The Genen Group

They overcharge, charge you large fees for menial things like paperwork. All this clinic cares about is their bottom line. I would not recommend.

Here is a long overdue review of the doctors at The Genen Group. From the first psychiatrist, Dr. Schwartz, to the second, Dr. Handy, (I left for a little while for personal reasons) and my psychologist, Dr, Armstrong, I’ve been treated with the utmost professionalism. These are endlessly knowledgeable doctors in their field. My life has changed for the best with the combination of an excellent psychiatrist and psychologist. I see them as an all inclusive and exclusive team working for me. I have multiple issues and with the meds prescribed and the conversations with my therapist my issues are less prominent in my life and I can focus on living! They have always been inviting and approachable and never intimidating. So along with the kind, friendly and attentive front office staff (Steven, Joshua and Jose), the calming atmosphere and the brilliant doctors I can say for the first time, «Matthew is doing okay!» Thanks kindly everyone at The Genen Group!

They sent me an email trying to bribe me for $ 100 if removed my negative review. If this isn’t proof that these people are shady, I don’t know what it is. They should be checked out by the authorities.

Worst service I’ve ever received. Shame on the office staff (Jenna, specifically) for refusing to allow me to be seen for a scheduled appointment.
I used my Employee Assistance Program to locate this group of providers, and through that program was to be able to be seen without copay for three visits at this practice. I arrived 15 minutes early and had all the necessary information taken care of, as I’d been working on the phone and via email to coordinate details with the scheduling area.
After I was completely checked in, Jenna very coldly relayed that she would be cancelling my appointment, as I did not bring a credit card with me, and they wanted to have my account information on file (for an appointment that did not have a copay). I was not told ahead of time to bring a card with me by scheduling staff, and Jenna decided to use a very loosely worded policy (one buried in an 8-​page document) as an excuse to refuse care to me and told me to leave the premise. The only alternative she had offered was to have me contact friends/​family to divulge my personal information about being seen at a psychologist’s office and to have that person provide their credit card information. Ridiculous!
It was one of the most disgusting and shameful interactions that I’ve had with a medical provider. I have several calls into the EAP provider and my employee benefit team to relay this terrible experience.
UPDATE: Regarding Lawrence G.‘s comment, I at no point threatened physical violence against any member of the team. I asked to speak with someone else in the facility, at which point I was told to leave. The fact that you would be willing to falsify such a statement emphasizes even further the terrible experience I had at the Genen Group.
I also recently received an monetary offer by The Genen Group to remove this review. I declined out of good conscience. In my opinion, a group with leadership (Lawrence G.) that posts a libelous, false personal attack in a comment but then turns around and tries to bribe with $ 100 to keep my experience private is not a group that I would recommend to anyone for anything, especially regarding behavioral health.

Morally corrupt is still the best phrase to describe this practice. Nearly 6 months after my negative review I received an email from the Genen Group offering to pay me to remove my negative review. They said if I’d sign a legal document saying I’d never write another negative review about the company and removed my current one, they’d pay me $ 100 (the amount I believe was unfairly charged to me). At this point, Genen Group, I don’t want a resolution that violates Unilocal’s Terms and Conditions.
Although my previous review was negative, I think it was pretty logical. I said that I disagree with their practices and would not be returning because of that. Their policy was not normal by any stretch (I’ve seen plenty of doctors in plenty of states). Additionally, they do not care that they are dealing with patients that already have trouble. The patients are coming in hoping for a safe place — not a place they’re going to have to fight with billing and «customer relations» every time. It’s frankly just disturbing to me that people running a practice that needs to care about patients cares so little about their patients and so much about money.
Now we are in a situation where they are directly violating Unilocal’s Terms and Conditions. Unfortunately, they emailed a person who cares more about helping others than taking money… So please consider my review when making a decision. I feel strongly enough about their abysmal customer service that I chose to follow Unilocal’s Terms and Conditions and not accept the $ 100 to let others know what they’re dealing with at the Genen Group. My hope is that the owner’s heart changes to care more about the people that walk through the door and the fact they’re struggling than the money. For now, though, do yourself a favor and find another practice. It’s not worth your mental health to have to deal with difficult people at a place you go to be safe and get help.
Side note — Dr. Cassmassi is no longer with the practice. I really liked him a lot! If you like him go find him at whatever (better) practice he’s at.
Update: Genen Group — its not «good faith» when it violates Unilocal’s rules. Good faith would be offering the money regardless of whether or not I sign a legal document saying that I will not post negative reviews. But it’s irrelevant because I don’t want your money. What I want is for your customer service to be so incredible that no one else has such experiences with you. That their mental health is put first — not their money.

