple messages to his secretary) my GP still hasn’t received his recommendation so I can switch onto the new meds. Now I am on no medication and coming off has been quite difficult without another medication to substitute it.

Submitted March 28, 2020

10 min appointment. Hadn't read my file. Spent five minutes asking me the traditional 40+ yes/no questions from the assessment questionnaire, and voila - he diagnosed me. Based on nothing else, except the questionnaire. There was no other discussion, no elaboration, no interest in my experience or views - just the questions from the questionnaire. After completing it and coming up with his diagnosis, he proceeded to say that I was on the right medication, but it wasn't working because it was generic and "the generic stuff doesn't work". Yup. According to him, everything that I've been doing for the last year was right and I could get better, but I needed to switch off the generic. Really? The only reason I haven't been getting better for the last year is because I've been on the (bio-equivalent) generic? No other reason? Not a different diagnosis? Not a different medication regime? Nothing? Sadly, my experience seems to be consistent with a number of other comments here. I'm so unbelievably disappointed. Getting in to see someone at the Royal is very difficult. If you're going to approach your practice this way, at least give the appearance that you're doing something more than reading a questionnaire. You don't have to spend a ton of time with a patient, but at least take a minute to ask if they have anything they want to add or say before you blurt out a diagnosis - even if you don't actually care what they are going to say.

Submitted March 5, 2020

It was by the will of the Universe that Dr Bakish had an opening to do an assessment with me about my Dx. He confirmed what a psychiatrist in 2018 had suspected but did not want to upset his senior at the hospital's misdiagnosis from 2017 (because when you can't listen to a patient, are given inaccurate timelines from multiple hospital sites, and cherry pick your patients you are bound to misdiagnose one or two people).

I am working on the Rx's that Dr Bakish prescribed, and will be changing to a GP who can follow his very straightforward seven page report (that he had faxed within four hours of seeing me).

I hate that I lost the last two years being mistreated by the medical system in this city, but my family and I are so damn glad that this darkness ends with finding Dr Bakish and bringing a future back into view.

If you happen to get the chance to sit with him for an assessment, I hope you've got the strength in you to take a chance and be truthful. He's not going to pass judgement or pry into details. He's got a great read on body language and knows how to assess you without creating additional trauma.

Submitted Nov. 15, 2019

I've seen many psychologists and psychiatrists over the years, attempting to heal after being violently abused, kidnapped, and raped. Instead of even attempting to feign empathy, some decided to shame me, claim that I must have had it coming, and labelled me as delusional to avoid the extra paperwork and phone calls. Dr Bakish was polite, empathetic, has a sense of humor, and actually provided helpful advice and information in addition to his duties during our appointment. I never wanted court cases, I wanted to have the space to heal and move on. The focus was on healing and not on squeezing as many billable diagnoses out of the session as possible. It was refreshing. Ottawa needs more doctors who care about their patients.

Submitted June 19, 2019

I found him highly knowledgable and experienced. He was very helpful with medication needs and informative and guidance . Excellent patient relations.

Submitted June 11, 2019

Let Dr. Bakish take some of his own medicine and lets see how he will do. He's a dangerous person and needs to stop. He tore my life apart and my family too.. with all his med advice and recommendations. This guy needs to be stopped. Be careful anyone that sees him because he will drug you unnecessarily
just to promote the Pharmaceutical industry for his own benefit. He will tell every patient that they need to get Name Brand and not generic because that's where he makes his money. Just saying right. Hope I can help others that suffer from this guy.

Submitted May 29, 2019

Really disappointed, waited ages for an opinion and all he suggested was changing to non generic medications. He even suggested changing to a non generic cholesterol medication, even though he’s a psychiatrist. It was pretty bizarre, actually.

Submitted May 3, 2019