Hanaa Fam, MD

SAVED ME. My blood-​alcohol was 0.047 (death likely over 04) She looked me straight in my eyes and yelled «YOU ARE VERY, VERY SICK. YOU NEED HELP». I finally understood. The Light went on. I understand why some say she is rude, unprofessional. She can give that first impression or be that way when VERY SICK PEOPLE encounter her no BS style or treat her rudely or expect their chronic lying to fool her. Most of us, freshly checked into the St. Joseph hospital mental lock down ward 5 years ago, were at first terrified of her. I was near literal death from alcoholism. Dr Fam SAVED MY LIFE and subsequently SAVED MY MARRIAGE and then SAVED MY WIFE AND I from the overwhelming, nearly unbearable pain of losing our beautiful 18 year old daughter. Dr Fam is a loving, very caring, and extremely competent psychiatrist. I’ve seen her be tough with people but they deserved and needed it. God worked miracles thru her and saved my life. Literally, she saved my life. If you really want to get well, drop your BS and your ego and do everyything you can to be her patient. And be HONEST with her, it took a while but when I was truly honest with her then she was able to do even better things for me and my family. IGNORE THE ONE AND TWO STARs. Those are sick people not ready to get well. I get that and they are in my prayers. See her immediately if you want to get well.

Most unprofessional Doctor I have ever encountered. Arrived 45 minutes late for our initial appointment, walked in and complained how hot she was, and that maybe it was «from cooking». When I mentioned she was 45 minutes late, she replied «well I am always going to be late I have to cover the hospital» (didn’t she just say she was cooking)? Not even an apology for being late. Then she went on to say «If you’re going to have an issue with my tardiness, you should find another doctor» Wonderful professionalism! NOT ! so I got up and left.

Dr. Fam has been of tremendous value to me and my family. She is the first psychiatrist who really listened to us. She came up with the right medications and programs to really help my daughter and I, and it has made a tremendous improvement in our quality of life. Dr. Fam does not book too many patients, and we never have to wait more than a few minutes to see her, unless she has an emergency at the hospital. Perhaps best of all, she also does some therapy. She spends time talking to us and really listening, and makes recommendations about how we live so we can do better. We saw many psychiatrists in Riverside and Orange counties. She is by far the best.

Dr. Hanna Fam was great. I came to her at a difficult time. She listened to me amd help me very much. I was very impressed with her since the reviews were not that great. I guess it shows people post when they don’t get what they want over being treated with compassion and helped. It is sad a few people don’t get what they want and make a great Dr. like her seem not compassionate or caring. I would make a appointment and make your choice yourself.

Let me start off by saying I’ve read the other negative reviews and I have NEVER experienced anything like that! From my experience Dr. Fam has been my life savior! She truly is an amazing doctor and knows what she is doing! I’ve been a patient for 3 years now and I’m so thankful that I have her as MY doctor! She has completely turned my life around. Dr. Fam. truly cares about her patients and is extremely professional and does not listen to excuses-​she is a No-​Nonsense kinda of doctor and maybe that is why the other reviewers were not happy! She has always been extremely patient with me and always answers my questions! I even bring my brand new baby in with me for my appointments and she completely loves on him. Anyone would be lucky to have her as their doctor.

Literally every bad review you read about this woman is TRUTH. She absolutely has no patience for her patients. If you have any questions about her behaviour, maybe a reason as to why you waited in the lobby for an hour and ten mins when the mother and child with the same appointment time slot as you went in just as soon as they signed in.
Oh, then, after all the waiting in the lobby, a woman barely out of college comes to collect you, and tells you, DOES NOT ASK YOU that she is going to sit in on the appointment.
SO WATCH OUT, when you express your feelings when she asks you how you are, she just might say that you are throwing a temper tantrum, when in actuality, were just merely expressing pure wonder and confusion as to why you had to wait for her, when the mother and child went in so quick. Once you establish that Dr. Hanaa Fam will begin to tell you that you are quick to believing she’s attacking you and therefore prescribe you Lithium and recommend you seek an outpatient intensive care program.
ALL YOU DID WAS QUESTION HER BEHAVIOUR/​HER STAFF’S BEHAVIOUR.
All I wanted was a head’s up, like «hey, just to let you know Dr. Fam needs to make some calls to her other job at the hospital, it’s going to be a little while before she sees you, is that ok? do you need to reschedule?» SOMETHING. ANYTHING!
Dr. Fam told me she works at the hospital and that job was more important then keeping my appointment time, because you know, lives are on the line. Okay. That’s great. My life doesn’t register to her. Just the $$$$$ I’m helping her make… clearly.

Dr. Hanaa Fam MD is one of the most caring Doctors I have ever met. She cares about each patient.
She is classy, and has bright cheery personality.
I am so glad I found her.
She is the best!

Dr. Fam is amazing, she’s caring, and she is a genius with medicine. I’ve been seeing her for a long while now and every visit has been professional. A year ago I might walk into the office and have to wait due to other patients ahead of me. I think the Dr. and front office have scheduled appointments differently now because for the last 6 months I never have had to wait. I expect to every time though because its a Dr’s office and emergencies happen where patients need to come in last minute. Regarding her looking at her cell phone. people…she is an on call emergency psychiatrist for St. Joseph Behavioral Health so of course she needs to check her cell phone. My therapist does the same the same thing in case it’s a patient and it does not bother me because I have had to emergency text her (therapist)myself.
I have been seeing Dr. Fam for a year now and have not ever witnessed her being a «total monster». She has treated me with nothing but kindness and has shown herself to be the caring Dr. she is. 5 stars from me.

I hate leaving a bad review because I have no intention of being rude but I just felt this was necessary.
First of all, good luck ever getting a hold of an actual human on the phone. In the numerous time I’ve attempted to call the office, I only ever got through one time. Leaving messages doesn’t make much of a difference, though. I needed to reschedule a follow up appointment and I left a clear voicemail with my name and phone number. This was Wednesday of last week and I still haven’t heard back, 6 days later. Clients are clearly not the first priority in this office.
I would watch what I say to and around the staff and Dr. Fam unless you want to be talked about the second you’re out of sight, as in the time I had to wait to finally get called back, the staff constantly gossiped about and made fun of clients. This place is so unprofessional, and for a doctor that specializes in mental health, treating your vulnerable patients like middle schoolers is a sure way to be out of a job.
My experience with Dr. Fam herself was generally poor. When her staff told me she was ready to see me, they didn’t even tell me what door her office was. When I asked, the man working made a joke then told me where to go. When I arrived, I knocked on the door then stepped in. She didn’t even look up from her desk to acknowledge me, she just told me to «have a seat» and I had to awkwardly sit there while she finished whatever she was doing. I can’t gripe too much on the condition of a person’s office, especially a doctor’s, but it looked like a tornado ran through it. I have been to my fair share of psychiatrists and her office was far from the calming nature I have come to expect from someone working with mental health patients. I know this may sound petty but when I see my psychiatrist I want to feel calm and comfortable. I felt the opposite in her office. The only positive-​ish thing I can say is that she seemed to be somewhat interested in my life, why I had moved to California, etc. Unfortunately, this is about all of the good that came from my visit (with the exception of getting my meds) and is not enough for me to return.
I won’t be back, and I am on the lookout for a much more professional physician, staff, and environment for my future needs… which shouldn’t be too hard.

I have been searching for help for my daughter for her nausea problems for 3 years. We have been through the ringer with many, many tests from the Gastro docs. Nothing came of them. We found Doctor Fam! She is confident, knows her stuff and finally my daughter has the help she needed all along. Anxiety is her issue and Dr Fam was direct, to the point, doesn’t sugar coat anything. I highly reccomend her! Dr Fam may come across a bit cold at first, but she hugs my daughter so tight I think she is going to burst! It is worth working with this lady, love her! My family is changed forever!

She gave me the new patient paperwork at 1:20. She didn’t introduce herself. I thought she was the receptionist. She went into the back office, where I could hear every word — sounded like a coffee chat. I was alone there with my 14 yr old son. The forms were weird, and I had a question. I said «Excuse me» and her assistant came out. She didn’t clarify the forms. It was 1:45. She disappeared into the room again. It 2:05 I went back to the closed door. I could still hear laughter and it sounded like lunch. I tapped on the door since I still thought the receptionist and the assistant were chatting. The doctor will see you shortly! A few minutes later out came the Dr, who said — «I don’t think this office is going to work for you. You will be waiting, many times past your appointment time, and nobody will be here to answer your questions.» «But when you set an appointment, isn’t that a set time?» «Not always.“But you’re on my insurance list — and you’re one of the only ones» «That’s right — we don’t have the funds to hire a support staff.» «But I did talk to a receptionist on the phone and she thought you’d be a good match for my son. «The patient is never a problem, patients are a piece of cake. It’s the parents we have to work with that are the problem.» «So you won’t see my son?» «No we won’t.»
She has my cc# and my $ 20 check. as well as a bunch of signed documents. I went back to get them, but she wasn’t there, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. I won’t go back there. I filed a grievance with the insurance company.

My appointment was at 1:45 and I was there 15 minutes early. I filled out paper work, then realized it was 1:50 and Dr. Fam was reading her mail at the receptionist desk and gossiping about clients with the receptionist. She went back to her office shortly after and the receptionist said Dr. Fam was ready for me and to take a seat inside her office. So I did. I wasn’t acknowledged by Dr. Fam until she looked up from her paperwork (that had nothing to do with me) for a few minutes. She then started asking me questions, then her cell phone rang and she answered it and talked for a bit. RUDE. She insincerely apologized and said it was a personal issue. She acted like it was no big deal that she had just answered her phone and talked for a while in front of me. She upped the dosage of something I was already on, which is fine. Then she prescribed me something else and didn’t explain it. I felt too uncomfortable to ask questions about it. I understand that psychiatrists are not therapists, but I did not feel like Dr. Fam cared about my well being at all. I will not be back and I will make sure people know about my experience.

Dr. Fam is an excellent physician. She takes the time to get to know you and listens with her ears and heart. I’m impressed with her staff, their kindness and professionalism. I highly recommend her if you are looking for a physician who is straight forward and puts her patients first. I’m a nurse and have very high expectations of the physicians I see personally, she is the best!

Dr. Fam and her staff have, without a doubt, manifested the absolute worst psychiatric service I’ve ever had the misfortune to encounter in my 28 years on this planet.
Here is what you can expect visiting Dr. Fam:
1) You WILL personally witness her be a total monster to some of the most vulnerable people looking for her help.
Now you might say. «Oh but every doctor has a bad day, right?». For this office, every day is a bad day.
2) Eventually, YOU will be treated like a subhuman by her or her staff.
I had originally gone to Dr. Fam because she has a reputation for being a hard ass with medication. Being conservative with medication lead me to seek out this quality in my research.
If you’re looking at Dr. Fam in this light, RUN. She is detached, inaccessible, and just a plain old mean person.
The straw that broke the camel’s back:
Upon my last visit, I needed 3 prescription refills from the doctor. Upon leaving and heading to the pharmacy, it was clear that she had only refilled 1 of my 3 meds. Being understanding, I went back to Dr. Fam’s office and was told that she WOULD NOT refill my other prescriptions without an appointment. Even though it was clearly not my fault, as it is the doctor’s responsibility to manage patient’s medication, I had to pay another copay to see the doctor.
So, I go in and speak to Dr. Fam. She never apologizes or admits her mistake and sends me on my way with my refills. Despite the atrocious customer service, I decide to get the meds I need and ignore this little hiccup in the history I’ve had with this doctor.
Until I reach the pharmacy…
See, she only refilled 2 of my 3 prescriptions even though I went to her TWICE within a week.
So, going back to Dr. Fam’s, I pointed out these mistakes and, you guessed it, I was told that I had to make another appointment to get my third prescription filled. Which means, of course, another copay and another awkward sit down with Dr. Fam where she tries to convince me that this is all not her fault.
NO THANKS.
Do yourself a favor. There are a TON of great doctor’s in Orange County. In fact, every doctor I’ve seen cringes when they saw I was being treated by Dr. Fam. She has an even worse reputation amongst her colleagues.
Get with the millennium Dr. Fam. You’re in a world where customer service is paramount and your pill pushing, bank account padding game doesn’t belong here and hurts people.
Bottom line. If you want to be treated like absolute crap while being told you’re getting top-​notch care, go to Dr. Fam.

Stay away from this woman! She was recommended by Windstone Behavioral Health, which is itself a company built on incompetence and the abuse of people with mental health conditions. I made an appointment with her and when I showed up I was told she was at a conference. They failed to call me. It took me two more weeks to get an appointment and I was almost out of my medications, so I arrived early for my appointment. She walked out another patient and since I was the only one in the waiting room I thought I would be seeing her soon. An hour went by and when I asked the receptionist, it appears Dr. Famm forgot I was therre. I started talking with her and everything seemed fine. I was sitting with my hands in my lap and telling her how I was feeling anxious and vulnerable, like after I was mugged, and so I was again carrying peper spary in my purse. She ran out of the room. I was still sitting wih my hands in my lap when she yelled from the other room to leave at once or she would call the police. I came out and asked her what was wrong. I told her because of the delays I was almost out of my medications and needed my prescriptions. She just cowed behind the receptionists desk and kept yelling that if I didn’t leave immediately she would call the police. This was the professional psychiatrist that was recommended to help me with my problems.

I did not like the way you tragastes me… I thought habían hone with professional but only Found with rude doctor with litlle ethic… had no control of herself hosting litlle educación, vocación and prudence his Word and attitued were out of context during the consultation
In frint of the child.
Is superpoder to be she who must explain my concerns to my son and she just limited say that «only to recipes» then i asked him if he right doctor… she was engared and i ran.

We whent to this doctor and we had many questions about my kid. The first thing what she answered «im just a doctor im not a therapist im not play this game“she close her book make a call and then a security guy came and ran us whit out warning she make me felt like a felon beside my kids is so sad go whit the people who supposedly is a «profesional «and she never hear what we saying
We just need help to my kid we not trying to make any sue
I hope she read this and change her mind
Good bless

Dr Fam is a great dr that listens and is honest with you. She has helped me find me. Ann up front is great too!

Dr. Fam is a very good doctor and I would recommend her to anyone needing a straightforward, no-​nonsense physician to help them with their problem. I have seen my fair share of doctors and Dr. Fam is by far the best. I say this as an RN and mother of a child who has depression and ADHD. The only thing that is not ideal is that it’s difficult to get in when you have an urgent (not emergency) change in circumstances. This may be due to how busy and booked her office is.
Whether it’s myself, my child, my mother, a friend, or a stranger I would feel confident entrusting her with their care.