Dr. William Petrie, MD

How caring Dr. Petrie is and his dedication to people with mental illness striving to improve their quality of life. He encourages his patients to get well and is so positive. Helping people is his life's work.

Dr Petrie is in residence at Vanderbilt Phych hospital so he took care of my daughter. She has Bipolar 1 disorder and she was in full manic when she was admitted. The first week he only kept her 4 days and sent her home on Friday. That Sunday she was so manic and out of control the police had to come and put her in an ambulance. He kept her for 2 weeks and sent her home again. She was still not sleeping very well and was still manic. After about 10 days her therapist said she was worse than she was in the beginning. She was admitted again. A different dr saw her and worked with her for about 3 weeks, we had a family meeting with her and she told us she would be keeping her another month. Dr Petrie took over her care again 5 days later and he sent her home again. Her meds are not working, she is still not herself but I will NOT TAKE HER BACK TO VANDERBUILT IF DR PETRIE IS THE ONLY DR SHE CAN SEE!!!

Dr. Petrie was my mother's doctor, and he was a miracle worker for her, our family and her caretakers. She was a senior with several health conditions including paranoid schizophrenia; she had become very hard to treat until we found Dr. Petrie.

I completely disagree with Mr R. above. Dr Petrie is a brilliant and caring physician and he knows everything about Alzheimer's. When my beloved wife was dying of this terrible disease I followed his advice in several important respects and it greatly prolonged the time that my wife and I were able to communicate. I would take his word for anything. Dave Price, Brentwood, TN

Dr Petrie was recommended by my husband's primary care doctor at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Although Dr. Petrie diagnosed cognitive impairment (it turned out that my husband had had a stroke) he did not prescribe memory medication for two years and because I requested it. It is well known (I learned recently) that the earlier these medications are given, the slower the decline. Thankfully we transferred to a wonderful neurologist. We do not recommend Dr. Petrie

Dr. Petrie is an astute, highly experienced physician with exceptional patient-oriented skills. This background supports his unusually high ability to psychiatrically discern, interpret and manage geriatric patient mental maladies. Despite the many communication challenges involved with his older patients, Dr. Petrie is invariably pleasant, confident and supportive. His positive outlook on life may, for some of his patients, be the only psychologically uplifting experience they receive.

He is a top-drawer scientist, but he is interested in his patients' soul--he treats the whole person. He listens and takes a collaborative approach.

Although Dr. Petrie has a jovial demeanor, his attitude towards a patient with Alzheimer is deplorable: it is condescending; he does not comprehend the depression that is often a side effect of the disease, especially for someone who is aware of facing a dreaded future. He provided no prescription for my husband severe memory decline and confronted him for failing to exercise to improve his muscle tone. My husband has been for 20 years on statins which are know to destroy muscle.

Bill Petrie is outstanding in every way.