Steven Ciric M.D.

Mental health: Buyer beware:
I reached out to Dr. Ciric at the time when I was really struggling emotionally and wanted to perhaps discuss altering my med dosage that he had prescribed.
I came in very late for my appointment, about 30 min — I fell asleep by accident. Dr. Ciric was noticeably annoyed with me. I apologized profusely. He had been aware I had some kid of emotional crisis because I had called to reschedule our appointment for much more immediate time slot and he also had spoken to my therapist to get a general picture of my recent challenges.
He then told me because i was so late, we only have about 10 minutes to talk. I felt very guilty, apologized yet again and suggested we move it to another time then. He insisted we should just talk now. I had trouble focusing at this moment, couldn’t look him in the eyes, when he was asking what’s wrong with me and what I was feeling. I froze, I have difficulty dealing with shame or disapproval and I felt a lot of it in the office at the moment.
Dr. Ciric then said that if I don’t answer he could not help me. He was questioning me on the events of the past couple of weeks that were particularly difficult for me to cope with. «Why can’t you answer — these are very basic questions?»
At this point I tried to pull myself together as much as I could to say that I feel ashamed for coming late. I feel rushed and it’s difficult for me in this moment to start sharing and to tap into very painful moments that brought me here.
At this point I was so tense I started crying and feeling even more ashamed over this. Dr. Ciric then asked me «well, what happened then? why were you late?» Then still trying to continue this «session», he asked me whether I had felt suicidal lately. I said I think so. He demanded to specify if it was Yes or No. And still trying to suppress the tears, very unsuccessfully, I said that I don’t remember — that it was just thoughts of death and not wanting to live. Like right now.
The final moments of this encounter were somewhat of a blur to me. I remember scheduling a phone conversation with him for next morning and getting out of the office in a hurry.
Im glad it was dark outside and raining so no one could see a grown 39 year old man walking on the street crying. Then I stood at the corner not knowing what to do next. I wanted to calm down before getting on the subway. I didn’t want to take a cab — it’s a bit too expensive to go to queens from Union Sq. especially for an unemployed guy. So i took a train ride — it was pretty painful too, because I did not know where to put my face. If I ever felt like I don’t want to be physically present in this world anymore was this moment.
I still feel a bit raw today after this episode and my intention is not to be vindictive and damage Mr. Ciric’s business at all. He’s very knowledgeable about medications. But I do want to reach out to those many who seek or consider seeking emotional /​mental help. Please just don’t be too naïve and trusting when you are going to see a specialist. It’s still a business. If you outsource your moment of emotional crisis and it’s mishandled — the consequences can be much more drastic than poor service at a restaurant.
I myself have always had really difficult time asking for help or accepting help. Emotional help in particular. It took me some time of therapy to tap into this vulnerable area of myself and become capable of allowing another human being into this. I just realized that this too can be reckless — and that the sense of safety could be just that — a sense.