Dr Lois Ligate

3 reviews of “Dr Lois Ligate”

Janet
• 11 January 2022
Possibly one of the worst experiences I have ever had working with a mental health ‘professional’. I was going through one of the most difficult periods of my life, suffering from addiction, depression, anxiety and many other severe mental health issues, and I desperately needed to see a psychiatrist to get feedback on some kind of diagnosis and recommended medications. All of the local psychiatrists had a 6 month or longer wait, however I was able to access Dr. Ligate through my university, and she only had a month long wait (now I see why the wait was so short…). We met through Zoom, and right off the bat she was unwelcoming, and impatient, even her tone of voice was curt and aggressive. She was possibly the most uncompassionate person I have ever spoken too, I was a second year psychology student at the time and it was obvious to me that she had not received any kind of counseling or therapy training, or if she had, she had LONG forgotten it. I confided my most personal, vulnerable feelings and experiences, and I vividly remember what she said next, because it truly shocked me; she responded by telling me ‘it really wasn’t that bad though, you should be grateful, I have heard stories much worse than yours’ (her words, not mine). I understand a psychiatrist is a doctor, who job it is to diagnose patients and prescribe medication, but as someone who is supposed to be a mental health professional, and who works with some of the most vulnerable, at-risk people, this was absolutely appalling to me. She devalidated my feelings and my experiences, she made me feel horrible about myself. Fortunately I had been through many counseling sessions by that point in my life, so I knew she was the one in the wrong in that situation, however, what if someone went to see her who didn’t know any better? What if someone truly took those words to heart, and thought ‘wow, I really am just overdramatic, and a huge burden to everyone in my life, maybe I really don’t deserve to be alive anymore’. It breaks my heart to think of all the people that were suffering that went to her for help, and ended up leaving feeling even worse.

Rose
• 19 January 2023
I recently had an assessment with Dr. Ligate. As soon as the call started she was cold, rude and condescending. I felt as though she had immediately decided on my diagnosis and steered toward it, solely discussing my trauma when we were supposed to be discussing ADHD. I was in tears and hyperventilating, she did not stop and continued to question me about it instead of moving ahead with the assessment. The experience was terrible, I felt attacked, and it was the opposite of helpful. In the end she told me I had to deal with my “intense” trauma and “all of my many health issues” which no one had previously told me about but she somehow diagnosed within the first 5 minutes of speaking with me.
I do not recommend her and do not think she should be working in this field.

Sam
• 17 July 2023
I saw Dr. Ligate in 2019 at UVic. She was straightforward and very validating. She had an in-depth conversation with me about my upbringing and present struggles, allowing me to have free emotions and explaining things that came up along the way. She gave me my Cptsd diagnosis and gave me a list of art therapists to try (after telling me that’s the kind of therapist that would best suit me due to my being such a creative person). She also wrote a note explaining why I am to have a cat as an emotional support animal to help with my anxiety and mental health. She is the first practitioner I saw who was so direct (she didn’t try to “be my buddy” and kept it very professional) and really made me start to realize the extent of my trauma, which I was struggling to accept, let alone process. I was able to have a lot more compassion for myself and my dysfunction after seeing her. Her support helped me access all the CAL resources and am so thankful for my time with her.