Genesis Counseling Center

The practice maintained great correspondence through out the entire process. The therapist listened and took detailed notes and scheduled me for testing in a timely fashion

Genesis Counseling Center has been awesome. We called to request Becky VanValin and were willing to wait up to a year if necessary. But as they promised they called us when Becky had an opening. Becky is a seasoned therapist with top credentials and has a Biblical worldview like us. And Becky was kind enough to work us into her busy schedule for marital therapy. Her communication and therapy style have been impressive. Thank you Genesis for caring about those of us in the community who need excellent care !

Although I've had a good experience at the Norfolflk office, (both with Mrs. Cindy and Tara) the Chesapeake "med management" is absolutely horrible. They did not read my intake paperwork and scheduled an appointment for something they don't treat. (Also, not sure why what they don't treat isnt more clear on their website.) When I explained I dont have an official diagnosis, Kiondra (office worker) agreed to schedule with their testing center and said she would speak to my scheduled med management provider and get back to me. She did not get back to me but I spoke to the counseling team who reached out for me and I was told to go ahead with the appointment and the provider could at least point me in the right direction. Shara Short (the provider) got on our telehealth call annoyed and attributed the appointment to my "insistence." It went downhill from there- she was impatient and condescending. I would sign any waiver necessary to have that session reviewed and her behavior addressed. She shouldn't be assigned to people in need. TLDR- Go to Genesis for counseling, do not go for "med management." Their med management team has poor communication and is condescending/ impatient/ not what we need in mental health care. P.s. Genesis, please establish a team that connects your different departments- a patient shouldnt have to make 3 different calls/ do multiple questionnaires/ keep returning to the website for counseling, testing, and med management all "under the same roof." At this rate, a patient might as well be going to 3 different offices. Your current set- up is overwhelming and leaves tons of room for errors- not what people with mental health issues need.

I see Mrs. Lovetta Ritchie. She is very pleasant and has a warm personality that makes me feel safe and comfortable opening up. She ends our sessions with prayer which is always very uplifting to me at the end of our session.

Updating my review to respond to the owner since I wasn't clear enough before. Number 1: I didn't get a prescription from TWO DIFFERENT PROVIDERS. I got prescription #1 for my anxiety and prescription #2 for ADHD. BOTH were always prescribed by the SAME doctor for years. It wasn't until Dr. Denise came to the practice that I started having problems getting refills on medication I've been getting prescribed for YEARS. SHE was the one who advised me to get my anxiety medication from another doctor because she would not refill it for me. It has been months since I've had a refill. She DID NOT disclose to me that if I get my ANXIETY medication (prescription #1) from another provider (because she refused to refill it) that she would also refuse to refill prescription #2 for my ADHD. These are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT medications. I was not trying to get "extra" or cheat the system, I ran out of my anxiety meds and needed a refill. My last refill was back in MARCH and I was only prescribed 10 pills. Dr. Denise refused to refill my prescription for some reason but advised me to get it from another provider, which I did. I was simply following the advice that Dr. Denise gave me to get my regular meds that I've been taking for years. After following her advice to get prescription #1 (anxiety meds) elsewhere, she later on refused to refill prescription #2 (adhd meds). I have been going to this practice for a few years and have loved it here when Dr. Charlene Bell was still working here. Dr. Bell was attentive, caring and actually LISTENED to patients instead of coldly rushing them off calls after not listening or helping them at all like Dr. Denise Olutoyin Akinyanju. During an appointment with Dr. Denise, I was advised to seek my anxiety prescription refill from another provider. What was not disclosed to me (and should have been) was that doing so would result in my ADHD prescription being denied. I only learned this AFTER I needed a refill on my ADHD medication, at which point I was abruptly told to get all my prescriptions elsewhere. Had I been given that information UPFRONT, I would have just gotten both from that other doctor right then and there. Now I have to schedule ANOTHER appointment with that doctor and miss more time at work. This lack of communication disrupted my treatment yet again, since this happens often with Dr. Denise, and felt very unprofessional. The lack of clear communication, paired with what appears to be punitive action taken after I followed her guidance, has significantly impacted my care. I believe this conduct was unethical, possibly retaliatory, and clearly not in line with patient-centered practice. Additionally, this is not the first time I have experienced undue difficulty receiving long-standing, necessary prescriptions from Ms. Akinyanju, despite a stable history with these medications. I previously reached out to a higher-level manager at the practice about similar concerns and received no response. By the looks of other reviews of this practice, echoing the same treatment by the SAME provider, this is clearly not a one-off situation for this provider. I have been a patient for years with no issues but now I've since decided to file a formal complaint with the Virginia Board of Medicine and have discontinue my care at this practice. If you're considering care here, especially for long-term medication management, I would recommend giving that a second thought.