Shanti Orange County - Laguna Hills, California

Ky T.

I went to Shanti for therapy weekly for nearly 4 years. My first therapist Brent was amazing! When he moved to the psychological testing department in Shanti, I sobbed like so hard. I just know he is doing great work with evaluations and getting people the right diagnosis so they can receive the right treatment. Selfishly, I wish he could be my therapist forever, but I know he’s on to bigger and better things. Which he so deserves for all that hard work he put into his PsyD. I then started to see Natalie. Who at first took a bit of time to warm up to. But mind you I’d been seeing Brent for like 2.5 years at this point. Natalie is very patient, kind, and professional. She has a warm office with nice stuffed animals, furniture, and decorations. Natalie is a very understanding person. Natalie was my therapist for a little over a year. Once when Natalie was going to be a on vacation I was in a bit of a crisis. She saw me just before she left (an extra appointment from my normal weekly appointment) and I saw someone who was filling in for her while she was gone. I think that the truest testament to the kind of person that Natalie is. The building Shanti is in is very nice and well kept. Parking is never a problem. It’s easy to communicate with your provider through the messaging system on their online portal. I also spent awhile in an weekly online DBT therapy group run by Shanti. It was so very helpful for me and the skills I learned are ones I will be revisiting throughout my life. As a queer person Shanti was the perfect place for me as they are very queer affirming. There are tons of little fliers in the office for LGBTQ groups and things (mostly for teens but it’s still cool and important.) Since I am moving counties my insurance has to change and I can no longer come to Shanti. But I seriously recommend it. Everyone who works there is so nice. I will miss it very very much. And to say it was hard to leave yesterday is an understatement.

Belinda

I have had an awesome, healing, insightful,therapeutic journey with my counselor Michelle Olea. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend someone to this Counseling
Service Agency.

Elisa K.

I have made several referrals to this agency and have been impressed with the care, timeliness and quality of interaction that has been reported back to me. Shanti provides an invaluable service to the community and the care shown by the providers who work here is appreciated immensely.

Michele S.

I TEXTED MY THERAPIST VALERIE SALAS SOME PERSONAL INFORMATION AND SHE TURNED AROUND MADE UP LIES.AND EVEN HAD APS COME TO MY HOME AFTER THE FACT OF ME TELLING HER THAT I WAS MAD AT MY HUSBAND. SHE STILL CALLED APS.

Doug O.

Another review wrote "... they blame the client if the fit isn’t good with a therapist," That is my experience too. Also, the waiting room is filled with trans activist propaganda and if you ask questions about that they will, "... blame the client if the fit isn’t good with a therapist,"

Martha C. -.

Shanti is my go to referral source when looking for an agency with a variety of disciplines and practitioners to refer to. I feel confident that who I refer will be connected to a therapist that matches their needs. My referrals have reported great success.

Debbie P.

You would think that a place that specializes in Mental Health would take Mental Health seriously!

I think most of us would agree that there is a Mental Health crisis in the United States. So, tell me, if a facility offering Mental Health services doesn’t take this crisis seriously, who will?

I have tried for over THREE WEEKS to make an appointment. On the first phone call, which was answered, I was told that before taking on new patients, they must complete a welcome packet and that once this was completed, I would receive a phone call in about a week to schedule an appointment. This was emailed to me immediately and I completed it the same day. This welcome packet is pages and pages of questions.
I waited a week. No phone call. Since it was prior to the Christmas holiday, I waited a second week figuring maybe they were closed or short staffed for the holiday. Still no phone call. After waiting 2 weeks, I called them to schedule my appointment. I left a message. I did not receive a call back. After another week of waiting, (it has now been 3 weeks) I called again. I left another message. Still no call back. I called again the next day and left another message. I called again that same day and tried a different option on the recorded message. This time a person answered, told me my insurance had been approved and didn’t know what the holdup was. She assured me that she would have the scheduler call me before they left that day. I did not receive a call back that day. Or the next day for that matter. I called again the following day and left messages on two different extensions. Still, no call back to schedule my appointment.

It has now been over three weeks. If they are not taking new patients, they should say so. If they are too busy to take on new patients, they should make that clear. If they are understaffed, they should not be accepting new patients until that is fixed. If this is just incompetence by their office, their office should be fired and replaced with people who take Mental Health seriously.

W

Honestly you’re better off going elsewhere the therapists here are rude, unhelpful and unprofessional, I used to really like this place but it seems like they blame the client if the fit isn’t good with a therapist, I had to change therapists due to them being incompetent and always felt blamed or guilty for doing so, they had told me they knew that therapy was a challenge for me without questioning that perhaps the therapist was the problem, they don’t back up the client, when their therapists are the ones to blame. Maybe get better therapists and not ones that are going to be late or cancel your sessions or be bored, distracted and not following through on promises.