After you contact me, I will reach out to verify your first appointment and you will receive information by email to set up your patient account and online portal.

Your first appointment will include a Comprehensive Assessment (see “services”). At this appointment we will spend time covering your diagnosis, your values and goals, and treatment options. Every situation is unique. We will decide what makes the most sense for our second appointment and the cadence of regular follow up visits. The frequency of visits can vary depending on severity of symptoms, need for lab testing, prescription adjustments, need for additional psychoeducation, patient/provider comfort, etc.

I generally see patients 16 years and older. When seeing minors, a parent/guardian should plan to be present for the appointment. I most often work with late teens and young- to middle-aged adults.

I do not have training in geriatric psychiatry and often recommend that much older patients work with someone who does.

You can consider me your doctor once we have mutually agreed to a treatment plan. This usually would happen sometime after the initial assessment, but it is not unusual to need 2-3 sessions if there are complicated issues to sort through. I will try to be clear with you when I need more time to assess if we are a good fit to work together.

I will not prescribe any medications to you unless we are in a treatment relationship. Barring unusual circumstances, if I am your psychiatrist, then my expectation is that no other physician is prescribing psychiatric medications to you. There are definitely exceptions to this and we can discuss the specifics when we meet.

No. In fact, there are often cases where I recommend against meds. My goal is to use my expertise and experience and provide you with the information you need to make the right decisions for you. Most patients maintain periodic appointments even when not taking medications.

I accept credit card or debit card through the online portal.

Debit cards include: Health Savings Account, Flexible Savings Account, or Health Reimbursement Account (HSA/FSA/HRA).

I do not currently take insurance. Please read my more detailed explanation about this decision on my “My Approach” page. However, if you choose to, you may be eligible for out-of-network (OON) reimbursement from your insurance company.

I am happy to provide you with a medical service receipt (superbill or invoice) for each visit. This will have the information you need to submit an out-of-network claim to your insurance company for reimbursement. Insurance companies will not accept claims for dates that have not been paid. The amount they reimburse you is based on the percentage of OON coverage authorized by your plan, which may be 40-80% of the allowable rate and varies by plan. This also assumes you have met your OON deductible for the year. Please note that insurance plans typically will not reimburse you for No Show/Cancellation fees or fees for time spent on your care outside of official appointments. In order to make this process easier for you, my practice works with a service called Reimbursify.

You may want to contact your insurance company in advance to determine your specific mental health benefits. You may find it is helpful to ask the following:

• How much does my plan cover for an out-of-network provider?

• What is my out-of-network deductible and is it met yet?

• Is there an annual out-of-network, out-of-pocket cap?

• Are you limited to a certain number of sessions per year?

• Are any diagnoses excluded from coverage and which ones?

• What is the maximum coverage amount (sometimes called “UCR,” or “usual and customary rate”) for common billing procedures codes? (see codes below)

• Are my benefits on a calendar year basis, or a plan year? If a plan year, when does it start/end?

• Is approval or referral required from my primary care physician?

• What is the process for submitting claims for reimbursement?

• How long will it take for me to receive reimbursement once I submit a claim?

Initial Evaluation codes: 99205 + 99417  

Follow-up visits: 99213 or 99214 + 90833 (25min appts) or 90836 (50min appts)

Family therapy visit without you present: 90846

Family therapy visit with you present / Couples therapy: 90847

The code “95” will be added at the end for any service that occurs virtually through Telehealth.

A gap exception (also referred to as a network deficiency, gap waiver, in-for-out, etc) is a request to honor a patient's in-network benefits, even though they are seeing an out-of-network provider. Insurers allow “gap exceptions” when they do not have an in-network provider for the patient to go to, so it is considered a "network deficiency".

