Dallas Whole Life Counseling

Reviews 4

JO

Josh Cantrell

Unfortunately, I had a bad experience with James Robbins (though, in fairness, not completely). I understand he comes across as really friendly, because he started out friendly with me. About 4 or 5 weeks into our sessions (April 15) his demeanor COMPLETELY changed and I did not feel that his head was in the game with me afterward. Literally the last thing he said to me at our last session (although it didnt become our last session until he said this): "I dont care if youre in therapy or not. It doesnt matter at all to me." Those were his words to my face that I would attest to under oath. And, no, they were not friendly or "professional detachment"- it felt to me as if there was a genuine, personal contempt virtually dripping from his voice. I had finally begun to suspect that, rather than just having "tough sessions", he and I were not a good therapeutic fit for a couple of weeks, but he was so BLATANT and such a A-HOLE (IMO) all at once that I almost couldnt believe it. It was like he had been hiding a completly different person underneath that "friendly" exterior. I worked with him for about 10 weeks or so and I would guess he was at least 10 minutes late for our 11 AM sessions 6 or 7 times... and, to be fair, he was late a couple of times because his session with a client before me ran over, which is totally fine- we all need a couple of extra minutes sometimes. But usually I was his first appointment of the day and he was just late and unprepared. He had a habit of giving me assignments to work on during the time between our sessions, but when the time came at the following session to go over the work, he would have either forgotten about it (Pro Tip: thats why we invented pen and paper) or it wasnt important anymore (and not in the "it was just important for YOU to go through the exercise, we dont need to discuss"- it was generally an off-handed, "oh, yeah, thats right. oh well, we dont need to go over that"). For all of the sparkling marketing Mr. Robbins does for himself, he seemed to me unable to adjust his approach to "meet his clients at who they are", or however it is phrased on his website. I had put myself in his hands and had followed his lead for several weeks, but didnt feel like he was hitting the correct issues. I figured that, if Im seeking therapy, I might not be able to see myself accurately from the outside and so I truly tried to listen to and internalize what he was saying. His basic counsel seemed to consist of "tough love" and "telling it like it is" (which isnt a particularly artful method of therapy, but it seemed thats basically what hes capable of) and I genuinely, truly tried to accept what he was saying. When I realized that, no, he really is missing the mark pretty completely I told him (as constructively as I could) that he should maybe try a different approach, his body language became VERY tense and he seemed (i.e. was) EXTREMELY put off. The vibe I got was "how dare you tell me my business." Thats when he gave me the dressing down that ended with "I dont care if youre in therapy or not" and we ended our sessions. Look, he did SOME good for me- and Ill break my own HIPAA confidentiality here- he did get me to someone who finally (after decades of living with it) diagnosed me as ADHD. Having that issue treated has been invaluable for me and I truly appreciate that Mr. Robbins was able to see that and direct me to the correct parties for treatment. But a lifetime of dealing with significant untreated ADHD can leave some pretty serious emotional destruction, and simply reaching the correct diagnosis and getting on the correct medications is only half the battle. The part that I was counting on Mr. Robbins for: helping to get on top of all of the anger, the hurt, the destroyed relationships and the parts of your life that you cant get back, he basically told me "I dont care if youre in therapy or not" I do not recommend Mr. Robbins.

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ED

Ed Howland

Leslie is the fourth counselor in my life and, without a doubt, the most effective, having great insight and ability to help me let the words come out. My previous therapists, while I appreciate their intent and concern, just couldn’t get beneath the surface where healing could begin because I couldn’t reveal all of my internal struggles. Leslie has been very successful in helping me with this and in addressing them. Please don’t dismiss my high regard for her based on my not having a lot to say about my previous therapists. I’m sure each has had extensive training and experience but we just didn’t click and, as I have discovered, that makes a world of difference. Please also don’t think it was a walk in the park for either of us. Although we were able to break the ice much faster than with any other therapist I had so much buried at various levels of shame, embarrassment, paranoia, fear, and negative self-thinking that it took me a while to open the door all the way and let her in. Once inside though she helped me find my way around and realize much of what I thought was mean or scary in the dark was really pretty harmless in the light. I am grateful to her for opening the windows that she has and appreciate that she’s here to help me with the rest. Leslie is a very smart, insightful, genuine, and charismatic guide for the soul.

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Sarah Howard

I had a very bad experience with James Robbins. He was friendly and seemed eager to assist my husband and I during our first few counseling sessions. After a few weeks he decided to give me a mental illness diagnosis (he is not a doctor), and also proceeded to tell me information about the medication I was taking (advice on how to take it, when to take it etc.) again, he is not a doctor. As if that isnt bad enough he also told me that "I wasnt old enough to have had a long term relationship." I am not sure where he feels he has the authority on what constitutes a long term relationship or not? Needless to say his belittling comments were unnecessary and caused a great deal of contention during our counseling session and after between myself and my husband. I felt as if he was not professional in the sense that he basically took my husbands "side" if you will instead of maintaining neutral as a good therapist should and help us to see the truth of our situation. His true colors started to show after a while and he was not a nice person nor an effective therapist. I cannot and would not recommend him. As a therapist his number one priority is to "do no harm", he made an already tough situation between my husband and myself even worse after our final session. Stay away.

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Collette Crow

It was a blessing I found Steve Reedy at Dallas Whole Life. Sometimes its difficult to find a good fit. You have to trust them, open up, be vulnerable and I was excited to think I found a match were somone could help me. I cried almost our entire sessions, but he was kind, stern and really cared. Steve change the direction of my life for the better. I was a mess. Unemployed, in sad marriage, lonely and depressed. All I would do was cry. Steve made be realize I deserved more, I was strong, and I didnt lose the happy true me like I thought I did. Now Im blessed, getting job offers, using all the tools Steve taught me, even when I didnt like learning what he was showing me was truly real, its what I so needed to hear. Thank you for the fresh start and your impactful advice. You have great intuition. I recommend seeing Steve since he sees the world as simple and how to ride the craZy roller coaster at the same time. I just wanted to say thank you Steve and Im a kinder person, know my worth and breathe easier! No more tears- ok not very often at all ;).

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