Bay Psychiatric Associates | Psychiatry, Ketamine, and TMS in Berkeley — Ketamine Clinic in Berkeley, CA

The manager Laura Duran is awful. I dont like her.

Frustratingly mismanaged and no sense of genuine care from providers. Cash grab

Can attest to the review below. Same experience. I did get a contact back SIX MONTHS after my first inquiry, but alas, they were unreachable, untouchable when I tried to follow up.

I have reached out since December of 2024 and as of today (October 22, 2025) not heard back once. Their phone system does not allow you to speak to anyone, as they literally say to "Press 2" to speak to a representative, and pressing 2 ends the call. Incredible.

This is the only option I have on my HMO. I filled out a new patient form online as they request you do and no one has gotten back to me. I have been having panic attacks every day and no one is helping me.

I have received great care in both their med management and ketamine clinics

5 stars for the ketamine treatment itself and a select few of the doctors, 2 stars for almost everything else, I decided 3 was an accurate in-the-middle rating. I am very grateful to the two doctors here who are actually capable of caring about their patients. I’ve seen almost all of the providers now and with most I feel like an inconvenience just for…. Idk being a patient there? You can just feel that they don’t care about you or your well being, they’ll cut you off after you’ve been talking for 30 seconds about something serious like a recent suicide attempt and switch to the standard textbook pre-Ketamine “what’s your intention for the session today?” question. It’s like you’re being shuffled through a factory system and they just want to be done with you, don’t want to actually know you or care about how you’re doing. If you go here, find the rare doctor(s) you can trust and then hang onto them for dear life if you can. The techs are mostly kind, friendly people and, unlike the doctors, do seem actually capable of expressing care and empathy towards other humans. The problem is they’re not the ones providing your treatment, they’re just taking the blood pressure. But I think they’d be a lot better at the treatment part than most of the doctors are. The place itself has a very dangerous systemic issue with seemingly most of the staff being over worked (and probably under-paid, at least for the techs), meaning that the button thing in the rooms doesn’t actually summon help most of the time because there’s often no one in the room to monitor the signal. I know this sounds made up but it’s true. When walking out a few weeks ago, in the middle of the day, when I knew there were patients in the rooms adjacent to mine because you can hear through the uninsulated walls (I try not to listen to the content of what they were saying, just knew that other patients were in there), and both the tech room and middle office were empty. I was calling for one tech in particular because I had a scheduling question for them and no one answered me, so really, i swear, the rooms were empty. If a patient pushed the call button then while having a life threatening crisis, they could have died. I myself have used the call button six times in the year+ I’ve been coming here. I check for the red light that means it worked and everything, and I’ve gotten a response only once. Lastly, and probably most importantly, this place is way overbooked and, again, understaffed. I am on disability and literally free 24/7 now and it’s still impossible to get appointments without calling three months ahead. Kelly, one of the managers, will not allow you to schedule anything for after your “check-in” (a check in with your coordinating psychiatrist which you do every three months). This means that after your check in you will have a huge gap in the treatment where you can’t get appointments because you weren’t able to schedule ahead of time. This has happened to me multiple times specifically because of her. If you try to explain this potential issue to her, you’ll have the lovely BPA experience of basically talking to a cold hard wall. It’s dangerous when people are coming here for live saving treatment to have months of 2x a week sessions and then suddenly no appointments for a month while you sit by getting more and more depressed and just hoping to be called off the waitlist (something I’ve been promised would happen multiple times only to have it never happen). So I’m writing this review because I want other patients to have realistic expectations. Ketamine alone is worth it and they take insurance so it may be your only option. Just be ready to advocate hard for yourself, schedule appointments as far ahead as you can, and find ways to keep yourself safe like bringing a friend with you or having an emergency contact on speed dial— you can’t rely on the clinic to really take care of you most of the time. They are way too busy for that.

I don't think it was an accident. Most likely it was positive karma that I have such a great psychiatrist. She is the greatest. I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Kaila Compton to receive ketamine therapy for my depression and anxiety about three years ago. Ever since, she has been a lot more than a doctor to me. I have had a crisis a few times. She fullly stood with me. She is the main reason I have managed to make it so far. She has made herself available to me during emergencies. I always had permission to contact her, even when I didn't have an appointment with her. I am very vulnerable to external stimuli due to my emotional sissues. She has been my number one supporter. I feel much better and safer every since she has been my psychiatrist. She means a lot to me. I perceive her as a gift from God. Sometimes I wonder if she is an angel in human form. PS: Soon after I started seeing Dr. Compton, I have been through hell because I live in a senior and I and a bunch of other residents have been constantly harrassed, intimidated, humiliated, etc. by the management. This could cause emotional suffering for anyone, let alone someone who has an emotional disability already. My depression, anxiety, and sleep disorder started getting worse and worse. Plus, I started feeling scared and paranoid all the time. I have also started experiencing memory loss, severe tension headaches, and even stomach issues. During this time, she adopted a very responsible attitude in terms of feeling obliged to help me through this ordeal. She played a major role in me keeping my sanity. It was due to her sympathy and empathy that I managed to survive, because according to her, I was about to have a nervous breadown as a result of this. She mentioned I was on the verge of having one. From the bottom of my heart, I thank God for having her. Her actions and services in the line of duty and especially humanity are noteworthy. She has a heart of gold, most undoubtably. I believe she is a symbol of pride for the world of psychiatry in America.

Impossible to get ahold of, and their system for new patients is atrocious. It took almost 2 months to hear back from anyone. As psychiatric treatment is time-sensitive, do not waste your time here!