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Choices Counseling Services

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Choices Counseling Services
Choices Counseling Services
(6 Reviews)
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607 Lincolnway Valparaiso, IN 46383
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Consumer Feedback

(6 Reviews)
Service
1.5 star average for Service
Environment
3 star average for Environment
Expertise
2 star average for Expertise
Staff
3 star average for Staff
Recommended
3.5 star average for Recommended
Value
1 star average for Value
Was it easy to find parking at this provider's office?
Yes, it was convenient
by Anonymous xxx.xxx.31.69
July 13, 2013
Did this provider answer all of your questions?
Every question I had was answered thoroughly
Was this provider's staff friendly?
Yes
Did you leave the office feeling satisfied with your visit?
Completely!
Was this provider's office easy to locate?
Fairly Easy
Are you going to visit this provider again?
Without a doubt!
by Maya xxx.xxx.34.220
May 24, 2012
Did this provider answer all of your questions?
No, I left confused and frustrated
Was this provider's staff friendly?
Not Really
Did you leave the office feeling satisfied with your visit?
No, I felt confused and uneasy when I left
Was this provider's office easy to locate?
Only with clear directions
by Anonymous xxx.xxx.55.252
March 29, 2012
My wife was involved in a custody proceeding regarding her now 6-year old son. As her spouse, I was required to come in and be evaluated.

First of all, they are NOT psychologists or doctors of any kind, I see that they are representing themselves as such here. There are social workers, and some of the people seem to be at the trainee level (perhaps students who are striving to be social workers.) Quite frankly, given the ineptitude of these people, I was left with the impression that they opened their office after taking a course on the internet.


Many of the questions which were asked, especially on a lengthy written questionnaire, were irrelevant and didn't even apply to me. As an example, one of the questions was (somewhat paraphrased): "Since my baby was born, I don't have as much time to socialize with my friends" followed by ratings such as "strongly agree/somewhat agree/strongly disagree" etc. Many of the questions were like this, and it was obvious that they were more geared toward a teenaged single mother, and not a late 30's stepfather.

I have five children of my own. I pointed this out to the counselor administering the test, and told her that I was confused about how I was supposed to answer the questions, which were geared toward a single child. The counselor appeared uncertain and checked with the supervisor. I was then told that I should just "average my children out" (as if they are mathematical equations rather than children) when answering the questions. I was left with the feeling that these people were incompetent.

Administratively, dealing with these people was a nightmare as well, especially with scheduling and billing. The office manager, Mark Dranger, was extremely rude and condescending to my wife when she attempted to make payment arrangements. He threatened that she would be found in contempt of court and sent to jail if she didn't pay the fees in full. When she went in to get the final evaluation, Dranger refused to give it to her, stating that nobody was going to get it until all of Choices' fees were paid. (This was after another Choices administrator had accepted payment arrangements on which we were up to date.)

The person in charge of the custody evaluation was Paula Dranger, presumably the wife of Mark. During a court hearing at which Paula was present (via teleconference) the magistrate ordered my wife to attend an evaluation session at Choices the following week. He specifically named the date and time on record, and made sure that all parties had the correct date/time. Despite this, Paula telephoned my wife a few days later, a full week before the ordered date for the session, insisting that the session was "today at noon." Paula threatened that my wife would be found in contempt and that she would receive a negative evaluation if she didn't drop everything and come in. Nevertheless, my wife stood her ground, knowing that she had the correct date written down, and Paula later called back confirming that she had "rescheduled"...to the originally ordered date and time.

Paula also lied to the court under oath, stating that we had only made one payment on my wife's account. We had made multiple payments in keeping with a payment arrangement which we had made, which was fully current as of that date. Paula's report was laden with inconsistencies and nonsensical information. Most notably, the report stated that my wife would benefit from improving her relationship with her father. Her father had been deceased for a full year as of the date of the report.

The report also claimed that my wife's son was afraid of her and didn't like being around her. This is ludicrous and laughable to anyone who knows our family--this child is rarely more than ten feet away from her, she is his Little League coach and constantly spend time together. Understandably, most of Paula's incompetent report was thrown out in court. However, this was after we wasted hundreds of dollars plus numerous trips to their office which is an hour away from us.

Apparently, this counseling service is sometimes ordered by the court. However, for those voluntarily seeking counseling, I'd recommend making other "choices".
by Anonymous
January 05, 2012
They called me to set up court ordered therapy for a relative. When we showed up for the first appointment there seemed to be mass confusion on their part. Scrambling for paperwork, asking me who the therapist was we were to meet with???? Things they should know. There is no signage except for the sign on the front door so the place is hard to find. The waiting room is dark and dreary and reeked of stale cigarette smoke. In just the first two weeks they have called to change appointment times twice. Very unimpressive.
by Anonymous
August 11, 2011
Did this provider ever postpone your appointment?
All the time, and they usually don't notify me until right before my scheduled appointment
Does this provider always put the customer first?
Definitely not. They seem to care more about themselves
Did this psychologist have reasonable prices?
Not at all, they were ridiculous!
Were the waiting room chairs comfortable at this psychologist's office?
They were average
Was this provider's office clean?
It was satisfactory
by Anonymous
August 08, 2011
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Map and Directions
607 Lincolnway, Valparaiso, IN 46383