*** Update ***
Immediately after posting my original review I received a call from someone at the front desk named Jose who was very helpful and fixed the issue I was having regarding my prescription. Original review was 1 star… updating to 3 for now & if this service is consistent going forward will update again in the future accordingly.
*** Original Review ***
I was initially impressed but soon noticed that the Genen Group, like much of Hollywood, only was pretty from the outside. After my 1^st time here, I switched back to my existing doctor due to not being able to reach anyone from the Genen Group over the phone. I reluctantly decided to give them another try recently due to long wait times at my current doctor’s offices… it seems like things have gotten worse… (truncated remainder of original review)

Today i was visiting doctor McNamara fot the first time. I had a great experience with the doctor. I will definitely go back. I suggest everybody to give it a try.

BEWARE SCAM!
This company is a scam. DO NOT GO HERE!
Make sure your money is spent on doctors who care about the well-​being of your health and do not charge your card hundreds of dollars AFTER you have paid your co pay.
BEWARE! You will get screwed if you go here. BAD.

HORRIBLE BUSINESS, do NOT waste your money.
The doctor evaluated me, I told her of my ptsd, anxiety and depression. She refused to give me a note so I could live with my service dog. She didn’t care about me at all. Now I am stuck living in my car and cannot get in my apt.

Whilst I generally shy away from social media and online reviews, I feel compelled to write one here. The medical care that I received at The Genen Group was – without exception – the best that I have ever received. I shall now detail just why this is the case.
Psychiatrist Dr. Holly Nichole Schwartz is an incredible doctor. She is thorough, kind, and conscientious. I presented myself with trauma-​related symptoms after having been in a difficult relationship; Dr. Schwartz knew exactly what to do, and managed to help me find relief.
The first matters that stood out for me were both the zero wait time, and indeed the non-​rushed nature of the appointments themselves. All of my weekly appointments with her over a period of three months were punctual. Indeed, Dr. Schwartz also made herself available for email contact, being ever-​quick to respond to and address my needs. Through being treated by her, I encountered a class of healthcare that will now serve as my normative standard into the future. As I am moving to London soon, it is my hope that I can find a doctor as good as her whilst there.
The gentlemen and ladies at the front desk are pleasant and courteous. I must admit that when I was ill I found navigating through their appointment system a bit intimidating, such that I originally cancelled my first appointment. I note that other Unilocal reviewers are complaining about the business practices of The Genen Group; however, if the simple contractual requirements of the practice are respected, then there is no cause for complaint. I am therefore not critical of their practices in relation to no-​shows or late arrivals; indeed, the practitioners at The Genen Group do everything on their end, as mentioned before, to be punctual in an absolute sense, and so patients should also make a similar effort.
The only critique I have is in relation to their psychotherapeutic services, with sessions only being 40 minutes long. I do not think that this is a good practice, and it is my suggestion that sessions be extended to 50 minutes at least. Nonetheless, I saw Dr. Vale twice a week in the capacity of psychologist, with her compassionate approach being exactly what I needed during that time.
In sum, I highly recommend The Genen Group and unhesitatingly vouch for the competence, skill, kindness and therapeutic sophistication of Dr. Schwartz.

My experience here made me legitimately ask myself the question — which is worse for my mental health? Not seeing a therapist, receiving treatment or medication, or dealing with disgusting corporations?
Which conclusion did I come to? Well let’s just say that my depression doesn’t get any better when my therapist’s office takes $ 360 dollars out of my account because of an insurance issue. I’m now out half my rent, and can’t get a single motherfucker on the phone. I want nothing more to do with them.

