Peninsula Child and Family Services

My first negative experience was with the office and Joe's policy for "cancelling" appointments. Even though it was often that I rescheduled for the next day and 24+ hours before my appointment because I was called in for work unexpectedly or was sick. I was notified I would soon be dropped by the practice if I cancelled any more appointments. I had two therapists here, the first one was great, and I was making some good progress with her concerning learning how to regulate my emotions now that my life is just one stressful thing after another. One day before my appointment I am notified by the office that my therapist is gone, no longer "with the practice", and I think she was fired--which I think is completely unfounded, and based on these reviews, she was most likely fired unjustly or left due to the toxic work environment. I never heard from my first therapist again and I am still pretty upset about that, it sucks. I then had to specifically ask the office if I could be put with a licensed therapist, since my first one was technically a student still and may not be here permanently, as I needed a steady therapist. My second therapist was fine, she was nice, I did not feel like we connected and there was not much progress made. We just kind of talked and I felt like all I did was talk, not get anything back. I decided to stop seeing her after an appointment was cancelled the day of, only a few hours before my time, but they charge people $130 for cancelling day of? Okay, very ethical and not hypocritical at all. Anyways, I text the office that I want to cancel all of my upcoming and future appointments with my therapist, and they respond dryly with: "Hello, thank you got letting us know. We have removed you from Therapist's schedule. Please feel free to reach out if we may be of assistance in the future. Have a great day!" Maybe this is a normal response, but it just felt fake and with little care for the patient/customer. But whatever, I am moving on.

If I can give negative stars, I would. When I took my son to his business for counseling back in October, they charged me the full price even though my insurance covered the visits and all we had to pay is the co-pay of $35/visit. The manager kept charging my credit card and when I went to discuss it with her, she called security on me. So when I reached out to the owner, he blamed me for the mishandling of his worker. I'm still today 7months later fighting to get refunded the amount that I was overcharged. My credit card company is lost and confused due to the amount of emails that were sent between me and the owner of the company. My credit card can't figure out if I do need to be reimbursed for $70, and I have proof that the owner owes me $70. My next step is Better Business Bureau, and I will see. Thanks to all of you who left these reviews so they can see what type of business is this company is about!!!! taking peoples money that's all they care about!!!! Our counselors was amazing, but it's sad though that the owner wouldn't even send me my money knowing that he owes, but I guess he needs it more than I do, it's only $70!

Well I deleted my comment a long time ago but I'll put it back up seeing that a lot of people seem to have the same issue. The therapist my son saw was amazing, front desk non existent when we went. And just like everyone else has said they will charge you without your knowledge of how much is being charged! You do not even get a bill they just charge your card. It seems to be more about money than their paitents.

I'd like to begin by saying that my counselor, Ciera Canady, was absolutely amazing. After searching long and hard for a counselor, I was so grateful to be working with her. I began treatment around May of 2024 and was treated exceptionally up until my financial situation shifted. From then on, I had to speak to the owner only, and my experience went downhill. I had an appointment that was scheduled with Ashley McDaniel, but due to confusion on my end, I was charged $100 without being notified, and given my financial situation, I asked and pleaded with the owner, Joe to see if he'd mind temporarily refunding me and sending a check so that I can better plan around paying it. I shared the heart of my situation and was extremely vulnerable, just hoping he would be willing to work with me. This was not the case. Joe proceeded to mansplain to me that although he has the power to remove the payment, he was not willing to. Apparently, my email which included me stressing how important it was for me to get that money refunded, was received as a "threat" by him. I did not understand why he was fighting back so hard about this and wasn't even willing to meet me halfway. He could've cared less. It was disappointing, but I decided to move on and take it as a loss. I did not feel comfortable with how his personality came across in emails, so I let it go and asked the receptionist that I spoke with to please remove my cards that are on file so I could avoid anymore surprise charges. And requested any additional charges to be sent in a regular bill. A couple of days ago, I checked my acct again and saw a "fee adjustment" charge that I figured was from insurance not paying out, but this did not disregard my request to be sent a bill. I asked the receptionist for a refund and to be sent a bill once again. Once she told me that she could not authorize a refund and that my request was being forwarded to Joe, I knew that he would refuse to honor my request. I know that it takes money for an establishment to run, staff has to be paid, and the business has to flourish, but Joe's communication with me was so off-putting. I have never dealt with anything like this and am just sharing my story as a forewarning. I truly would not be surprised if I received a nasty response to this review, signed and sealed by him personally. That is the energy that I have gotten from him since being in communication with him. My advise for anyone experiencing any financial hardships or shifts in their financial situation, just stay on top of everything. Your appointments, etc. and to avoid surprises, opt out of keeping your card on file for them to run at their will. The owner will allow no grace and will not hesitate to mansplain his entitlement to your money. I hope this helps at least one person.

Don't give them you're credit card. We've had 1 visit and 4 $130 charges. I should have trusted my gut. To schedule the first appointment I called multiple times and never got someone to answer. Had to wait for a call back, but instead got a text. Had one appointment for my child and it went okay. Was running late and Called to let them know and they said they'd reschedule. Now they say I declined the reschedule and billed me $130. Called to cancel an appointment and still got a no show fee of $130. Received a text 23hrs before the appointment about another appointment which I had believed was canceled. I texted back to cancel and what do you know, another $130 charge. This places thrives on milking these fees with zero compassion or understanding. They will simply send you the document stating you agreed they can charge you. A very slimy company to work with