Dr. Michele Keffer, PHD

I worked with Dr. Keffer for a few semesters at CMU and found her to be very thoughtful, patient and kind. Because I was a first-year with severe depression, anxiety and adjustment disorder, she saw me for a little longer before referring me to a psychologist in the community (who was excellent and who accepted our health plan). It’s been a few years since I graduated, and I can imagine that demands on CAPS have increased in the previous several years, but I hope that a student wouldn’t hesitate to tell them if the solution were insufficient and to ask for alternatives.

Might have been a patient-therapist mismatch. She felt distant and rushed. Within 3 sessions, she diagnosed me with a severe mental illness, but I was not seeking a diagnosis. Additionally, I didn't have a history of those symptoms and subsequent doctors did not diagnose me with that illness. Soon after, she referred me out. Since then, I avoided therapy for some time before finding new psychologist who practiced a very different style of approach.