Dr. Rena Goodfriend-Leve, MD

Dr. Goodfriend-Leve is not such a good friend. My appointment was rushed and she quickly prescribed me a medication without any information on what it will do. She rushed me through the whole thing. This is my first time doing this and I was disappointed by her lack of empathy. I wish I had read these reviews before hand because wow.

I never leave reviews but I feel obligated to leave this one. I am utterly shocked at the lack of empathy and bedside manner.

Giving the most “I’ve have been doing this job for so long that I cut as many corners as I possibly can and genuinely don’t care anymore” vibes I have ever seen. Most of my appointments were less than 5 minutes (which my PCP even said has been a complaint she’s heard from other patients too) even if I was switching to a completely new medication! She asks NO follow up questions. One time she even seemed annoyed with me when I was asking BASIC questions about a new medication I was switching to that I had never taken before. I told her “I think I have ADHD” and she said “ok call this number to schedule a neuropsych test.” NO follow up questions? You don’t even wanna know WHY I think that before I take a 8 hour $3k test??? Ok great. The highest level of pure apathy I have ever seen from a doctor, so why would you trust someone like that to manage the medications that affect your wellbeing and everyday life.

I usually don't leave reviews for any health care provider, service, or business--unless it's really negative, but I had to post this to counter the reviews here. Dr Goodfriend *is* very efficient. Yes, occasionally, appointments can last just a few minutes, but for a check-in on meds, sometimes that's all that's really needed. She's a psychiatrist, not a therapist. She has *always* given my daughter as much time as needed if there was something that needed to be discussed, without fail. Additionally, Dr Goodfriend has been a great partner or advocate for my child with her pediatrician, talk therapist, schools, and partial-hospitalization programs.

Terrible. Lacks any sort of empathy or care for her patients. She was late to the appointment and didn’t even bother to be in frame of the online call which I found very rude. Never once looked at me when she asked questions. She was cold and basically cut me off, telling me that I must be feeling better because I wasn’t sad at the moment- the only thing she did was recommend a different medication after barely speaking to me for a couple minutes. Worst experience ever.

She's totally adequate for what I need -- simply refilling meds. She spends about 5 minutes maximum and doesn't actually seem interested in the patient. But if all you need is med refills for a stable psych condition, she works.

I saw Dr. Goodfriend over the course of 7 years and built a strong and trusting relationship with her. Other reviews mention short sessions, which is true, but for me, if I ever needed a longer session she would happily talk however long I needed. Dr. Goodfriend has always been very easy to work with while trying to find the correct medications and dosages. I trust her medical diagnosis, and I never felt like the short appointments limited her ability to manage my medications. I would say Dr. Goodfreind would be a perfect match for any patient who values their time not being wasted and wants a psychiatrist who they can see long term over many stages in life. She was the perfect psychiatrist for me throughout all of high school and college.

15 minutes late. Spent literally 3 minutes with me after telling her I had a pretty big set back. Added another med. Hospital location is a joke. Barely says anything or asks questions.

Blamed and interrogated me for wanting a transfer of care, then said "you look like ur about to cry" in the most demeaning tone. Given the fact that many of the people I know in Evanston see her (she sees tons of patients) and have all been also misdiagnosed or made to feel horrible about themselves ( or in the case of one of my friends, wound up dead?), it is pretty clear that she has very little respect for her patients.

We had wonderful experience with Dr. Goodfriend-Leve. She is very warm and caring. I found her to be extremely competent in dealing with my 15-year-old daughter!

(If I could give 0 stars I would) Pretty much echoing all the other reviews. First experience with a psychiatrist so I didn’t know what was normal. How Dr. Goodfriend treats her patients is not normal or is it ethical. All my appts would last no longer than 3 minutes and somehow she had me on the strongest dose of three medications. I felt worse and worse due to all the unnecessary drugs in my system but instead of acknowledging that she kept making up different disorders to try and Medicate as well. After experiencing switching to a new psychiatrist that treats his patients with respect and compassion and does not try to prescribe every medication I realized how truly awful this lady is.

We have seen her three times it takes longer to walk to her office from the parking lot then the time she takes to speak with us. I’m looking for a new psychiatrist as I am writing this.

She is the wrong field with her dry and uncompassionate attitude. I would never ever see her again or recommend her to anyone

I've been seeing her for a while now, the only reason I've stayed with her is due to sheer laziness and having a busy schedule. I'm here to echo everything else that's been said about her. She's cold, defensive, and has been pushing larger doses on me for no reason. Our meetings take literally 3 minutes and somehow in that time she comes to the conclusion that I need a higher dose. I'm baffled as to why she became a doctor in the first place because this chick literally has no empathy or people skills. If you're thinking about booking her - don't do it homie.

Dr. Goodfriend-Leve was astonishlingly bad at listening to, working with, and following up with me to ensure the proper medications were prescribed for my mental health concerns. I felt she lacked any real interest in understanding me and working through pharmacologically my concerns, and my takeaway was she was neither sufficiently genuine, empathetic, or knowledgeable to be a provider for me.

I’ve been seeing her for a couple years and I haven’t had a single good experience with her. Every time I see her I feel worse. I don’t feel like she really listens and she barely looks at me. Each appointment lasts for no longer than 5 minutes which is ridiculous. Definitely not worth the money or effort. Even when I was doing poorly she just told me to come back in a month and didn’t change a thing. Also, they make it difficult to get refills on your medication when you need it. The only reason I stayed with her for so long was because I didn’t want to go through the trouble of finding a new psychiatrist. When I finally tried to see another doctor in the practice I was turned down and forced to continue seeing the same bad doctor. I’m going to see a new doctor at a new practice now. Hopefully I have a better experience. Overall Dr. Goodfriend-Leve is a terrible psychiatrist and I wouldn’t recommend her to my worst enemy.

She is cold, uncaring, and incompetent. She prescribed the same medication to my son twice even though my son had a horrible reaction the first time he took it. She tried to do this again, but I caught the error the second time because I took to checking up on every prescription after the first disaster. I don't think she ever looks at her notes and has no bedside manner, which is pretty bad if you deal with kids who are already stressed and depressed. We showed up at a confirmed appointment and after waiting for a half hour were told she wasn't even in the building. Stay far, far away.

The doctor is cold but competent. Her nurse Ann Marie actively tries to block patients from receiving the medications the doctor prescribes. Avoid.

• • • • • • • • I’ve been on antidepressants for around 10 years and would like to go off them at some point. I told her & she said “if you want to go off medications then find a new doctor.” Tried to switch me to probably the most expensive antidepressant, $1200 for 90 day supply. When I told her I couldn’t afford it, switched me to the second highest priced medication and increased the dosages of my other meds. Pill pusher, made me feel like I was wasting her time. Shouldn’t be in this field.

uncompassionate, selfish, and distant psychiatrist. Doesn't care about the patients at all, she only cares about the money she receives. Constantly denying refills because of an overdue check up, even though I'm 2000 miles away at college. Had to fight for a month just to get my prescription refilled. The nurse is also rude and generally distant. Horrible communication. Don't see her it will not turn out well.