Starting care somewhere new can feel like a lot. Here is exactly what to expect.
Nueva Vida Psychiatry is an outpatient psychiatric practice serving adults across California via telehealth and an in-person office in West Los Angeles. We focus on anxiety, depression, deprescribing, ADHD, and women’s mental health, including PMDD and perinatal mood. Our intake is designed to be clear and unhurried, so you know what to expect before, during, and after your first visit.
You can begin by submitting our online Request an Appointment form or by calling our office at (310) 361-8043. The form is the easiest way to get started, but a phone call works as well.
The form asks a few brief questions about what brings you to care and how to reach you. If you plan to use insurance, having your insurance card available is helpful.
If another type of care would be a better fit for what you are looking for, we will point you toward resources that might help. One quick note on paperwork: disability forms, accommodation letters, and similar documentation can generally only be completed after we have worked together for at least three months.
Our administrative team will reach out within one business day, often the same day, to confirm we are in network for your insurance and to schedule your comprehensive psychiatric evaluation.
During this call, we send a new patient packet containing consent forms and intake questionnaire that’s due at least 2 days before your scheduled appointment. The intake questionnaire helps us understand your history and current concerns so your evaluation can focus on you, not on paperwork.
If you have any difficulty accessing or completing the forms, please let us know and we will be happy to help.
We want you to know what your visit will cost before you get seen.
If you are using insurance, our team verifies your benefits once your appointment is scheduled, typically within 1-2 business days. A team member will then walk you through your coverage, including any copay, deductible, or potential out-of-pocket costs, before your appointment.
If you are paying privately or using out-of-network benefits, we review fees and the superbill process with you directly, so you have the information you need ahead of time.
Your first visit is a 60-minute comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. We take time to understand your story, the symptoms affecting your daily life, your mental health and medical history, and what feeling better would look like for you. Together, we begin exploring a treatment plan that feels thoughtful and appropriate for your needs.
For most concerns, we schedule regular follow-up visits to see how you’re doing, answer questions, and adjust your treatment plan as needed.
Adult ADHD evaluations follow a two-session model, with two 60-minute visits scheduled on separate days. This gives us enough time to look carefully at your current concerns, attention and focus history, and how these patterns have affected different areas of your life before reaching diagnostic conclusions and discussing next steps.
For PMDD or other hormonal mood concerns, we begin with a comprehensive evaluation to understand your symptoms and how they relate to your menstrual cycle. Depending on what we find, we may begin treatment right away or ask you to track your symptoms across your cycle so we can better understand the pattern before deciding on next steps.
You do not need to have it all figured out before reaching out. We will guide you from your first request through your first visit.