FAQ

What are your qualifications?

Our providers have Masters or Doctorate degrees and are Board Certified as Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioners. We are experts in our field who provide superior quality care and who truly care about our patients.

Do you offer psychotherapy?

Yes! Our nurse practitioners incorporate short, solution-focused and supportive therapy sessions (and counseling about alternative and complementary treatments if desired) as part of each psychiatric visit. If you require more specialized psychotherapy, we can provide referrals to therapists outside of our practice.

Do you offer free phone consultations?

Yes. Contact us to schedule a 10-15 minute call to see if one of our providers is a good fit for you.

Do you offer telehealth and in-person visits?

We offer both telehealth visits and in-person visits. We provide treatment in person at our offices in Denver and Golden, and via telehealth throughout Colorado.

For telehealth visits, we will see you via video conference, and will provide you with a link to access the visit. You will need a computer with a good internet connection, and will be prompted to download the video conference software if you don’t already have it. Clear video and audio are necessary for the visit, so please test both prior to the visit. If technical problems prevent the visit from proceeding, we will need to reschedule your appointment. Please note, due to insurance and legal requirements we do not offer telephone-only visits.

My appointment is on Saturday or after hours and the door is locked. How do I get into the building?

Please call or text 303-736-9697 to let us know you have arrived, and wait in front of the building or in your car until we come to open the door. Please be aware that our office staff do not always work during these hours, and the provider may be with another patient and may not be able to let you in immediately.

How do I access the patient portal?

When we schedule you for a visit, we will send you an email with a link to create an account on our patient portal. Please use this link to set up your portal account right away. Please do not attempt to create a portal account without using the link we sent you. Portal accounts set up directly through the portal website without using the invitation link will not function properly.

We will upload important legal documents and assessments that must be completed prior to your visit. This will also be the easiest way to communicate with your provider and our admin staff. Please bookmark the portal so you can access it easily in future.

Forms and assessments you will need to complete prior to each visit will be uploaded on the patient portal. You will receive an email and text to remind you to complete them several days prior to your visit. Please complete these forms at least 24 hours prior to your appointment.

I lost the invitation to my patient portal. What should I do?

If you can’t find the email with your invitation to set up your portal account, please check your Spam folder and add our address to your safe list. If you are still unable to find it, please call 303-736-9697 and we will re-send it.

Do you send reminders for visits?

We will send you appointment reminders by email, text, and phone 5 days prior and again 1 day prior to your visit. The reminder will include the date and time of the visit, your provider’s name, and whether the visit will be in-person or via telehealth. If your visit is in-person, it will include the office address.

How do I access my telehealth visits?

Please check the portal and complete all forms and documents at least 24 hours prior to your visit. Please check your email and text messages for your appointment reminder(s), which will include a link to the video conference.

At least 10 minutes prior to your appointment time, please download the video conference software if necessary, and test your video and audio. Click on the telehealth visit link about 5 minutes prior to your appointment time, and the video conference will open.

If you have difficulty getting into the visit, try closing and reopening the video conference window. If that doesn’t work, [lease call 303-736-9697 and we will re-send the link.

When your provider joins, you will need to click another button to ask to be let in to the visit. If you have been waiting more than 5 minutes past your appointment time and your provider has not joined, please call 303-736-9697 and our admin staff will trouble shoot.

Do you treat children? Can I attend my child’s visit?

We see patients ages 5 and up. For children age 11 and under, we see the parents and patient together.

Studies show that adolescent patients benefit from having the opportunity to speak with their provider alone, to provide respect for their privacy and to help them to develop independence and self-efficacy. Therefore, for patients ages 12-17, we will see the patient with their parents or guardians for part of the visit, and will ask the parents or guardians to step out of the visit and return to the waiting room for part of the visit so that we can see the patient alone. We will be happy to discuss diagnoses and treatment recommendations with parents and guardians with the patient’s permission.

Can I bring someone with me to my appointment?