Many insurers will allow a gap exception if there is not already a provider contracted in their network rendering the same services within a reasonable distance to the patient. The insurance company determines what the reasonable distance is, which generally lies between 30-50 miles. This may also apply if you are looking to work with a provider who specializes in a particular condition that you cannot easily find in-network. While any psychiatrist can technically treat OCD and related disorders, very few specialize in working with this population and evidence across most fields suggests that specialization yields greater treatment outcomes. I would encourage you to check with your insurance to see if you might qualify for a network gap exception.

Once we schedule an appointment, I hold that space just for you. As a courtesy to me and as a courtesy to other patients on the waiting list or requesting to be seen sooner, I ask that you make any cancellations at least 2 business days in advance. This allows me sufficient time to try to offer your spot to someone else.

Note: If your appointment is Monday at 3pm, this means that you will need to notify me no later than the prior Thursday at 3pm.

If you do not give 2 business days of notice, you will be responsible for the full session fee. Exceptions for emergencies are handled on a case-by-case basis.

*Remember that insurance companies will not likely reimburse you for late cancellation or no show fees.

Generally, if I can quickly (5 minutes or less) complete the required task throughout the course of my normal workday, there will not be any charge to you.

Calls or tasks that take longer than 5 minutes or involve significant time outside of normal hours will be charged at a prorated amount for each 15 minute interval of time required.

There is some gray zone with my normal hours. Typically, I consider them roughly 8:30am-5:00pm Monday-Thursday, but I am often flexible depending on my day, personal life, and overall schedule. While there may be days where a later appointment is reasonable, there will be others where I am unable to offer that. I will be honest and upfront with you about what I am able to reasonably accommodate. I will be explicit in advance about when I am offering you something that constitutes “outside normal hours” for me. Urgent “outside normal hours” appointments will incur an additional $100 fee.

Please expect a response time of 1-2 business days for me to return phone calls and emails, unless otherwise noted on my voicemail or out-of-office email reply. For any phone call or email that requires evaluation and significant medical decision making, I will likely ask you to schedule an appointment rather than make treatment recommendations over phone or email.

My office phone number is a secure phone line on which any confidential information can be left. Additionally, you can use the patient portal.

Please note, I do NOT have the ability to guarantee any urgent or emergent availability, and I do not guarantee I will receive messages delivered outside of normal business hours until the following business day. If you are having a medical or psychiatric emergency, DO NOT WAIT for a call back. Instead call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Ideally, clinical questions and decision making will happen in the context of an appointment. However, there may be times that clarifications or issues come up where you may need to communicate with me (such as medication refills or a question about dosing or side effects). This will be done through the online patient portal, which allows for HIPAA compliant messaging within the medical record system. The portal also allows for me to send you reminders about your upcoming appointment times.

Yes. A partner or parent can often be helpful, both to provide me with additional information, and also so that they can understand how to best help you at home. Generally, I will still plan to spend part of the appointment with you one-on-one. With disorders like OCD, the entire family is often affected and including them in treatment is shown to improve outcomes and prognosis.

Psychiatrists (MD or DO) are physicians who have completed four years of medical school and then a residency to specialize in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.

Other providers are not physicians; they have completed non-medical training programs and have degrees such as masters level Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT/LMFT) or Social Worker (SW/ASW/MSW/LCSW) or a doctorate level Psychologist (PsyD or PhD).

Psychiatrists, as well as non-physician providers, are all potential options for therapy. However, as a physician, I can additionally use my medical training to perform physical examinations, make medical diagnoses, order and interpret laboratory tests, prescribe medications, and counsel you about various interactions with regard to your health problems and any medications/supplements that you may take.

My practice follows all mandated HIPAA policies and the platforms I use to provide you care are HIPAA compliant. When you schedule your first appointment, you will receive detailed and specific information in my “Notice of Privacy Practices” form that you will endorse prior to our meeting.

Medical doctors are licensed and regulated by the Medical Board of California. To check up on a license or to file a complaint go to www.mbc.ca.gov, email: licensecheck@mbc.ca.gov, or call (800) 633-2322.

Additionally, “The Open Payments Database” is a federal tool used to search payments made by drug and device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals. This database can be found at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov