Cory D. ~Berkeley, Ca.

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“I met Dr. Kron during an ADD drug study, and I always enjoyed my time with him. Throughout the study, I never felt like initials in a binder or a nameless white mouse. I never felt rushed or brushed off. I was never made to feel like anything less than a valued patient and during our one-on-one sessions his concern, understanding and complete focus made me feel like I was the most important person he could possibly be talking to at that moment. His sense of humor and calming personality made him very easy to talk to. When the matter at hand is a mental problem, feeling comfortable enough to be able to communicate easily in spite of embarrassment, social-stigma, confusion, depression or anxiety is incredibly important for effective diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Kron did this for me effortlessly. He was incredibly professional and thorough in his work, and any question I had, whether out of curiosity or concern, was answered in a way I could understand.

Something that never failed to amaze me was how perceptive he was when it came to what I was saying. By virtue of his professional experience or perhaps just a unique mind he always seemed to “get me”. This is no small feat, and I suspect this is not something teachable in even the finest medical schools. Depending on what mental quirk is being discussed, it could be as difficult and inexact as trying to reproduce Picasso’s Guernica by reading a letter about it or as seemingly-impossible as trying to explain “purple” to a blind person. No one else can truly understand how the world looks and feels in any brain but their own, but Dr. Kron was almost always able to give me feedback that let me know he was seeing the picture in my head that my inexact words might’ve failed if I was talking to someone else.

His compassion, care and concern are unmistakably genuine and in a society where attitudes of “not my problem” and “come back when you have insurance” are far more common than they should be, Dr. Kron is the antithesis of all that I find irksome or heart-breaking in medicine. He continues to write prescriptions for an effective and life-changing medication, which he helped me get for free from the drug company. On top of this, he also continues to monitor my health and progress.

I certainly cannot say Dr. Michael Kron is a typical psychiatrist, but I can say that typical psychiatrists would be better off being more like Dr. Kron. From little things like his prompt returning of emails to important things like feeling unrushed and cared-for while he’s working with me, I cannot think of anything I’ve experienced so far that didn’t make me think “hey, this is exactly what a doctor should be like.”

“Satisfied Customer”

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Mike is a superb doc. He will listen, take it in, check what he heard to make sure you’re on the same page, and then recommend his best options for you to choose, based upon ample information. He’ll make you an expert client so you can see less skilled docs any time in the future and still be able to direct them to the right treatment. He loves it when you catch on to what he has to share.

Good guy!

Steve E. ~Berkeley, Ca.

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I’m a medical professional and like many medical professionals I’ve been managing my own illness for decades. Why?

Doctors of Psychiatry should (above all other doctors) at least be 1) kind and show empathy and 2) know what they are doing. My experience has been they aren’t and they don’t. That’s why people (like me) learn to avoid them, but end up suffering without knowing what can take the pain away. Even the upper echelon academic folks I’ve seen have one view of things and that’s basically their one trick (with exceptions of course but I haven’t met the exceptions.).

Mike Kron delivers a different experience. I agree with these two women reviewers who have been seeing him for several years each and say he’s outdone their prior experiences with Psychiatry folks. He usually “goes with me” when I have my own ideas of what I’d like to try next and he really takes ownership and embellishes the plan so that it works out the best, with the least amount of side effects. He is also quick to sort out what’s going to get way worse either very quickly or get worse by sneaking up and ruining my month if I were to come off something I shouldn’t and then find myself with relapse of depression later. He’s sharp and he’s kind. He runs things off of his cellphone, which means he is accessible and he cares way more about you being able to reach him than most doctors with layers of help to keep you from seeing more than their face only when you meet them and then only see their signature on the rx’s that you have to get from their MA’s or RN’s. I have a similar approach to Mike’s since I also like hearing if a patient has a question or a need before it becomes a problem. Honestly that heads things off before trouble and that’s the whole point, isn’t it? I’m keeping this doc and I don’t mind sharing.

EK

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A SWEET MAN. I FELT MUCH BETTER.

Very smart he lets you talk instead of trying to tell you what’s wrong with you and pushing you out of the office with an rx. He likes you to provide any info you think will help the two of you to pick the right direction (even if you think it’s silly–he always wants to hear and he absolutely doesn’t judge you). You leave his office feeling better even before you start on any medicine. He carries his cellphone so no paging and wondering how long before you can hear back and tell him what’s going on. Either he answers your call immediately(!) or you leave a message and he calls back, already thinking what to do based upon your message. Glad I found him.