Welcome. To get started, please review fees and policies on this page and then - if you would like - complete the webform on the “SCHEDULE & PORTAL” page to request a free phone consultation.

During our initial phone call, my goal is to learn about your primary concerns, symptoms, and goals for treatment, and any questions you have. If I think I am likely to be helpful and you feel that I am a good fit for you, we can discuss scheduling and next steps.

Please be aware that I am not a contracted provider with any insurance and that I am not able to accept private pay from Medicaid (Medi-Cal or Health First Colorado) patients.

Please continue below to review fees and what to expect.

The psychiatric assessment is dedicated to the evaluation of current symptoms and review of past mental health, medical, social, academic, substance use, and family mental health histories. The process is thorough and intended to review current and historic symptoms while also clarifying the presence of any other medical or psychiatric comorbidities. Assessments of minors will include a meeting with the parents to gain collateral information.

Because a thorough review of history will be triggering to some individuals - especially those with a history of trauma- all patients are invited to decline to discuss information at any time and for any reason. This point will be revisited at the beginning of the assessment and the patient will be invited to name any aspects of their history that they would like to skip. Please note that certain information may be needed to arrive at a diagnosis or deliver a certain treatment.

Keep in mind that clients are not prescribed medication or given treatment recommendations until after the assessment is complete.

The treatment planning appointment will allow us time to discuss diagnoses, treatment recommendations, and to create a treatment plan. Although I am a prescriber, we will review all interventions that are evidence-based to address your concerns. This can include medical care, nutritional psychiatry, psychotherapeutic modalities, medications, integrative treatments, and personal health habits. If supplements, complementary and alternative medicines (CAM), or medications are indicated, we will review the rationale, risks and benefits, and discuss prescribing. This is your process and your body. You will be in charge of whether you start any medication and what the treatment plan looks like.

We are not contracted with any insurance carriers. Patients are welcome to submit a “superbill” or statement for insurance reimbursement, please see the section below, “Insurance Reimbursement”, if you would like more information. If you have Medicaid (Medi-Cal or Health First Colorado) please see note above under “Getting Started.”

Psychiatric Diagnostic Evaluation: $600 per 75-minute appointment:

• The assessment often takes two 75-minute appointments depending on age, history, and complexity.

• Please submit all requested forms two business days prior to the appointment

• Medications are not prescribed during the assessment

• Additional time may be required for late arrival, incomplete forms, or complex cases.

• The assessment fee is time-based and not a flat fee. Additional time dedicated towards the assessment will be billed at the rate $400 per 50-minutes.

Treatment Planning: $600 per 75-minute appointment:

• review of diagnoses and treatment goals

• discussion of recommendations for treatment and creation of treatment plan

• if indicated, discussion of medications, medication consent and prescribing

Follow-up appointments:

25-minute follow-up appointment: $200

• designed to allow us to discuss your process, experience and satisfaction with medications and treatment.

• frequency of these appointments is clinically determined and will be more often early in treatment.

50-minute follow-up appointment: $400

• These appointments are ideal for:

• patients who would like to bring a family member or partner who has questions or concerns about treatment.

• changing the treatment course

• complex cases requiring more time

• to allow additional time for psychotherapy

Administrative time and other clinical work:

• I do not bill patients for brief phone calls, emails, or texts. In the event that a patient requires clinical services that are more than 15 minutes of time, the card on file will be charged for the time.

• Refills without an appointment do not set the stage for ideal care. Please be aware that as a policy and matter of practice, refills occur during appointments. In the event that you cancel or miss an appointment and need a refill there will be a $100 charge. We will make a plan to meet before you need a refill. The furthest time between appointments is 3 months and recommended only when patients are very satisfied with their medications and symptoms are none to mild.

• Patients agree to have an appointment scheduled at all times if they are in treatment with Mountain Psychiatry. The office will reach out to discuss scheduling and the patient’s or guardian’s interest in continuing treatment after a no-show or cancellation. After two months of inactivity, the treating relationship will be terminated. If the office has not received a response from the patient or guardian the office will mail a letter of termination via certified mail and the patient will be billed for 30 minutes of administrative time.

• Established Patients: the need for appointments is clinically determined and impacted by your diagnoses, adherence to treatment, stressors, emergencies, engagement in therapy, self-care, and other factors. Depending on these factors, your cost-estimate of care with Mountain Psychiatry could be as few as an appointment every quarter or up to multiple sessions in one month. At $200 per 25-minute follow-up appointment, the estimated cost for psychiatric medication management is between $800 to $4800 annually. Please note that this does not include the cost for the psychiatric evaluation (estimated below), counseling, mentoring, psychotherapy, drug and alcohol counseling, couples therapy, parenting skills-training, medical care, or other recommendations for the patient's mental wellness. We are happy to provide you with a full estimate at anytime.

• New Patients: new patients are required to have a full psychiatric evaluation prior to receiving diagnoses, treatment planning, and or psychiatric medication management. Psychiatric evaluations start with two 75-minute appointments and may require additional time to complete the assessment for children, adolescents, complex histories, the need for collateral information, medical record reviews, patients who have an expansive or impaired thought process, and for other reasons. Depending on these factors, your cost-estimate of a psychiatric evaluation with Mountain Psychiatry could be as few as one 75-minute appointment to requiring eight hours of clinical time between the patient interview, collateral information gathering, and record review. At $400 per clinical hour, the estimated cost for a psychiatric evaluation is between $1800 to $2400. Treatment Planning is typically one 75-minute appointment but could extend beyond this time depending on complexity. The likely maximum for treatment planning would be three 75-minute appointments of $1800. Please note that this does not include the cost for psychiatric medication management (estimated above), mentoring, psychotherapy, drug and alcohol counseling, couples therapy, parenting skills-training, medical care, or other recommendations for the patient's mental wellness. We are happy to provide you with a full estimate at anytime.

During a telemedicine or telehealth appointment, we will meet via a secure and HIPAA-complaint video link on your computer, phone or tablet. The link you use will be sent to you in the email reminder three days before your appointment. You can also find the link under ‘appointments’ in the patient portal. Please click on the link and test it out before our appointment time to make sure you are all set and ready to go when we meet. Selecting the link on a desktop or laptop computer will open a new tab or window; on tablets and phones you will be prompted to download the Simple Practice Telehealth App. Here is a list of tips for successful telemedicine appointments:

• Test out the telemedicine link when you receive your email and download the app if you plan to use your phone or tablet during our appointment.

• Please plan to be somewhere comfortable, private, and quiet for our appointment. To increase privacy, use head phones and download a white noise app on your phone and place it near the door during our appointment.

• Please have the phone or computer stationary. You can prop it up against a wall or another object.

• We will need download speeds of at least 10 MPS. If you have limited bandwidth, ask your house mates to limit their use of data if you are sharing wifi.

• Please quit other applications like email and SMS and silence notifications on your devices to limit distractions.

• Headphones or earbuds will improve our ability to hear each other and increase privacy.

• Additional requirements: you need to be sober, clothed, and not driving.

LOCATION: although these are virtual appointments, medical licensing laws prohibit a practitioner from meeting with patients located in states where the practitioner is not licensed. Please be located in Colorado, Virginia, or California.

Cancellations need to be made at least two (2) full business days prior to appointment time. For example, an appointment on Monday at 2:00 pm needs to be cancelled by 2:00 pm the Thursday before.

The full appointment fee ($600 for the assessment, $200 - $400 for follow-up appointments) will be charged for cancellations with less than two business days notice from the appointment time.

Many, but not all, follow-up appointments can be switched to a telemedicine appointment with advanced notice. Please email the front office (info@mountainpsychiatry.com) if you would like to change to a telemedicine appointment.

I am not contracted with any insurance carries but many patients submit a “superbill” or statement for insurance reimbursement for services. Mountain Psychiatry does not offer any guarantee that fees will be reimbursed. I recommend that you contact your insurance to learn of the rates for reimbursement. The billing codes used are 90792 for an assessment, 99215 for treatment planning, and 99214 for most follow-up appointments. Statements for insurance reimbursement are found in the patient portal and are generated on a monthly basis on the 15th day of each month. If you need a statement for insurance reimbursement pushed through early, please email the front office at info@mountainpsychiatry.com. Please note that invoices are also available but do not list diagnoses and will not be adequate for insurance reimbursement.

Mountain Psychiatry does not engage with or communicate with insurance companies on behalf or our clients.

Please be aware that I am not a contracted provider with any insurance and that I am not able to accept private pay from Medicaid (Medi-Cal or Health First Colorado) patients.

Parents of minors: in working with children and families, I hope to understand the concerns and the treatment goals of both the parents or guardians and the child. Please know that additional interventions in addition to medication are typically recommended and may be required for me to start or continue treatment. Colorado law states that children 15 years and older hold the right to consent for and terminate treatment. In order to start treatment, prescribe medications, or terminate care, I must have the patient’s informed consent.

Parents, spouses, and loved ones of adults: HIPAA and other protections are in place to protect the private health information of patients. If you would like to be involved in the treatment or gain any information, please ask the patient to sign a release of information with our clinic. Without a release of information in place, we cannot and will not acknowledge a treating relationship, answer any questions, or share billing information - even if you are the payor. If you need a “super bill” for reimbursement, please see the insurance reimbursement information above and discuss the process with the patient.

Please go back up if you are looking for information on fees or what to expect.

Please use the clinic phone number and email to communicate once care is established. We respond to emails and messages within one business day. Unless we have made specific arrangements, the clinic will not respond to communication outside of business hours.

Refills are sent electronically during appointments with a supply to match the time until your next appointment. In the event that you need a refill, please call or email our office. Pharmacy refill requests sent by fax from pharmacies are often automated and may not reflect a patient’s needs. Please call or email our office instead of requesting a refill through your pharmacy.

I complete forms and write letters for patients who are established in ongoing treatment when clinically indicated. Please know that I do not complete state disability forms. Occasionally, patients or parents may need accommodations or leave from school or work. To support this documentation, please keep me abreast of symptoms and missed work, school, or other impairment to function in real time via emails or weekly appointments.

Information shared with Mountain Psychiatry is kept private and confidential. You may use the release of information form to request records for yourself or to be sent to another provider or entity. To protect your privacy I recommend that you use the Spruce Health App to text rather than SMS. To protect the privacy and confidentiality of my patients, I do not “friend” patients on social media platforms.

I am obligated to disclose information in the following cases:

• a client presents a serious danger to self or others

• abuse or neglect of children, elders, or intellectually disabled individuals

• loss of consciousness while driving

• in the event I am issued a court order

• actions are necessary to collect payment

• an insurance company requests information for reimbursement of services

More information can be found at: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy.