Roberta Decastro, LMHC

Wow the rest of these reviews are so validating because she repeated many of the behaviors written about! Though I was a bit skeptical of the AI headshot, Roberta's bio sounded impressive so I decided to book. I logged onto my first appointment & was put in a waiting room that stated my provider's status was 'Offline'. 6 minutes later with no apology, Roberta arrived. I started having technical issues with my sound to which she quickly stated 'Its not my computer because I just jumped from another call here'. She continued to patronize for the rest of our call. For example, when asked how often I go through cycles of depression, I responded 'its tough for me to pinpoint because it has varied...' I was cut off with 'You see, this is exactly why I asked you. It is very important you know these things and you don't so how can I help you?' I wish I could write more about how condescending and shady things were, but there's a character limit, lol. Good luck out there people.

This appointment was through telehealth on growtherapyShe was kind of unprofessional, overlooked all of my concerns and previously ADHD diagnosis that I have had since childhood. She basically stated that she would not take me on as a client without having a psychiatrist even after explaining that I had just moved states and was in the process of replacing all of my medical providers. She also stated that since I am 23, a majority of new disorders will start to emerge and that she can not begin any treatment until I was medicated. She also mentioned how there are not many good psychiatry option because of my insurance and that she was probably going to stop accepting clients with the same insurance as me soon. Which I feel is inappropriate to mention on the first intake appointment.Overall she seemed dismissive, uncaring and unresponsive.

I had a telehealth appointment with Roberta via GrowTherapy sometime in December, 2023. She did not review my intake form at all and started the session as if she had no info about me. She completely dismissed my concerns about my loneliness and brushed it off with 'Okay just talk to your siblings' and said I should focus on finding a career even though my loneliness strongly contributes to my depression. Roberta also kept constantly referring to me as 'sweetie' and it was very patronizing and unprofessional. Kind of a basics 101 therapist not to patronize your client.She also blatantly lied to me and told me my insurance doesn't cover EMDR and told me most of her clients self-pay. I called my insurance and they confirmed they cover all modalities , including EMDR. I felt she did this to gain more profit since she told me my insurance barely gives her any payout and was so concerned with making the most money when telling me about therapist careers. She claimed she could sympathize with my ADHD yet when she told me to start working out3-4 times a day (a lot, especially for someone who doesn't regularly workout and struggles with ADHD) she didn't seem to acknowledge my concerns as that being difficult nor did she offer any strategies on how to slowly accomplish that goal step-by step.