Yoerg Robert L, MD

I have been a patient of Dr Yoerg’s for about 5 years now and we have a great relationship. I’ve been open with him about some very personable family problems and he gives me great advice. He’s very warm and easy to open up to. My friends recommended him and I’ll be eternally grateful to her for that because I had no one I could open up to. Yes, sometimes he’s hard to get. Once you’re one of his patients that is never the case. If I’m freaking out I leave him a message and he gets back to me as soon as he’s free

Dr. Yoerg is a wonderful person. He’s extremely intelligent and welcoming. I looked for a Psychiatrist for almost 5 months before finding Dr. Yoerg. It was very comfortable talking to him and he knows his trade– definitely a professional. I recommend trying to become his patient– I hope he is accepting new patients for your sake.
And for the negative review made earlier– Dr. Yoerg doesn’t have a secretary like all other Psychiatrists– they all have answering services. The lady who answers the phone and takes messages relays the messages to the Dr., she is not supposed to know his specialty– Dr Yoerg is also the best psychiatrist (in my experience) who returns calls.

I had what Stanilav Grof labels a «spiritual emergency» and wound up at Twin Pines looney bin at Belmont. Yoerg was Twin Pines’ doctor-​on-​call. Bob is a tall guy with a pleasant enough personality so he kind of fit as a father figure for me. After a few months, my family decided I needed regular weekly sessions with Bob, so we started. I had just moved from LA where I produced Mae West’s last movie, Sextette. As they were having a grand première in SF, I invited Bob and his wife to the event. After this and presenting him with gifts such as rare books by Carl Jung, I had assumed we were friends with mutual respect. Nope. Most of the meetings, I was more the shrink, and he the patient. The man is qualified with a Stanford degree, but he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I decided that since my family was paying his exorbitant fees, I should find a way to make these meetings useful. So I would bounce business ideas off him and use him as a business manager. And that was useful, he has a good head on his shoulders, it’s just not that bright. The rest of the meetings I would tell anecdotes and bull-​shit with him, which he seemed to enjoy.
His true colors came out just last week, however. I moved out to Las Vegas, Nevada and into the country club out here. They have a size limit on dogs and my Golden Retriever was over the limit. Unless I had a doctor’s permission for an emotional support dog. So I contacted Yoerg and he very coldly explained that since I stopped paying him years ago (or SEEING him as he put it), he couldn’t expect me to expect him to act as my psychiatrist — even for such a petty thing as a permission slip stating my necessity for an emotional support dog.
It’s been my experience that most shrinks need shrinks more than most people. Yoerg is wound pretty tight, married to one of his patients and is an extremely inept psychiatrist. His forte is his mastery of drug use. If you just need a dealer that can put you right, he’s your man. If you’re looking for a human being with some sensibilities, keep looking.

So I called to make an appointment and the secretary answered. I asked what Robert L Yoerg MD specializes in and she said she had no idea. Ummm how on earth does one not know who they work for or what they specialize in? Then she said that I could leave my name and number and they will TRY to call me back. So unprofessional and pathetic service. Try a different place people!

After playing phone tag for about 10 days we finally hooked up. He seemed confused why I was calling despite the messages that I was looking for an MD to discuss my medication. We finally reached as he phoned from his car. He said now he understood why I had been calling (i wanted an appointment). And then I never heard from him again.
Might be fine for some people but we just didn’t connect. And that’s what i am finding. The big clinics in palo alto have process, you wait in line and take a number and get this cold treatment. The individual practices are disorganized, have problems with their billings, and can’t seem to keep a calendar. And of course they won’t read or send email.
So — from my original list of blue-​cross providers (about 50) I contacted ten, actually spoke with about five, and finally found one that seems pretty good!
I finished an article showing research that the type of treatment is not as important as just getting a doctor that fits.

I have found Dr Yoerg tohe be incredibly personable, understanding of what I am going through, supportive and has a great sense of humor (which helps). I have had a number of med changes since seeing him, as some have noted, however, I have been in a very bad place so as of now, I believe these changes to be appropriate. This is a strange science — it’s like a chemical game trying to get the brain meds correctly balanced. I enjoy seeing him, do not feel threatened and feei that I am in good hands. He immediately returns calls and I rarely wait long to see him (maybe 10 mins or right on time). I highly recommend him. My GP recommended him to me.

Dr. Yoerg has been my psychiatrist for 16 years. On my first visit he diagnosed me as having obsessive compulsive personality disorder. I hadn’t known I had it; in fact I had never heard of the ailment, even though I had heard of OCD. He recommended a couple books for me to read. Both books were very helpful. One was Too Perfect. The other was Stop Obsessing. He has always been pleasant and supportive. He is a cultured man, with interests in Asian travel, theater, and chamber music.

There were times, from mid-​January to early May, when I felt the way that j.b. feels. Dr. Yoerg may have his patients’ well-​being in mind. Maybe. I think that his major failing regards precisely that which is crucial to every medical professional — the ability to listen.
If you’d like to play fast and loose with pharmacology, and have your prescription changed three times within a single week (plus willy-​nilly dosage), Dr. Yoerg is your man.
If you’d like an office that is clear and forthright with regard to billing and insurance, he is not your man.
If you’d like a doctor who’s go-​to advice is «well, let’s schedule another meeting,» even after your 42-​minute session has clearly been padded with tangential breeze-​shooting, he is your man.
If you’d like a doctor who is fairly reachable by phone and good at two-​way communication, he is not your man.
Granted, this was my first foray into self-​help, and I quickly learned the difference between psychiatrists and psychologists. Psychiatrists are not counselors. They are trained to prescribe medication. Unfortunately, I needed this one for a note for my employer.
At any rate, I’d keep looking…