Never Again.
I use to go here when Dr. Hoffman worked here. He was absolutely wonderful!
However, the front desk was always useless. They’re always texting or chatting online when I show up and have no idea what’s going on. Once Dr. Hoffman left, I was passed on to this super judgmental woman who I knew I would never return to.
That was a year ago. They are still calling me about claims I paid and have records for. An advocate was extremely rude on the phone when she went about it today. When I mentioned they had the wrong address for me she snapped at me and blamed me. She wouldn’t even work with me to figure out where the money I paid to Genen Group went. She just threatened that if I didn’t pay in 48 hours she would send it to collections. Demanding that I simply pay without understanding what was going on with where it was going.
Don’t loose your money.
***UPDATE
These insurance claims are from 2÷13÷15 and 3/30/15…MORE than a year ago, so already his argument is invalid.
His condescending reaction in communications should tell you how this company treats its patients. I really wish I had read the reviews.
***2^nd UPDATE
After writing an insanely long reply tearing at me and other past patients, he deleted it (probably realizing how unprofessional and out of touch it was).
He then blew off my 2ND email requesting my information regarding my insurance claims saying, ‘he already reviewed all info’ and ‘wished me well’. Still without any information as to my own account, still expected to pay without knowing why, with their threat of collections still hanging over me.
I’ve talked to my insurance and they can only find one claim at $ 27. I’ll happily pay that, but the Genen group says I owe more but won’t give me info…
Because of the poor practice behavior and condescending remarks made by Genen in all his correspondence, I was advised to simply try to work things out with the payment team instead… Still waiting for a reply from them but at least I’m not in a pissing match with a doctor who has problems of his own.
Like I said… I really wish I had the reviews.

It is so hard to find a good doctor. And one who takes insurance at that. The Genen group is wonderful. The doctors are great and the staff’s friendly and accommodating.

This review is not based off my therapist, who is fabulous, but more the administrative side of The Genen Group.
My husband I found the Genen Group through his insurance, as we were wanting marriage therapy. After what seemed like us jumping through some hoops (misinformation, multiple phone calls, etc.), we were finally able to get our appointment scheduled for our first session. On the day of our appointment, we were contacted by the office saying that they were cancelling due to the therapist was sick. I get it, things happen, but I had taken the day off work and adjusted my schedule to attend this appointment. Not only that, but if I were to cancel less than 24 hours out, I would be charged like $ 100. So fast forward to our NEXT scheduled appointment, and what do you know?! Same day cancellation AGAIN! As you can imagine, we are pissed by this time. This was not a hair appointment, this is for therapy, and clearly I have stuff going on that I need to talk about! They were able to schedule us for a different therapist at a later date, obviously one that is more reliable, but without an option for weekly sessions, due to her schedule. As stated in the beginning of my review, I really, really, really like our therapist, and would give her 5 stars for sure.
I just feel that overall, The Genen Group could be more organized and be more customer service oriented. For example, I just received an email from them asking me to complete an online registration, which is something I did before they would even schedule us for our first appointment.

Im really glad i found The Genen Group. They accept my Anthem insurance which i was really excited about. I was set up with Dr. McNamara as my therapist and man! She really puts things in perspective for me in really helping me with my anxiety and depression. My care coordinator Jose really was able to put me with the right therapist all by simply talking to me over the phone and helping me register. I cant really say enough about the front desk staff. Josh and Steven really greet you with a heartwarming hello and smile. Its like a family here at the Genen Group. I really enjoy and look forward coming to my appointments every week here! I recommend it here!

Great office atmosphere and friendly front desk staff! They also handle the insurance process very smoothly which is nice, as that can often be the worst part to deal with. Also they are close to my apartment, so bonus!

Have been having a great experience with The Genen Group. Dr. McNamara is fantastic and straightforward! The front desk is helpful and courteous.

I’ve been going to the Genen Group for a little less than a year. I am happy with the care I receive, but I have a lot of trouble keeping appointments and refills in order. I would appreciate a little more attention and help from the reception staff.
That being said, recently I had a problem getting an emergency refill, but one of the staff members named Jose S. did an excellent job accommodating me and helping me. Thank you Jose.

So, I’m sitting here, pretty upset, trying to keep my cool before I get on the phone because there was some odd discrepancies with my billing. When I call in, this woman Susan answers, and she was was such a joy to speak to. It definitely made things much easier to work through and please tell her thanks again for me. Keep up the great work!

First of all, the Genen Group is the best mental health group out there. I’ve tried numerous psychologists in the area, but was never successful at even getting a doc on the phone to make an appointment. Nor have I ever had a mental health Doctor accept insurance, until I found this GEM. This group responds in a timely manner and works to get you in immediately.
I have read some of the negative reviews on here and they just seem irrational. The Genen Group’s policy is standard, and very straightforward.
This group offers phenomenal care and treatment. The staff is very friendly and my doctor is the best when it comes to mental health.
And the fact that they take insurance is a life savor.