I had been seeing Dr. Korn for 4 years. I had initially only wanted a psychiatrist to write prescriptions for meds I had already been taking for years, having just moved to the area & looking for a new doctor. I am on meds for depression & anxiety. Though I was already attending group therapy in the area, my therapist, who was excellent, could not supply prescriptions, hence my need for a psychiatrist. Dr. Korn told me he would not simply prescribe the meds & have me check in every 3 months, as I had asked for, but insisted I see him monthly so that he could "help me." He is, I believe, a good man with all the intentions of helping. I have nothing against him personally. He is, however, a terrible therapist. He is extremely subjective (not objective), told me many things about his personal life I had no need of knowing, was extremely opinionated & had difficulty controlling his emotions. He is ABSOLUTELY not unbiased when it comes to religion. When I told him I was Irish Catholic, he made it very clear he was an atheist, which I have absolutely no problem with...I wasn't going there for spiritual advice. My wife is also an atheist. She & I were having difficulty discussing our differences in religious beliefs/non-beliefs, & I invited her to a session so we could gain some skills in communicating our differences with love, without judgement, & to learn to better hear each others views without invalidating them. I told him at the beginning of the session that this is why we were there. I told him the issue of abortion had been a point of contention, that we had reached the end of the line on that subject & had let that go, but still wanted to learn how to at least speak of our beliefs in a healthy way. Immediately, he told me the problem was this: that I "& my brethren"(?!) wanted to impose our religious beliefs on the whole world, that we were trying to take away his freedom, that I didn't care about women, that I & my "brood" were going to destroy the country, that I was going to destroy the Constitution, that I didn't believe in democracy but dictatorship, that me & "my group" were going to start a war, that I was going to ruin countless relationships in my life, was probably going to destroy my relationship with my wife, possibly my relationship with him(?!), on & on & on. I was upset by this, yes, & attempted to defend myself & my position, but reminded him that whatever his beliefs, he can vote & I can vote & I just have a different viewpoint than him. I told him I liked him, that I believed his viewpoint stemmed from a great sympathy for the women involved, & that I was simply asking for that same graciousness of spirit...that even if he couldn't understand it, my opinion was one based in love & respect for all of life. He would have none of it. For an hour & 1/2 he attacked me & my religion, he ignored my wife completely (only to misquote for his own argument the one thing she had really said at the beginning of the session, which angered her), & he refused to stop even when I reminded him that this very contention he was engaging in was the very thing we had come to learn to avoid. He said he was so mad he was shaking. At one point he physically drew near to me in a threatening manner. He was aggressive, totally inappropriate, & undeniably unprofessional. He made the entire session about him & his opinion. He went out of his way to make me feel terrible about myself. I have worked very hard for years to gain self-esteem. I have this now, & because of that I didn't crumble under his attack, I didn't break down or back down. I could see this only infuriated him more. I would like to say again: I have nothing against Leonard Korn personally. I still believe he is a good man who means well. As a psychiatrist & certainly as a therapist, he is the absolute worst I have ever encountered. I strongly recommend looking elsewhere for help.
by Anonymous
November 10, 2011