Yes we do, but we still primarily remain an online practice as research has shown that the care psychiatrists provide in person is comparable to the care they provide via telemedicine and therefore by seeing most of our patients online we are able to expand our reach and provide services to more patients than we would otherwise. This also affords our patients more flexibility with their schedules as they don’t have to drive to appointments and wait in waiting rooms. We do however, still see patients in person when needed or desired at our location in Ontario, CA

Dr. Mehr Karamat, Dr. Ansar Malik and Thriving minds – Psychiatric Services of California accept the below insurances however also remain primarily a cash based practice who provide out of network care for patients that do not have any of the below insurances.

Dr. Mehr Karamat is accepting the below insurances:

• Optum – (United Healthcare, United Healthcare Shared Services (UHSS), GEHA – United Healthcare Shared Services (UHSS), UnitedHealthcare Global, Oscar, Harvard Pilgrim, Oxford, UHC Student Resources, UMR, All Savers (UHC), Health Plans Inc, Bind
• Aetna – (Meritain, Nippon, Allied Benefit Systems, GEHA – United Healthcare Shared Services (UHSS)
• Cigna
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Anthem Blue Cross

Free Insurance Reimbursement Support:

Reimbursify is a company that helps patients file out-of-network claims. For patients whose insurance we are out-of-network with, Reimbursify makes it easy to file a claim and get reimbursed directly by your insurance company.

Our Practice is subscribed to Reimbursify’s Practice Pro plan to help simplify your process of getting reimbursed.

For cash-pay patients while we remain “out of network” to ensure great care for you, we also want to simplify the process of how you can utilize your insurance benefits while still getting the excellent care an “out of network” doctor can provide. We have been able to do this by subscribing to Reimbursify which allows us to check your out of network benefits and see what percentage of your fees paid to us is reimbursable. This really streamlines the process for you. Depending on your plan, you will usually get a percentage of what you already paid back to you, which can help offset the out-of-pocket cost of services. And that is not all! You can file the claim free with reimbursify under our practice without a charge due to our subscription with them via their app, or we can file it for you as well (free of charge).

Dr. Karamat and Dr. Malik will review your history, symptoms and concerns. They will ask you what you are hoping to accomplish from the session and will discuss a comprehensive plan with options you can choose from. They will never tell you what to do but will always provide you with evidence-based information and answer your questions so that you can make an informed decision about your care. They likes to guide you in your treatment and path towards stability, rather than to direct everything that pertains to your care.

Dr. Karamat and Dr. Malik primarily practice as online psychiatrists, however they do have a physical office location in Ontario, CA for patients that need to be seen in person or prefer to be seen in person.

This depends on your individual case and your symptoms. Typically, Dr. Karamat and Dr. Ansar Malik will see someone for an evaluation and see them every 4 weeks until they are stabilized with medication and then see them at a minimum of every 3 months once they are stable. With that said, if Dr. Karamat and Dr. Ansar Malik have availability you can see them more often, even if you are considered stable. At a minimum you must be seen every 3 months in order to continue to get medication prescribed.

For patients seeing Dr. Karamat for psychotherapy, whether it be with or without medication Dr. Karamat recommends weekly appointments but depending on affordability and availability biweekly appointments are also considered acceptable. Once therapy appointments are spaced out greater than every 2 weeks, it becomes harder to progress in therapy at the rate most people desire and overall, it becomes a less effective process if the individual seeking treatment is very symptomatic.

The sessions are conducted via Zoom through our electronic medical record called Charm. You will receive a link for the appointment as well as text message reminders prior to your appointment. You need a working camera, speaker and microphone.

Psychiatry is a medical specialty that involves the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental health disorders. Psychiatrists specialize in anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, ADHD and as well as other varied disorders. There are different subspecialities within the field of psychiatry such as Child and Adolescent psychiatry, Psychosomatic, Geriatric psychiatry and Addiction psychiatry. These subspecialties have formal fellowship training programs after the general psychiatry residency training that all psychiatrists complete, and then they have official board certifications through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). Additionally, there are other focuses and subspecialties such as emergency psychiatry, integrative psychiatry, perinatal psychiatry/women’s mental health and these do not have an official board certification through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology but are interests and focuses several psychiatrists take on and pursue further education for with other certifications through other organizations that are not affiliated with the ABPN

Neither is considered “better”. A psychiatrist does however have the added benefit of being able to provide talk therapy/psychotherapy in addition to medication management, which a psychologist is not able to do since a psychologist is not a medical doctor and does not go to medical school.

You can look for an in person psychiatrist at a clinic near you, or you can opt to get mental health care online which is more convenient, so that you do not have to stand in line, drive long distances to offices or wait in waiting rooms.

Yes, a psychiatrist is the specific doctor/physician who deals with emotional and mental health.

It varies, but prices range from $250 to $600 for a psychiatric evaluation and $100 to $300 for a medication management follow up.

Mental health practitioners which include various different types of therapists also diagnose mental health diagnoses, however many organizations such as certain employers and insurance companies often require that mental health diagnoses come from a medical doctor that specializes in mental health, which would be a psychiatrist.

Online psychiatry sessions are more common now than ever, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. With online therapy and/or psychiatry, you can find high-quality therapists as well as an online psychiatrist from your computer. It is considered more useful and time-saving to make an appointment with an online psychiatrist instead of an in-person provider. If you don’t know how to find a psychiatrist online a good first place to start is google or any other search engine. Specifically you can explore other websites like WebMD, Psychologytoday, therapyden, Zocdoc, healthgrades etc which make it extremely easy to find an online psychiatrist and get more information about the psychiatrist and/or therapist.

If your first appointment with your online psychiatrist is also the very first appointment with that provider, you may be required to submit additional medical information, consent forms and questionnaires before the appointment. To begin your appointment, you will most likely sign into a secure portal by way of a link provided by your provider or practice admin. You will then enter a digital waiting room. When it is time for the appointment to begin, your psychiatrist will begin the session and a video-call window will open either on zoom or another application.

Talking to a psychiatrist online will be just like talking to a psychiatrist during an in-person psychiatry session. Your psychiatrist will ask for a brief medical, social and mental health history, information about any medications you are taking at the moment and the symptoms you are experiencing. And most importantly the psychiatrist you talk to will explore why are you seeking psychiatric treatment and what is the reason behind it? Your online psychiatrist will then make his or her recommendations for further treatment, including medication management or psychotherapy as well.

Becoming a psychiatrist generally takes eight to 11 years beyond a bachelor’s degree. After completing a bachelor’s degree, psychiatrists, like all other medical doctors, complete 4 years of medical school. After medical school all psychiatrists do a minimum of 4 years of post graduate training to specialize in psychiatry as a medical specialty. Patient’s should be aware of individuals advertising themselves as psychiatrists, such as NPs or PMHNPs or PAs. These are not psychiatrists. They are nurse practitioners practicing in the field of mental health or physician assistants practicing in the field of mental health. That does not make them a “psychiatrist”. A “psychiatrist” is only a medical doctor with post graduate training in the field of psychiatry after completing medical school. After all of this training a psychiatrist can choose to practice in person or online.