What to Expect
General Adult Psychiatry Evaluation
Below is a typical psychiatric evaluation, treatment options, and payment options.
Psychiatric Evaluation
Before the first visit, we will email you a link to our general intake forms and standard validated mental health questionnaires. These forms must be completed before the first session.
The first visit will last approximately 60 minutes and involves an in-depth interview. Medications will not be prescribed at the end of the initial diagnostic psychiatric evaluation, though initial impressions and a plan may be discussed. Please note that you will not be considered a patient of Montenegro & Associates until you and the physician formally agree to enter into such an agreement after your assessment.
A full psychiatric assessment with diagnostic impressions, treatment recommendations, and possible referrals will be provided and reviewed in detail in a 30-minute psychiatric evaluation feedback session, typically two weeks after the initial appointment.
Following the feedback session, if you and the provider feel you are a good fit and if the provider believes that they can provide the best treatment for the presenting problems, we will proceed with scheduling follow-up appointments. We will discuss medication management, therapy, or both in subsequent sessions.
If a different provider may better serve you, we will provide appropriate referrals accordingly.
General Treatment Options
Medication Management
If after the evaluation feedback session, we agree to proceed with medication management, we will schedule a 50-minute follow-up appointment to discuss the treatment plan, including the risks and benefits of starting medication treatment.
Routine medication management appointments occur every two weeks for the first six weeks, lasting 25–30 minutes. This ensures safe, stable, and optimized dosing while monitoring side effects.Usually, after safely optimizing a medication, 30-minute medication follow up visits can be reduced to every 3 months (depending on the type of mediation).
Standard practice recommendations suggest that providers should not wait longer than three months between patient visits for safety purposes.
Psychotherapy
If we decide to proceed with therapy after the diagnostic evaluation feedback session, we will schedule a 50-minute appointment to discuss the treatment plan, including the proposed therapy method's details and expectations.
Therapy sessions usually last 50 minutes, and their frequency decreases over time based on the type of therapy and issue being addressed.
General Payment Options
Out of Network Provider
Not all our psychiatrists accept insurance; some are considered out-of-network providers. However, certain providers accept Blue Cross Blue Shield (except Premera), First Choice, and Lyra.
For patients not covered by the insurance plans mentioned above, all services must be paid for in full by credit card through a safe and secure patient portal.
If requested, we will gladly provide you with a reimbursement form or “superbill” to submit an out-of-network claim to your insurance company.
Reimbursement rates are plan-specific; please contact your insurance company to ask what the reimbursement rates are for the following codes:
Initial Evaluation - CPT codes: 99205 + 90838 + 96127
Follow-up appointment - CPT codes: 99214 + 90833 + 96127
Fees
Please contact Montenegro & Associates for rates.