For patients age 18 and up who do not have a legal guardian or power of attorney, we will see the patient independently at the beginning of the visit, and if the patient requests it, we can invite family members, partners, friends, or others to join us later in the visit.

I am the patient’s guardian, power of attorney, or caregiver. Can I attend the visit?

For patients of any age who have intellectual or communication disabilities or severe chronic mental illness and have a legal guardian, power of attorney, or caregiver who attends their visits, the provider will use their judgement about whether the patient should be seen alone for part of the visit.

How do you handle emergencies?

In medical emergencies, we will call EMS and will provide basic life support if necessary until EMS arrives. For psychiatric emergencies (ie: the patient is in danger of harming themselves or harming others, or is in imminent danger of being harmed by someone else, or is acutely psychotic, manic, or otherwise out of touch with reality) we will call EMS, notify parents/guardians/other emergency contacts, and/or report to social services or law enforcement as clinically appropriate and/or required by law.

Do you offer psychotherapy?

Yes! Our nurse practitioners incorporate short, solution-focused and supportive therapy sessions (and counseling about alternative and complementary treatments if desired) as part of each psychiatric visit. If you require more specialized psychotherapy, we can provide referrals to therapists outside of our practice.

Do you offer family therapy or couples counseling?

We do not specifically offer family therapy or couples counseling. However, if you would like to bring a family member or significant other to your visit, you are welcome to do so. We will teach them about your condition and how they can best support you. We can also refer you to an outside provider for family therapy or couples counseling.

Do you offer group therapy?

We offer group therapy from time to time for existing patients. Please check with your provider for more information.

What issues do you help with?

We can help with any of the following issues:

ADHD

Addiction

Anger

Anxiety

Autism

Bipolar Disorder

Borderline Personality

Career Dissatisfaction

Chronic Illness

Chronic Pain

Cognitive Dysfunction

Dementia

Depression

Developmental Disorders

Eating Disorders

Executive Function Disorder

Gender Affirming Care

Gender Incongruence

Gender Dysphoria

Gender Transition

Grief and Loss

Hormone Imbalance

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Infertility

Insomnia

Intellectual Disability

LGBTQIA+ Centered Care

Life Transitions

Loss of Libido

Low Testosterone

Memory Problems

Menopause

Mood Swings

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Neurocognitive Disorders

Nightmares

Nonbinary Hormone Therapy

Nutritional Deficiencies

Obesity

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Parasomnias

Perimenopause

Personality Disorders

Psychotic Disorders

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Sexuality

Sexual Dysfunction

Sleep Disorders

Stress Management

Substance Use

Transgender Care

Transgender Hormone Therapy

Trauma Related Symptoms

Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

What communities do you serve?

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve everyone. Some of the communities we work with include, but are not limited to:

Adoption (parents and children)

Aging

Asexual

Autoimmune Disorders

Bisexual

Business Owners and Executives

Chronic Illness

Divorced and Separated

Feminist

First Responders

Foster Care (parents and children)

Gay

Gender Fluid

Healthcare Workers

HIV / AIDS

Intersex

Indigenous

Lesbian

LGBTQIA+

Mental Health Professionals

Non-Binary

Nurses

Pansexual

Parents

Physicians

Polyamorous

Queer

Racial Justice

Sex Positive

Sex Workers

Social Justice

Social Workers

Transgender

Trafficking Victims

Two Spirit

Veterans

Veterinary Professionals

How do I access my medical records?

Please contact our office and we will send you a form that provides your consent to release your medical records and tells us where to send them. We will never share your records with anyone without your written permission, except when required by law.

In some cases, we may deny requests for records. This includes requests for psychotherapy notes, and when your provider determines that release of your records may cause harm to the patient.

We will provide medical records electronically by uploading them on the patient portal, sending them by HIPAA secure electronic transmission or E-Fax, or downloading them onto a USB drive. The fee for electronic medical records is $6.50 per request.

Charges for printed medical records:

• First 10 pages: $18.53

• Pages 11-40: $0.85 per page.

• Pages 41 and up: $0.57 per page.

We will respond to requests for records within the timeframe required by law.

Do you take my insurance?

We are in network with most insurance carriers, including:

Aetna

Anthem / Blue Cross Blue Shield

Cigna / Evernorth Behavioral Health

Carelon (formerly Beacon)

Kaiser (we accept some Kaiser plans managed by Carelon)

Medicaid of Colorado (Note: We cannot accept any patients with Denver Health Medicaid at this time)

Medicare

Please contact your insurance customer service department to confirm that we are in-network with your specific plan, whether specific services are covered by your plan, whether a prior authorization is necessary, and to find out what your deductibles, copays, and/or coinsurance requirements will be.

If we are out-of-network, we can still see you and bill your insurance company, but your contributions may be higher. We can also provide a Superbill that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. For non-covered services, we can provide a payment plan if needed.

We will try to assist with verifying your benefits, but ultimately, you are responsible for ensuring that your insurance will cover our services.

All balances not covered by insurance, including deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, and non-covered services are your responsibility and will be billed to you. In some cases, we will not be able to continue providing care until your balance is paid or you have set up a payment plan. We can assist you in setting up a payment plan if necessary.

How much do you charge for visits if I self-pay?

For regular office visits, our self-pay rates are:

New patient: $300 Adult / $350 Minor

Follow-up: $200 Adult / $250 Minor

For specialized services, pricing will depend on details of your treatment plan. Payment plans may be provided.

What should I do if my provider prescribed medication or lab work but my pharmacy or lab says they never got the prescription?

Please let our office know. We will do our best to troubleshoot and resolve the situation. We will re-send the prescription if it didn’t go through. If your pharmacy ran out of your medication, we can send the prescription to a different pharmacy of your choice.

What if the medication or labwork is not covered by my insurance or it needs a prior authorization?

For insurance coverage issues, please understand that every insurance plan has different coverage for medications and there is no way for the provider or our office staff to find out in advance with 100% certainty whether a specific medication or lab will be covered, whether it will need a prior-authorization, or how much your copay will be.

Your pharmacy or lab should be able to verify coverage, and will usually send a request for us to fill out a prior authorization if one is needed. Once the prior authorization has been completed, it will go to your insurance company for approval. If it has been more than 7 business days and you haven’t gotten an answer, let us know and we can try to troubleshoot.

What if I need to self-pay for medication or labwork?

If your insurance does not cover a medication, you can contact the pharmaceutical company to see if they offer coupons or patient assistance programs to reduce the cost, or your provider may prescribe another medication. You may need to have a visit with your provider if a new medication needs to be prescribed, to discuss different options and their risks and benefits.

Many medications can be ordered for self-payment through online pharmacies such as Cost Plus Drugs, Honeybee Health, or GoodRx, which often offer lower prices than retail pharmacies. However, these pharmacies typically do not carry controlled substances, branded medications, or specialty medications. Some medications can also be ordered through compounding pharmacies, which may offer lower prices, different formulations, methods of administration, or non-standard dosages.

Self-pay labs can be ordered through Ulta Labs, which may be less expensive than Quest or Labcorp.

How do I request medication refills?

To request refills, please message your provider on the patient portal. Please include the full medication name including whether it is immediate or extended release, dosage and dosing instructions, and the name, full address, and phone number of the pharmacy you would like to use.

For example, please send refill requests like this:

I would like a refill of fluoxetine 20 mg caps 1 cap daily in the morning.

Please send it to Walgreens at 6390 McIntyre Pkwy Arvada 80403  Phone (720) 214-5673.

Not like this:

I need a refill of my meds for X diagnosis/the pink ones/that one you prescribed last time from Walmart on Sheridan

To make sure that you will not run out of medication, please allow 7 business days for refill requests. Around major holidays, providers may be out of the office for vacation, so please allow 10 business days for refills at those times.

Why don’t you answer your phone?

We have a small staff who may be answering other calls. If we do not answer, please leave a message or send a text with your contact information. One of our admin staff will contact you back as soon as possible.