Michael Levin, MD

I am always suspicious of consistent 5 star ratings on Unilocal,but in Dr. Levin’s case, it is completely true! He has treated my daughter for over 8 years (from middle school and now into college) and she is probably still alive thanks to his «whatever it takes» off-​hours care. He talks really, really fast :-) but, if you can follow, he is a brilliant psychiatrist. The most important aspect of his care for my daughter was his availability in, what we considered, urgent situations. You will still need a therapist to do talk-​therapy in conjunction with the appropriate drug protocol, but he is a master at the cocktail mixes that are sometimes required to manage psychiatric issues. I wish there were more psychiatrists (especially female) in our local area of his caliber.

Dr. Levin has been a voice of calm and reason in the bewildering world of mental illness. He has been treating my daughter for 8 years now. Our insurance doesn’t cover her visits to him, but we would rather pay out of pocket to have him treat her illness. He has always been reachable when she is in crisis or requiring hospitalization. And he is very good at keeping her medications in balance.

Dr Levin is one of the best doctors I have ever met. He has treated two of my children for more than 16 years. He understands different minds doesn’t mean that kids can’t grow and change and most especially have a great life. I can tell you that he has always made time for my kids and for me to talk, yet if it is not a complex appointment we may see him for just 10 minutes. All good doctors run late sometimes, they take the time that is needed for each individual. Dr Levin is very good at balancing. In these last 16+ years I believe he cares deeply for his patients. He has called me after regular hours, written letters for my kids IEP process and truly supported me as a parent, when it felt like no one did! I am so thankful that I found Dr Levin. My 24 year old son diagnosed with Aspergers now attends college and lives on his own. This is largely because of the parenting discussions I had with Dr Levin over the years.

This is lengthy in the hopes that other parents may benefit from details.
My son has seen Dr. Levin for almost 11 years for Asperger’s related issues. We’ve also had a full evaluation at Stanford’s Autism Spectrum Center by Linda Lokspeitch, M.D. She’s great, but only did evaluations, which were redundant to Dr. Levin’s conclusions. We also tried therapy at this Center at her recommendation, although neither my son nor I saw the need. Besides, the sessions left me thinking, «Who let this guy hang out a shingle?» Overall, Stanford is not as strong clinically as w/​evals. I even paid $ 5K out of pocket for brain scans (resting and at tasks) to settle my doubts. Of course, there were also school based evaluations for placement and services. As my son has grown, Dr. Levin’s clinical formulations have been correct and useful throughout.
It’s been 15 years of ostensible and true expert service providers — specially trained nannies and S.E. teachers (angels on earth), Master’s level school «psychologists,”(sorry, but no)*, how-​did-​you-​even-​get-​a-​job educational testing consultants at IEP’s*, other psychiatrists, on and on. I continue to be surprised that these fields are well represented by mediocrity. One passing thesis/​license and these folks are full of, uh, advice. So many job titles, but not much else. Eventually, I opted out of IEP based and even out-​of-​pocket private schools altogether. In this morass, I found Dr. Levin. Cue angelic boy’s choir and clouds parting.
Dr. Levin’s forte is big picture medicine:
He understands both the science and art of neuropsychopharmocology, or how multiple pharmokinetics function synergistically and manifest in my son. If you want to get geeky and understand specific neurotransmitters, how their receptor affinities are mitigated/​facilitated by medicine, or how it all looks in your child, ask Dr, Levin. You’ll get a full, concise explication because he’s a mighty clear thinker. Or you can simply trust that he’s got it covered.
I feel it’s important to address medication specifically because [1] they’ve been critical to having a liveble life, especially through middle school a.k.a. The Dark Years; [2] we don’t yet have established best practices for Autism Spectrum Disorders; and [2] there are only two FDA approved ASD medications at this writing. A doctor must needs exercise his own clinical chops in prescribing a combination of existing psychotropics for known off-​label use, and he has to tweek them just so and repeatedly.
The ASD treatment problem, as one mother sees it:
The study and treatment of ASD are developing incrementally. The blurred part of the cutting edge is resolving one peer reviewed article at a time. In the meanwhile, my son can’t be put on hold and I have to show up at work. Even a good meta-​analysis (a study of studies) provides at best the state of the science on a general, nomothetic level. However, when face to face with a patient on the spectrum experiencing his particular life, what is needed and often wanting is true outlier smarts to figure out what to do. Mediocre practitioners can be engaged when best practices are established, as they can simply follow along. Dr. Levin reminds me of friends who are combined M.D.-Ph.D’s. He possesses the best of the scientist as well as the practitioner: inferential intellect, savvy heuristic builder, superb hands-​on clinical skills, with the bonus that he’s a good communicator of the above. As an example, he might address a core executive function such as the regulation of attention, irrespective of a patient’s DSM Axis 1 diagnoses. The formal diagnoses, in this regard, are for billing, school placement, transaction with other agencies, etc. Treatment, on the other hand, is for the present moment and for the beloved child in question.
Dr. Levin is a very personable, kind and even humorous doctor. His responsiveness in emergencies is exceptional. That’s a consistent 11 year track record of ²⁴⁄₇ responsiveness, as well as timely coordination with school psychologists, emergency room physicians, etc. He always undertakes the highest level of professionalism.
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*Apologies, but I find some Master’s/professional degree folks (counseling degrees, occupational therapists) lack any understanding of the often invalid tests or interventions that they administer. The Ph. portion of my own – or any –Ph.D. training in clinical psychology emphasizes that validity and reliability are the foundation of good psychometrics and interventions. You simply cannot give a test because it’s used in your field, and spout off diagnostic statements at my kid’s IEP. The method by which the test was developed determines its value, NOT the results of the test.