Excellent. She is a loose cannon and I have seen the end result in her patients misdiagnosis and too quick to prescribe medication with serious did effects but turns a blind eye Forget the staff ...lazy just like to look at online shopping, gossip on the unit any idiot could do their job takes no talent
Posted Date : 06/07/2016
To the prior reviewer who works with Dr. Kathy Fitch. 1.) Dr. Kathy Fitch is not the only, “professional,” that is guilty of unethical behavior, lawbreaking and malpractice in the Alberta Health Services, Sheldon Chumir DBT Program. 2.) You are a friend and a colleague to Dr. Kathy Fitch, therefore, your review is BIASED and a CONFLICT OF INTEREST and thus, IS NOT an accurate picture of her. 3.) Suggesting that prior reviews, (particularly the negative ones) display an inaccurate picture of Dr. Kathy Fitch, is both ignorant and stigmatizing to all mental health sufferers and is a prime example why unethical and illegal behavior continues to happen in the healthcare industry. How dare you invalidate their experience! You are in effect stating that healthcare professionals NEVER do unethical things because: ‘you know they just won’t…’ How sad. Considering that you are a mental healthcare professional, especially one that works alongside Dr. Kathy Fitch, it baffles me that you would blindly state that these reviews are inaccurate simply because you know and work alongside Dr. Kathy Fitch. Patients have killed themselves because of filth like this; can you not empathize with that? Isn’t the motto of Health Services to, “Do the right thing, not the easy thing?” Tell me, how are you doing the right thing by turning a blind eye and allowing this to continue happening? I do believe having knowledge like this and choosing to remain silent is in-itself, a form of unethical behavior; which you are clearly willing to do. Of course Dr. Kathy Fitch wouldn’t show this side of her to you! It’s the same tactic that priests have used for years: no one ever suspects that they would do such horrible things; which, unfortunately: is why it continues to happen. NO ACCOUNTABILITY. IF you haven’t noticed, there is more than one reviewer that mentioned ‘no accountability.’ Perhaps you should STOP and listen. 4.) Given that you work alongside these lawbreakers, perhaps you should remove yourself from your thick bias and look at the stats in your profession. (And you can add to those numbers because not everyone is honest or reports unethical behavior). The ratio of patients that Dr. Kathy Fitch sees, compared to the number of reviews made on this website is not out of the ordinary; considering people who typically make reviews are either motivated by positive or negative experiences. Obviously there are a growing number of people who have had a negative experience at the hands of this particular psychiatrist, in this particular program, at this particular hospital; so the content of the reviews makes sense. Instead of invalidation the reviews, I would suggest that you support an open platform such as this, so that people will come forward and not be threatened into silence. The only way a healthcare system improves is if you listen and learn from the negative experiences. Do not DARE silence them! If anything, you should support and go out looking for them with the intent to provide an opportunity to speak up! This is a topic that needs spotlight and believe me: people are beginning to catch on. You guys have been getting away with lack of accountability for FAR too long and now that you have a long list of victims and survivors saying the same thing, you are confronted with a very serious problem. You should have done a pros and cons list. 5.) Other reviewers below yours wrote and alluded to the fact that healthcare professionals protect one another. Your post, if anything, is proof of that. Everyone knows that union members band up against whistleblowers, in this case mental health sufferers because they are extremely vulnerable and easily manipulated and thus, are easy targets and experience unethical behavior the most. In saying this, is it really any surprise that so many sufferers make claims against clinicians? All a healthcare professional has to do in order to get away with unethical behavior is alter documentation, or claim the patient is crazy, lying, paranoid, has a bad memory, or intentionally misdiagnose them with something that would fit creatively inside an ideal defense package in a court of law. The healthcare system has the best lawyers there are and they protect employees, even if and when they are found guilty within the system. Patients stand no chance. It is absolutely disgusting! This stuff happens on a regular basis and your secrets are out. Mass corruption and unethical malpractice happens all the time and no one hears about it because they cover it up! Look up stats for accidental deaths and malpractice! The numbers are astounding! And how many professionals get in trouble? 6.) ADVICE TO ALL FUTURE PATIENTS OF HEALTHCARE: ORDER YOUR HEALTH RECORDS AND DO NOT TELL ANYONE, otherwise they WILL CHANGE and ALTER them. There is a reason it takes a minimum 30 days to get health records… 7.) This is my second review so I have neutralized ratings.
Posted Date : 28/05/2016
I am very surprised to see the negative reviews for Dr. Fitch on this site.! I am a nurse/therapist and have worked with Dr. Fitch for about 3 years. I would, without hesitation, send a friend or family member to her. I have experienced her to be very caring and competent - often going above and beyond for her patients. I do hope that if you are reading these reviews before seeing Dr. Fitch that you take them with a grain of salt. I also hope that you take a moment to come back to post your review once you've met with her! I don't believe that the reviews below provide a fair or accurate picture of Dr. Fitch.
Posted Date : 26/05/2016
I have never been more appalled by a physician's conduct in my life. Her mentality is so antiquated I'm stunned she's not performing lobotomies out of her office and chaining patients to their beds. Her solution to everything is to write a prescription - she has no regard to what her patients really need or want. I would rather see a over-confident freshman psych student than ever see her again. She's not only the worst psychiatrist I've ever encountered but the worst physician. I wouldn't send my worst enemy to her, this woman is a moron.
Posted Date : 22/04/2016
I don't understand the comments below about Dr. Fitch. She is an amazing doctor and a wonderful person. She truly cares about her patients and only wants the best for them. I have been seeing her for a few years now, as both an inpatient and an outpatient and I have never known her to be anything but kind, caring and supportive in a very professional and empathetic way. She will encourage psychotherapy rather than medications, unless of course she thinks you need the medications based on her careful assessment of you. She is very thoughtful and will give each of her patients as much time as is needed. The only time I have felt her to be rushed was when she had another appointment or meeting to get to and I certainly don't fault her for that. Dr. Fitch is a very respectful physician and she would never compromise her professional code of conduct and her oath. How anyone can assert that Dr. Fitch is responsible for their wanting to suicide is absurd - as someone who has been very suicidal I can vouch that reasons for wanting to kill oneself would never be caused by a doctor. These are deep rooted behaviors and emotional responses to much more complex issues than the way a doctor treats a person. I have seen far too many psychiatrists in Calgary and I can assure you Dr. Fitch is one of the best if you truly want to get well.
Posted Date : 14/04/2016
Anonymous
Dr. Fitch is a wonderful psychiatrist who treats all of her patients with respect and compassion. She truly cares about you as a person and helps you reach your potential by teaching you skills that work, and relying less on pills. She is very supportive of her DBT clinic patients and is full of encouragement as you travel on your journey to recovery. If you have the opportunity to have her take care of you, consider yourself very lucky.
Anonymous
She is an amazing psychiatrist. She won’t medicate you if you really don’t need it. Instead she uses psychotherapy. She is compassionate, kind and caring. Too bad she is going on another maternity leave (although a good happening for her personally).
Anonymous
I’m so happy to here that other people were in the DBT program and had problems. I was there for several months until I couldn’t take the abusive behaviour from the Therapist anymore. All DBT does is give therapists permission to be abusive towards their clients which isn’t allowed in any other therapy. I know this is allowed and intentional because I have a friend who is now a therapist in the DBT at Sheldon Chumir! So you’re secrets are out. I won’t be going back ever as I actually have self respect and have learned through traditionally therapy at a different centre that I have to stand up for myself and don’t have to tolerate further abuse from my family or the DBT program. What a joke Alberta health is….
Anonymous
I saw Dr. Fitch while in DBT. She tends to treat you like you are not capable of thinking for yourself, although she does take time to see her patients. I doubt that it is ethical to let a suicidal person leave a clinic who has clear intention of going through with it. She said well I am not sure what to do with that, and the next day I followed through and entered the hospital in a comatose state. Psychiatrists are never held accountable for their actions, while it is clearly always the patients fault (because they are “mentally ill”.) if something happens to them. Twice I was discharged from the DBT program, they do not like it if you question anything about the program, they want to make you into a clone of DBT. I was always dismissed if I asked question especially in group sessions. I tried to commit suicide 8 times before I was hospitalized by Dr. Fitch because my therapist told her that if we don’t help X she will be dead within a week. Please inform yourself, knowledge is power!
Anonymous
Ive been a long time patient of Dr. Fitch in various capacities. I agree that there can be times that Dr. Fitch presents with challenging information but Ive known her long enough now to know this is because she genuinely wants to see the best for you and to thrive instead of just surviving. Overall, she is very compassionate, kind, considerate of input, open to dialogue about concerns you may have and is a wealth of information regarding different psychological approaches and providing helpful explanations on her perspectives. I have felt the full spectrum of emotions under Dr. Fitchs care and the one thing I can attest is despite choppy waters and difficulties experienced, she has helped progress the hard work I have had to do in my mental health process.