Dr. Vijayakumar S

Right now, I am trying to connect to him.

But he has been taking care of me since 1980 November/December. His outstanding qualities as I perceive are (i) ability to establish connect with your previous visit (regardless of time gap) seamlessly (ii) allowing a free flow of torrential outpouring from the patient until he reaches a conclusion (iii) apart from medicines and therapies, he also gives you a regimen of meditation or simple exercises to the extent needed....

Above all, i have seen him as a caring and loving mentor during nearly 4 decades of our relationship. Moreover, at any point of time, his fees for consultation and therapies have remained less than that charged by his illustrious peers. Thus he has kept himself accessible to the lower middle end class of the society.

During this long association, I have gone through several accomplishments and periods of turbulence as well. It was only from 1994-95 when I started taking his medicines in complete faith and without stopping them. I have been a normal person since then except for the medicines I take religiously. Geographical migration, work-related responsibilities and stress and career changes, not all of them at my choice, have all been kept in abeyance thanks to Dr. Vijayakumar's mentorship and medicines.

If my praise for him sounds unabashed or exaggerated, I am happy that whatever I have said about him is an understatement.

Underneath the challenging role of a psychiatrist lies a warm and caring person who is value-based and compassionate.

This doctor was aware before I met him that I was looking for a professional who would hear me out fully before rushing to diagnose. When I met him, the first thing he did was make fun of me for wanting to be heard out. He laughed at me and patronizingly said that he was willing to listen to me for hours and hours. After this, though I tried to say everything that I had wanted to say, my head was all messed up and I kept self-editing. I felt like I was wasting his time so I shared only portions of my thoughts. He rushed me off to get a few assessments and then prescribed some meds. He said he didn't need to hear me speak for 30 hours when he knows what the issue is within 30 minutes. I then told him multiple times that I wasn't comfortable taking those meds because I wasn't confident that I'd answered the assessments honestly. I asked if I could get attend a few sessions with a counsellor first till I felt confident that I had been honest and shared everything. He refused to hear me out and said I HAD to take the meds. I asked him for how long I would be taking those particular pills and he said that once I took them, they'd help me so much that I wouldn't ask to be taken off them. He said they'd help me realise "what I had done to my life for the past few years".My visit with him made me feel really invalidated. I had already told him that I have a lot of regrets and that I find it hard to leave those behind and start thinking positive, helpful thoughts. To hear from him that he perceived me as someone who wants to talk a lotunnecessarily and as someone who doesn't realise she has wasted years of her life....it was really hurtful.I wish I had not met him. It was a painful experience and I would not recommend it to anyone.